Setting up energy sources on your property are becoming more readily available and vastly less expensive than in the past. While there are numerous options available to the wide world, I want to focus on those you can harness on a residential level. Obviously building a nuclear reactor or mining coal isn't an option for most people. So we will focus on the three most readily available sources.
Probably the most common form people know of is solar panels. The sheets of crystalline silicon connected by metal conductors transmit the suns UV rays into usable energy by harnessing the electricity into batteries. The down fall of solar energy is that it won't create energy when the sun has gone down. Over the last decade, the costs of solar panels have been cut drastically and are now available to fit anyone's budget. It is completely within reason to power your entire home off of solar energy with careful planning. Plus any energy that is not used can be sold to power companies for a profit.
Wind turbines are also popping up all over the country. I find them to be quite majestic, but it seems the public consensus would say otherwise. Wind turbine blades are designed to capture the maximum amount of wind velocity to make them rotate. Inside the turbine, an electromagnetic system transforms that rotational movement into electricity that is stored in a battery for household use. The faster the wind and the more the blade rotates, the more power is generated. The drawback to only using wind turbines is that if the winds die down you won't be creating any electricity.
Geothermal energy is one of the most readily available resources we have on the planet that allows us to create heating and cooling with zero emissions. This technology takes advantage of the heat within the earth's core. Tubing is placed underground, generally in a closed loop, where the temperature is approximately fifty degrees. This pulls heat from the earth and draws it into your furnace during the winter. The heat is compressed to a higher temperature and then dispersed with forced air or radian floor heating. In the summer the process is reversed, pulling heat from your home out to the cooler earth. Voila! A warmer home in the winter and cooler in the summer without any energy required.
So these are some of the available power options that are on the market, but there is much more out there if you take a look. Another cool product making a lot of waves right now, is water recycling products for your home which cut down on your water usage by 40%. But I'll save those for a later date, and I hope you enjoyed this article and feel free to check out my website to learn more.
Author Resource:
Construction Santa Barbara is a local licensed and insured building contractor in the Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpenteria area. If your looking for a green building contractor or more information on building green in Santa Barbara check out our website at http://constructionsantabarbara.com
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