Solar Energy Around Your Home
With all the advances that are being made in the solar energy power industry, you have a variety of ways to save money and the environment, all at the same time. Maybe your not able or willing to take on the expense and hassle of installing a full fledged solar power system for your entire house. But, you can start with these 7 easy and simple ways to use solar energy around your home today.
1. Solar indoor lights: Hey, I didn’t know there was such a thing. But, I’m sure you know that using regular light bulbs burns up a lot of in your home. Now you can use solar indoor lighting that is environmentally-friendly and gives us another option in our quest for alternative energy products.
Instead of using the usual overhead lights, why not use a solar-powered desk and floor lamps to light up your home. These indoor lights capture sunlight during the day and store it in small batteries for use at a later time.
2. Outdoor Lights: I’m sure most everone is familiar with the solar energy powered landscaping lights. These solar energy powered garden lights are great for lighting pathways or gardens and are relatively inexpensive. You can purchase them in most any hardware or home improvement store. The solar cell is located on top of the light and it gathers energy from the sun and stores it in small batteries inside.
At night, the batteries will power the lights. Earlier versions of these solar lights produced very little light. But, with the recent advances in technology you can now get some powerful solar powered floodlights. These is a great way to experience firsthand how solar energy can benefit you before you spend those thousands of dollars on a complete solar power system.
3. Passive heat storage tubes: Here is something else I hadn’t heard of until now. It seems you can buy these greenhouse fiberglass tubes that can drastically cut down your heating bills. You can use these tall fiberglass cylinders, which look like pillars and are hollow, as either room dividers or attractive accents.
You just fill them with water and put them where they can get as much exposure to bright light as possilbe. They will catch and store the sun’s energy and fill your room with heat greatly decreasing your heating costs.
4. Solar chargers: Yes, even your cell phone, laptop, MP3 player, or a number of other electronic devices can be charged with solar power. You can find several solar-powered chargers are availaable on the market that will either charge internal batteries, (like in cell phones) or charge C, D, AA, and AAA batteries for use in other electronics.
These chargers usually come with a variety of cords that allow you to use them with different items. By using a renewable alternative energy resource such as solar power to charge the electronic items that you use may take a big chunk out of your electrical bills each month.
5. Solar water heater: Here for a fraction of the cost you can get a complete solar-power system. I’m talking about a solar-powered water heater system that can generate hot water for your home. These can be used in most any climate, and the fuel, of course, is sunshine.
You will find two basic types of solar water heating systems. One is active, with circulating pumps and 
controls. The other is passive without the pumps and controls. Most solar water heaters work best with a well-insulated storage tank and an additional outlet and inlet connected to and from the collector. With a dual tank systems, the solar water heater preheats water before it goes into the conventional water heater. With single tank systems, you combine the back-up heater and the solar storage into one tank. You get the same relaxing hot water, with less cost on your utility bills.
6. Pools and hot tubs: Surprisingly, a lot of pools and hot tubs now use solar energy to heat the water. It’s the same concept with solar power units designed to assist the gas or electric heating unit in order to save on heating bills. Older model pools and hot tubs most likely don’t have a built-in solar energy system but, you can purchase one of these solar power kits from just about any pool supply stores and convert your existing heater. You can even buy solar-powered skimmers to clean your pool and spa. The price you pay for one of these kits will definitely pay for itself via the energy savings you will get.
7. Solar oven: As I mentioned earlier, one of the first ways of harnessing solar energy was cooking food in a specially-designed oven 
that captures the sun’s rays to cook food. Originally these small solar cooking ovens were made for camping but, now they work great for any outdoor summer cooking activities as well. So, rather than messing with charcoal or propane tanks, a solar oven is an inexpensive and easy cooker to use without all the usual waste of conventional cooking techniques.
One of these small ovens can cook food at temperatures of up to about 350 degrees and are, of course , fully solar-powered. This a unique system of glass and reflective materials that absorb the sun’s heat like a solar cell but then magnify it so that it is hot enough to cook with. So, why not put away that electric or gas grill and use one of these solar ovens to do your backyard cooking? It’s economical and friendly to the environment!
These are just a few of the many ways that you can start using solar power around your home. See for yourself how well they work and how reliable they can be before making the decision to go with a full solar system in your home. It’s hard to go wrong with incorporating alternative sources of energy in to our daily lives.
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