Taking advantage of what is readily available is the easiest way to harness powerful sources. Solar power is the process of gathering the sun’s radiation and creating electricity from it. Some solar power is absorbed on silicon or photovoltaic cells, while other systems use mirrors to heat water which turns to steam and runs generators. Recent advances have made discount solar panels available.

Wind power is another simple process which harnesses a natural element for power. A wind turbine uses the motion from the wind to create power which is then converted into electricity. That power is fed through a system of generators and grids until it arrives at a power station where it is used by customers.

Hydro-power involves the collection of flowing water by channeling it into piping. The water then turns generators which produce electricity. Hydro-power is an abundant resource and also consists of wave and tidal energy. The Hoover Dam is the largest example of a hydro-power plant in the United States. Both wave and tidal research are at the beginning stages of research, but are making progress with today’s advancements. The world’s first tidal stream generator was completed in 2007 at Strangford Lough in Ireland.

Geothermal power takes trapped underground heat and builds it into energy as it rises to the surface. This heat then creates a natural hot water or steam and it is the steam which makes electricity by turning a steam turbine. Geothermal power has been around for commercial purposes since the 1900’s when it was put to use by Italian’s.

Biomass has become a very resourceful and useful form of creating power. Biomass burns fuel in boilers to warm up water which then turns a steam turbine. The steam turbine generates electricity. The great thing about biomass is that the biomass fuel can come from things we do no really want anyways like; trash, wood pieces and manure.

Although many of these different types of power can not be harnessed by individuals, some can. You will probably not be setting up a geothermal power plant in your back yard, but you can line you roof with solar power cells to help gather radiation. A small yard may not have room for a wind turbine, but farmers and ranchers will have space to “plant” some windmill’s for electricity.

Green energy is a constantly evolving science. We have managed to perfect old systems such as geothermal power, while still researching new methods like biomass and tidal power. It may take time for the perfect combination of methods to be known and put to use, but in the mean time, we can educate ourselves on the benefits of renewable power. Knowing what is is and what it does, will help us prepare for when it becomes standard use.

Solar thermal is usually black with a matte finish. It collects heat energy from the sun and can be used to heat things. You often hear about solar hot water heaters. These are powered by solar thermal systems. The system heats water or another liquid, then the heat is transferred to water or air, or whatever you want to warm up. Commercially, solar thermal systems are used to power steam turbines. Let’s look at the pros and cons of using solar thermal in your home.

Pros

Solar thermal systems are up to 70% efficient in collecting heat energy from the sun.

The technology is dependable and less complex than photovoltaics. This translates into lower costs and shorter payback periods, typically 3-5 year.

Less roof space is required than photovoltaic solar panels.

Cons

There is less thermal energy to collect in the winter, which is when you need to heat air and water more. Conversely, they experience peak performance in warmer weather, when you need the heat less.

Solar thermal systems are not as versatile as photovoltaics. Their energy can only be used to heat things. It can’t be converted into electricity and used to power air conditioners and refrigerators.

Solar photovoltaic panels are usually blue and shiny. They collect sunlight and convert it to electricity, which can be used to power anything that runs on electricity. Let’s look at the pros and cons of this type of system.

Pros

Photovoltaic systems collect the most energy during the summer when light from the sun is stronger and lasts longer each day. This coincides with the times you need to most electricity to power air conditioners and refrigerators.

Photovoltaic panels are environmentally friendly, producing clean electricity.

Photovoltaic systems have been around for more than 30 years. If you have it professionally installed, it usually has a long warranty of 25 years or more.

Electricity produced by photovoltaics can be used to power a variety of appliances, and can offset 60% or more of your household energy needs. The number of panels determines the amount of energy collected. You can install a system to accommodate small power needs, or expand the system to produce more power. The only limit is the size of your roof, or wherever you’re going to install the panels. Often, the electric company charges you more per kilowatt when you use more power. This means that even a small system can save you a lot of money. Some power companies can even buy back the excess power produced by your solar panels.

Solar panels can protect the roof from wear. There are even panels that look like roofing materials, although they are a little pricier than the standard panels.

Cons

Although solar panels prices are falling, the upfront investment is larger and typically takes more than 10 years to pay for itself in terms of saved energy costs even if you find a good price on solar panels for sale. The raw materials are expensive, and that translates into higher costs.

The average efficiency is still under 20%. The good news is that it is efficient to produce the energy in the same place that it’s going to be used – your home. The power company loses a lot of electricity transporting it from its sources to your house.
The roof space required is significant, often the majority of your sun-facing roof. Factors such as shade from trees and roof pitch determine how much power can be collected by each panel.

Both types of systems are better, more environmentally friendly, and in the long run, less expensive than relying on energy from fossil fuels. There are state and federal incentives to help reduce the costs. Best of all, they’re not mutually exclusive. Some homes use both types of solar energy.

I went to the grocery store, and one of the things I bought was a big tray of steaks. They were pretty juicy, so I put a plastic bag around them. Since it was a really long tray, the plastic bag didn’t cover the whole thing, but I put it in my cart with the bag on the bottom so that any drippings would be caught in the plastic and continued my shopping. When I got home, I found that the box person had put the steaks in my reusable bag with the bag on the top. There were drippings on the bottom of the bag and on my other groceries in that same bag. I was lucky that it didn’t leak out of the bag into my car. Now I could see how bacteria could get in the bags.

