Off Grid Home Blog

Solar Panels is a great tool that effectively collect power from sun. Day by day, people are more concerned to buy solar panels for their personal use. Solar Panels or the PhotoVoltaic Cells are mostly purchased for home purposes, since it is better to generate electricity than to spend money on buying electricity from power company. Anyhow, solar panels have some pros and cons attached to it. It is briefly described below:

Pros of Solar Panel:

• Solar panels saves money, the money you spend on buying electricity from power company can be generated at home. It is observed that many solar panels owners save much money then its original costs with the use of solar panels.
• Solar panels lessen your dependence on power company. You get electricity as long as sun is out there.
• Solar energy is far better than coal or nuclear power. It is clean, renewable and cause no harm to environment.
• Solar systems are compatible. They can be designed according to one’s need and budget.
• Government cuts the taxes of those citizens who adopt the use of clean energy.
• Solar panels at first degrade to some extent, but then its efficiency stills for long time period.

Cons of Solar Panel:

• Cost of Solar Panel is highly expensive. At times it takes around 10 years to pay for solar panels and their installation. It is a long term investment.
• Solar Panels perform low in the cloudy regions or shady locations.
• Since Solar power technology is enhancing day by day, the system which is highly expensive today will be substituted by a cheaper and smaller option.
• Solar energy is clean, but production of photovoltaic cells do cause harm to the environment.
• If in case the solar system is incorrectly installed at your place, it will cost you more than its performance.

Though there are good and bad part of solar panels, people still believe it is worth paying the power company. More and more solar panels types are introduced, according to the requirement of customers and their utilities.

People who liked this Post also read

• RV Solar Panels
• Using Solar Power In Pre-Existing Home
• Installing Solar Cells In Your Home
• How to Install Solar Panels at Your Home
• Ten Major Benefits of Solar Energy
• Time To Switch On To Solar Power Products
• Common Berries To Help Solve Solar Power Issues
• Cheap Way Of Making Solar Panels Found
• Costs Of Solar Power
• Solar Powering Your House

There is no fix price tag attached with the solar panels. Solar panels costs’ varies in different conditions. Anyhow, home solar panels system mainly depends on how big the project is, how much sun is consumed and how big is your house.

You need to collect certain information before installing solar panel at your place.  First, you must know how much electricity you need to run your home on solar panel, this will let you know how many solar panels must be installed to provide you the required wattage per day. Secondly, you need to know how much sunlight is available at your place. The estimate of the solar panel installation is thus best guided by a professional solar panel installer.

Cost of Each Watt: Generally, the cost per watt is $10 to $12 that is installed. The calculation is made in kilowatt and a kilowatt is 1000 watts. Thus to create a kilowatt, the amount that you will pay will be around $10,000 to $12,000. A solar panel system that costs $20,000 can reduce your current bill from 20% to 50%. A solar panel system for a big home may cost $100,000 and need every corner of your roof or may be more than that.

Tax, Grant Incentives: It is possible that the government refund some of the part of your costs in shape of low cost loans, tax incentives and grant programs to you or your hired installer. Check out some more details online for grant programs. This is important to check before you buy a solar panel system fro yourself. Some of the solar panel dealers can assist you to get into government help in area where there is well substitute of solar energy.

Calculation of per day wattage requirement; Since electricity for usage is calculated in kilowatts, calculate the total kilowatts required for whole month and than divide it by 30. You will the per day kilowatt requirement. Then make an estimate of the sunlight hours, multiply your answer to 1.1.5 to get clear result to create 100 percent kilowatt for your home.

Better Estimate: When you make an estimate by yourself of how much kilowatt  electricity you require to run your home, discuss this roughly made estimation to the dealer and he will make you better and more accurate estimate of the required electricity. It is recommended that you count half bit more than estimated if you have decided to use solar energy.

People who liked this Post also read

• How to Install Solar Panels at Your Home
• Using Solar Power In The House
• Solar Energy Sourcing Power To World Tallest Building
• Solar Panels And Biodiversity
• Solar Energy Provides Energy Independence
• Solar Panels Pros And Cons
• Buying Cheap Solar Panels
• Overview of Recent Trends in Solar Technology
• Advantages and Disadvantages Of Using Solar Panels
• Specifics about Solar Energy

It’s that time again where CalFinder busts out a few tales of solar and sustainable heroics while you get comfortable. We’ve rounded up our favorite stories in the world of going green and laid them out just in time for the long weekend! Grab a loved one and let the sunshine in.

