A good place to start a change is in our own homes. It is a known fact that the cost of utilities is constantly rising. It should come as no surprise either, as it is a tendency well monitored during the last few years. This ultimately reveals the need for solutions and methods to lower the pressure on bills.
Green living, renewable resources, energy saving and producing your own energy are all topics that have gained big importance in our everyday life. It should come as no surprise, for they gain more importance during times of economic uncertainty, rising costs and global climate changes. These are all challenges that people face and need to overcome.
A good place to start a change is in our own homes. It is a known fact that the cost of utilities is constantly rising. It should come as no surprise either, as it is a tendency well monitored during the last few years. This ultimately reveals the need for solutions and methods to lower the pressure on bills. And since options are now largely available and invested in, the popularity of renewable energy sources is rising and so is their usage.
The benefits of generating your energy at home can be easily summarized in few main points: it is good for the environment, since it utilizes natural resources and it allows a decrease in your electricity bill. And while installing an off-grid system to power your home may sometimes be an expensive task, it is also true that for some homes it is the only option and certainly the best when it comes to preserving the environment.
So what are the most popular solutions for generating your own energy?
Solar Power
Solar systems are a common solution as far as green energy is concerned. They convert the sunlight to electricity, which is then ready to use within a house. The key components in the system are panels and mounting gear, used for ‘collecting’ solar energy, an inverter that that converts variable energy current to alternating current that households use. The effectiveness of a solar powered system may vary greatly, depending on factors such as sun time exposure and intensity. Often times this system requires installation of batteries that store excess energy for later usage.
The main downside of solar power is that the initial investment required to start with is quite big. Often times it takes a decade or more for it to pay off, plus it relies on factors beyond your control, such as the weather. A good solution might be to start small, by installing one panel at a time, in order to reduce costs and gradually upgrade over the years. Many systems allow feeding excess electricity that you don’t use back to the grid, where feed-in tariffs may allow selling it and thus generating income.
Wind Power
Small scale wind turbines can easily harness the power of the wind. They use large blades that turn as wind blows through them, converting this kinetic energy to electricity.
Wind turbines can be used for contributing to generating household electricity. The deciding factor here is the topography of the place. Average wind speeds must be significant enough for a wind powered system to be effective. Simply put, if there is no breeze, the turbine is still and doesn’t provide anything. Another thing to consider is the size – usually a house can be powered by a single turbine but it needs to be huge, mounted on a tower. Obviously that is not always possible when it comes to off-grid energy production. Wind turbines also require maintenance, as they have a lot of moving parts.
What is good about both of these systems is that they can be used in conjunction to create optimal energy production and a back-up plan when one of it fails due to climate circumstances. With such solutions and even more being developed for the market, it is only a matter of change in perspective before more people embrace the idea of green energy production.
Sofia Lewis is a passionate freelance article writer and blogger. She is inspired by home improvement projects and writes mainly about cleaning, green living home solutions, removals and other home related topics. Read more of her tips here: East London Removals