So took the thick plastic liner out of the bottom of the bag, wiped it down with bleach and water, and threw the rest of the bag in the washing machine. It came out fine, still holds its shape, and life goes on.

I understand how sterile disposable products can be, but we’re creating a major environmental problem with all the stuff that we throw away, especially things that aren’t biodegradable. When I went through this process, I realized that everything I buy is already packaged – in plastic, cardboard, styrofoam and glass. What did people do before all this stuff came into common, everyday use? I think they just used good old fashioned soap and water.

I think we need to reduce our use of disposable products, even if it takes a little bit of washing to make it work. Hmmm. I wonder if my laundry detergent is biodegradable…

Cost of Solar Power

The first question of course, is how much will it cost. I want to reduce my negative impact on the environment, but the more that costs, the harder it is. With solar power, you can save on your electric bill.  So the question becomes how long will it take to recover the cost of installing the solar panels.

The first step is to find out how much it would cost to install solar power for my specific house. I’m not ready to call contractors out for bids yet. I’d feel bad wasting their time when I’m not really ready to commit. So I found an online calculator.  This is the website of a California company that installs solar systems.

I went through my old electric bills and found out that my average bill is about $150. Then I went to REC Solar’s online calculator. Using the tool, I look up my house using an online map. Then I draw an outline of the roof area where I’d like to put solar panels. South facing is best, but East or West could work too. You tell it what your roof pitch is, what direction it slopes down and how much shade it gets. It calculates how much sunlight the panels can collect. I enter my average electric bill and who my power company is, and it calculates the cost and the anticipated savings. It tells me that the system will cost $48,000 and that there are incentives which bring the net price down to $25,654. If the price of electricity stays the same, I would break even in about 14 years. After that, I’d just have free power. Cool.

But this calculator assumes that my average electric bill is the same every month. Actually, it’s significantly higher in the summer when the air conditioner is running. My power company is SCE, and they don’t buy back excess electricity. This means that on those winter days when I don’t use much, any excess electricity will be wasted. And on those hot summer days, I’ll need to buy electricity from SCE. I’ve seen some information about batteries that can store the power. I’ll have to check out their cost and capacity.  I seriously doubt if they can save enough power from the winter to use in the summer.

I probably need a smaller system.  One that will provide less than 90% of my average monthly electricity.  I notice that the calculator has a field for Solar System Size and that it’s set to Premium. The other choices are Value and Starter. I selected Value, which offsets about 75% of my electric bill and costs $19,240 after incentives. Starter provides 54% of my average electricity and costs $13,702 after incentives.  Hmmm. I think electricity bills are graduated, meaning that my first kilowatt costs less than my last. This should mean that I’ll get more bang for the buck with a smaller system. On the other hand, I’m sure there are costs of installing the system that remain the same no matter how many panels you install. I’ll have to think more about this, but for now I’m going to concentrate on the Starter plan. It still comes out to about 14 years to recover the cost, but now I think it’s more accurate because I know I can use all of the power it generates. If my power company purchased kilowatts I didn’t need, I might make a different decision. If I had an electric car, which I hope to one day, I’d probably go bigger. I’ll want to make sure that I can start small now and add panels later.

There are still some other factors to investigate before it’s time to get bids. I need to find out whether the tool accurately estimated the amount of solar power I’ll get from that many square feet, whether I’ll really be able to get those incentives, how I’ll finance the cost, whether my homeowner’s association allows solar panels, what kind of expenses are required to maintain the system, and whether I should do it myself or hire someone. But those are questions for another day.

I think I’m going to have a hard time resisting the next time I see solar panels for sale.

Then I got another piece of good news.  Ralphs gives me 5 points for each reusable bag I use – each time!  That’s a nickel for each bag each time I shop!  Cool!

The next green endeavor on my mind is solar power for my house.  This costs a lot more than my reusable bags, so I don’t think it will happen as quickly, but I’ve started my research and I’m determined to make this thing happen.  But that’s another post.

Of course I had known that I should do this for some time, but…  My problem was that the grocery stores all sell bags (at very low prices) with their advertising on them.  Well, I regularly shop at three different stores.  I don’t want to go into one store with bags from another store.  And I certainly don’t want to carry three sets of bags!  But in this blog, the author gave the addresses of websites that sell reusable bags without advertising from my local grocery stores. That plus the offer of the free bag was enough to push me off the fence. So after a little research, I bought 10 bags from Bags on the Run for about $25. Plus I got the one free bag for promising to go green.

When the bags arrived, my kids were thrilled.  It’s not easy to do something right in the eyes of your teenagers, so I considered this a major victory.

But the first time I went to the store, I forgot and left the bags in the car.  This isn’t going to be easy. Old habits die hard. But tonight I stopped at the store for ‘just a few things’ and I remembered the bags. They’re bigger than plastic grocery bags and they hold their shape better. There’s a flat panel at the bottom that helps. The cashier and the box person didn’t look twice, so I must not be the only person skipping the plastic. So I’m on my way to going green – very slowly.

And I’ll never tell my kids that when I worked at the grocery store 100 years ago I used to double bag heavy groceries – in paper.