Minnesota Wants Clean, Local Energy

An attempt at overturning a law that prevents new dirty energy plants (and I include nuclear in that category) fell short in Minnesota this week. A great step for Minnesotans and Americans alike, as more and more states turn to clean energy as the answer for keeping the grid lit. Ecolocalizer has the full tale of Minnesota rejecting dirty coal policy.

A Lesson in Government Energy Plans From UK?

As the US federal government continues to struggle to find the answer to our energy problems and dependence on foreign sources, British government offered their own solution. A program that sounds similar to Berkely’s own PACE program, it allows loans and incentives spanning from installing solar panels to updating energy efficiency in the home. SUNfiltered’s Jeff McIntire-Strasburg explains more about the British energy plan.

Over 200,ooo Jobs from American Power Act

A new report released by the Peterson Institute for International Economics this week indicates that over 200,000 jobs could be created every year if Congress were to come together on Kerry/Lieberman’s energy bill. Killing the Republicans’ claim that the APA will hinder job growth in the US is Earth and Industry with their take on the climate bill that creates jobs.

5 Beautiful Etsy Garden Eco-Finds

Summer is just around the corner and many gardens are already coming to life. But, if you’re having trouble remembering where you planted the basil and rosemary, fear not! GreenUpgrader has you covered with the top 5 recycled garden products on Etsy! Go Green, go garden!

Green & Ugly: How Not to Win Over Mainstream America

No matter how green, how energy efficient or how downright awesome a product is, it does nothing if no one’s willing to buy it. Such is the conundrum of the Aeolus concept phone. Sure, it recharges on either wind or solar power, but what does it matter if it’s too ugly to be noticed? Treehugger lays out the three laws of environmental design for us all to enjoy.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend…we’ll see you right back here next week!

Photo Credit: Technorati

More »

Presently Fluid Dynamics Expert, John Dabiri, is very much on the quest of improving designs of wind turbines. Spotting behaviours that may throw light on energy-related practices in biological system and trying to implement that in real-life situations is part of that quest and Mr.Dabiri is jubilant that he is learning lessons from a [...]
Posted in: Wind Farms, Wind Power, Wind Turbines

Scientists announced today that the ongoing BP oil spill is now the largest in U.S. history, eclipsing the Exxon Valdez wreck of 1989. A new report by government scientists estimates a daily leakage rate much higher than BP’s estimates, measuring the total amount of crude oil released up to four times higher than the Exxon Valdez spill. The new estimates have also intensified questions and criticisms surrounding the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that started the 5-week-and-counting leak.

At its most conservative, the new leak rate puts at least 504,000 gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico daily and over 18 million gallons overall. That is much higher than the 210,000 gallons-per-day rate estimated by BP a few days after the explosion. At the high end, scientists estimate more than 1 million gallons of oil are spewing into the Gulf every day, even as BP attempts to block the leak by inserting mud into the well’s blowout preventer, a process known as a “Top Kill.” At time of writing, the process seems to be going well but it is far too early to paint as successful.

So far, some 18 to 39 million gallons of oil have been spilled, according to the new estimates. The Exxon Valdez disaster, one-time record holder for largest oil spill in U.S. history, lost almost 11 million gallons when the tanker wrecked off the coast of Alaska more than 20 years ago.

In response to heated debate and criticism, including the resignation of the director of the agency charged with overseeing offshore drilling projects, President Obama announced a six-month extension of the moratorium on new offshore drilling permits. He also suspended exploration drilling off the coast of Alaska, as well as 33 new wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Meanwhile, the economy is suffering billions of dollars in losses due to the shutdown of fishing operations and other businesses in the Gulf Coast region.

BP has said that it would know better by the end of Thursday whether their Top Kill attempt at stopping the leak would prove successful or not. If not, the company has said repeatedly, they have plenty of backup options available to stop the 5-week long oil leak.

Source: The Chicago Tribune
Photo Credit: Oregon Live & Daily Mail

More »

Even as British Petroleum (BP) begins its latest attempt to stop the leaky well from gushing crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, Senator John Kerry is assuring that there is no end in sight to oil drilling off U.S. coasts. At a recent media event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, Kerry admitted that the ongoing catastrophe in the Gulf may curtail climate change legislation he and Senator Joe Lieberman recently submitted, but he stressed that there is no way offshore drilling will end anytime soon.

The recent BP oil well explosion has turned offshore drilling into a political firestorm, burning a powerful group of supporters that includes President Obama and most Democrats in Congress, many of whom, including Obama, flipped on the issue in an apparent attempt to compromise with Republicans.

