Light Your Home With Passive Solar System

When you think of solar lighting, do you automatically think of using solar panels to power your light bulbs?  Most people do.  But that’s not the only way to use the sun’s power to help light your home.  Here are four more ways you can use solar lighting around the house.

Skylights are the most common passive lighting sources found in homes.  They  are a great source of natural light, especially for rooms that have small or no windows.  Skylights can sometimes deliver more natural light to a room than windows, because their rooftop location exposes them to the sun throughout the day.

Solar light tubes are a really effective way to light dark hallways, closets, interior bathrooms and garages that have no windows of their own.  Although this technology seems modern, it was actually used by the ancient Egyptians, so it has a long and proven history.  Solar light tubes are usually smaller than skylights, sometimes only 9 to 12 inches in diameter.  They are installed in the roof, and use reflective material in the tube to enhance the amount of light they deliver.  The reflective material allows them to be effective even on cloudy days, since they don’t require direct or bright sunlight to be useful.  It is easiest to plan for them and build them into new construction.  But they can be added to most existing roofs without too much difficulty.

Solar exterior lighting is extremely practical.  It is powered by small solar cells that collect sunlight during the day, then store it for use at night.  The solar cell can be mounted in a sunny place and wired to the lighting fixture it its location doesn’t receive enough direct sunlight during the day to power it.

Almost any type of exterior lighting is available in a solar-powered version.  Porch lights, patio lights, spot lights and security lights that include motion detectors can all be powered by solar cells.  This is an especially good feature for security lighting because it will work even during electrical blackouts or system-wide power outages.

Solar landscaping lights are both practical and attractive.  They come is a variety of styles, sizes and uses.  Spotlights can be used to light trees, garden sculpture or fountains.  Low level lighting can be used to outline driveways and garden borders.  Taller lighting fixtures will illuminate outdoor living areas like patios or gazebos.  Mid-level lighting with non-glare screens are a good choice for lighting sidewalks or footpaths.  Party lights can be used for special occasions or to create an atmosphere for outdoor living areas.

Passive solar lighting is one of the easiest ways to use solar energy.  You can start with some inexpensive garden lights.  When you buy your next house, or your next new roof, you can plan for the bigger-budget skylights.

Make a Big Difference By Going Green Lifestyle

There are plenty of things you can do as an individual, and a household, that can reduce the damage done to our environment.

The most effective changes you can make to your lifestyle begin, as all the best things do, at home, and the best part is these changes require nothing more than small alterations to your normal routine. The best way to start is to cut down on your energy uses. There are a variety of ways to do this, but start by always ensuring that appliances that are not in used are switched off at the plug – stand-by is not your friend. The same goes for lighting – if you’re not in the room, switch the light off.

You can also save water and energy by only boiling as much water as you need. A good way to do this is to fill whatever mug you’re going to use with cold water, put it in the kettle, half fill the mug again and add this, and boil. You need slightly more than a full cup as boiling produces steam and causes evaporation. On the same water-saving vein, having a bath is far more eco-friendly than using a shower.

Other small changes that will drastically reduce your energy consumption include relying less on heating – if you’re just a bit chilly, put a jumper on rather than reaching for the dial. And for whatever heating you do use, if you foil back your radiators, you will get more heat into the room for the same energy use.

Outside of the home there are still plenty of options. Check and see if your bank or telecoms provider offers paperless billing. This usually means your bill is sent in full to an email account and this is turn really helps the environment. It is also worth investing in some sturdy, long-term canvas bags to use while shopping for groceries – the carrier bag is one of the worst eco-enemies in use today. Complete eradicate it from your weekly shop and your carbon footprint will go into freefall.

The last, and perhaps most obvious, green friendly tip is the three Rs: recycle, recycle, recycle. Separate all your waste products in their appropriate places, so instead of just putting it all in one bin, split it into categories like food waste, garden waste and plastic and then send it to be recycled.

When it comes to being eco friendly, small changes to one person’s habits can make a huge difference to the earth.

The Appliance of Green Science

You don’t have to just watch information about being eco-friendly, in the developing green world the very appliances you get your TV fix from can be green themselves.

For every appliance you currently have in home, there is a green counter-part out there somewhere. Everything from televisions, through fridges and microwaves, to computers can be given a green stamp of approval thanks to great initiative eco inventor. It is now more possible than ever to enjoy and profit from the technological age without hurting the environment.

The majority of green appliances work on the basis that they consume far less power than their standard rivals. With a basic appliance, up to 50% of the power available can be being used even if the appliance itself is turned off or on the dreaded stand-by. Green appliances are designed to counteract this, some reducing their energy consumption – when compared to non-eco items – by up to 60%. The less power used, the less of a strain on the planet’s resources, and this can only be a good thing.

There is even the option to eliminate your reliance on electricity and energy totally by replacing certain items for those that use an entirely different source of energy. There is now a multitude of solar-power and wind-up electronics available, from torches to radios, and even mobile phone charges. At present there is no way of fully running a major domestic appliance from solar or wind up energy, but considering the huge leaps in innovation from green inventors in recent years, it is surely only a matter of time.

Becoming eco-friendly can sometimes to be kind to the environment but not to your wallet. Although it’s easy to understand why people may assume purchasing green-specific electronics would be more expensive, this isn’t actually the case. Most appliances are the same price and provide the same features with only a small difference in price. However, this can be saved on your energy bills as you will be using less power in the long run thanks to the unique design of green electronics, so you will actually save more in the long run. Helping you to save the world and to save a few pounds into the bargain.