| We use huge quantities of energy and pay for it | | | | up-facing near equator). |
| dearly with big electric bills. You can join those | | | | Installing skylights in your roof allows natural |
| who have freed themselves from 100% | | | | sunlight to illuminate your house for free. Sunlight |
| dependency upon traditional fuels and energy | | | | is more powerful than any bulb, so the light will |
| sources. You can start first with these small | | | | flow through much of the room where the |
| changes towards a solar power home conversion: | | | | skylight is installed. |
| First of all, find an energy calculator online to | | | | Solar cookers are turned towards the sun and |
| assess your current power usage. Try and find | | | | left until the food is cooked. With a solar cooker |
| one that is suitible for your country. Some | | | | the food is usually not stirred or turned over, |
| calculators can automatically add up the energy | | | | since opening the solar cooker will cause the |
| efficiency of your house currently. Some | | | | trapped heat to escape and thereby slows the |
| websites give you a graph that can demonstrate | | | | cooking process. To ensure that shadows from |
| what your house's potential might be after making | | | | any buildings or trees have not blocked the |
| some small changes. | | | | sunlight, the solar cooker may be checked every |
| Solar water tanks can heat stored water for | | | | one or two hours. |
| whatever reason you need hot water for (like | | | | As far as your car is concerned, a solar trickle |
| showers.) Solar panels for solar heating will supply | | | | charger to keep the battery of your car topped |
| energy for your house in lots of ways. The best | | | | off whenever the sun is shining. There is little |
| result is from relatively clear weather, but light | | | | chance in over-charging the battery as long as the |
| overcast conditions are at times beneficial as well. | | | | PV panel is less than 20 watts, even without a |
| Solar panels should have south facing exposure to | | | | charge controller. |
| the sun (north-facing in southern hemisphere, | | | | |