Nevertheless, Sen. Kerry pointed to the realism of the situation.

“Now, we are not going to stop drilling in the Gulf tomorrow, folks,” he said at the CSM meeting on Wednesday morning. “Let’s be realistic. There are 48,000 wells out there. One of them went sour. About 30 percent of our transportation fuel comes from the Gulf. You think Americans are going to suddenly stop driving to work tomorrow? Do you think people are going to stop driving the trucks to deliver the goods to the department stores? Not going to happen.”

I actually agree completely. Who wouldn’t? Nobody in their right mind expects all the oil rigs off our coasts to shut down tomorrow. What we want is a speedy transfer to alternative energy sources and a halt on expansion of offshore drilling. We want to curtail that “drill baby drill” mentality. Yes, 30 percent of our transportation fuel may come from the Gulf, but do we need to make that 40 percent?

Kerry tried to downplay the drilling expansion that he and other Democrats support. In reference to plans included in his climate bill, he noted that offshore drilling “isn’t realistically expanded in a significant way, because the only two states that will wind up with any expanded drilling, conceivably, are Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.”

How the Gulf of Mexico became a state is a mystery to me, but I’m sure he meant to say Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, not to mention Mexico and the various Caribbean States. But putting humorous geographical gaffes aside, given the 48,000 wells already out there, perhaps any expansion in Alaska and the Gulf would be relatively small. But we are witnessing right now what can happen when just one well explodes, and how incredibly difficult it is to stop such a leak when it starts. The damages to wildlife and economy in the affected Gulf region are only beginning to be felt.

(Get a look at what will no doubt become a common story as the days progress in this CBS video on the “poisoning” of the Gulf of Mexico.)

Now, while Kerry is right that we must be realistic about ending offshore drilling, his downplay of drilling expansion is based on nothing but political weakness. Instead of pushing counterparts to pull expansion of offshore drilling off the table, Kerry apparently plans to just wait for the heat to die down and then stick in the bill like nothing ever happened. Like dozens of workers didn’t die. Like fish aren’t swimming through bubbles of crude oil. Like entire livelihoods in Gulf coast towns aren’t going to hell in an oil drum. And like it will never happen again.

But don’t worry, Kerry stressed that no new offshore drilling projects will go forward until Congress is assured that something like this will never happen again. Hmmm…I imagine the conversation going something like this:

Congress: “You guys have to promise that you can prevent this sort of thing from ever happening again.”

Oil Execs: “We promise.”

Congress: “Do you super-duper, super-super-duper promise?”

Oil Execs: “Of course!”

Congress: “Any evidence? Oh (blush), never mind, you don’t have to answer that…you just go for it!”

Oil Execs: “Now that’s our good boys.” (The faint scratch of checks being written is heard throughout the hall.)

Great work, folks.

Special thanks to Joe Mohr and his environmental editorial cartoons for the inspiration: Oil Cleanup for Dummies

Photo Credit: Politics Daily & Social Times

More »

Modern Hippie Mag is a one-stop resource for the, well, modern hippie. Not that “drug-using, tie-dye wearing, jobless flower child stereotype,” as MHM puts it. No, the modern hippie is too concerned about organic clothing and knowing what’s in food or how lumber was harvested to care much about a far-out, drug-induced state.

Modern Hippie Mag focuses on no singular aspect of environmentally conscious living. It is a collaboration of many different voices covering the gamut of eco-friendly topics, including entertainment, do-it-yourself projects, clothing, food, fair trade, beauty, health and wellness. Modern Hippie Mag professes no political agenda. Rather, it sees green living as an apolitical choice, simply because it is the right choice. For there is no downside to going green for anyone. No downside to breathing clean air. No downside to drinking clean water or eating chemical-free foods or beauty products. Such things benefit all. And that is the hope behind Modern Hippie as it strives to “educate, to share a global camaraderie, shun conformity, and embrace individuality” all at the same time.

But before the collaborative of individual voices that Modern Hippie Mag has become today, there was a creator. One woman who wanted to modernize and un-stigmatize the hippie persona. She is Jaszy McAllister, the founder, publisher, editor of Modern Hippie Mag, and the interviewee in MHM’s first ever podcast. In it she talks about her motivations and inspirations for her first blogging experience, which, in just over a year, has grown to be what Modern Hippie Mag is today. So, without further verbosity, I’ll let Jaszy do the talking…

More »