| How much money do you spend every month | | | | because the fluid or water inside the tubes will |
| for household appliances that involved heating | | | | only be circulated inside the tubes. Heat exchange |
| elements such as electric stove, water heater or | | | | is done by the tubes body which will heat up |
| iron? In the United States alone they are | | | | water in the tank through a heat exchanger. |
| responsible for 40 to 50 percent of the total | | | | To power your household appliances you can |
| utility bill, together with the AC. Such expenses | | | | install the electric solar panels. Unlike solar heating |
| can be reduced if people know how to convert | | | | panels that use the sun heat to directly heat the |
| their residences to solar homes. | | | | fluid, electric solar panels convert sunbeams into |
| There are some options available to reduce your | | | | electricity via the photovoltaic cells. The panels' |
| electricity bill using the free sun energy. The | | | | output is DC so you have to invert it to AC to |
| simplest way to save energy without requiring | | | | power your home appliances through the use of |
| any special equipment is by converting the houses | | | | the solar inverter. |
| to passive solar homes that utilize the homes | | | | The solar electricity can either be stored in the |
| design to provide natural light, heating and cooling. | | | | utility grid or in the battery bank. Having an on-grid |
| Basically passive solar homes will block the sun's | | | | system is the most economical way to go |
| heat in sunny summer months and utilize the | | | | because you don't have to buy the expensive |
| same heat to keep the residences warm during | | | | solar batteries. The home solar system is |
| winter months. The construction materials and | | | | integrated to the utility grid allowing you to send |
| design play a significant role to achieve this goal. | | | | the electricity to the grid thus reversing the |
| Passive solar homes can use sunlight to directly | | | | meter backwards. You get credit from the utility |
| heat the rooms or living area where the radiant | | | | company and if your solar panels don't produce |
| heat will be absorbed by the flooring materials and | | | | electricity - in cloudy days or during night for |
| furniture inside. You should have a south facing | | | | example - you just withdraw the electricity from |
| window for this purpose. Another way to heat up | | | | the grid as other ordinary homes do. However |
| your home is by utilizing a Trombe wall to collect | | | | this system will not give you electricity during |
| heat and distribute the heated air throughout the | | | | power outages. If you live in a place that |
| rooms by means of fans and thermal mass such | | | | commonly bothered by utility blackout you may |
| as stone or brick. Thermal mass are materials | | | | consider purchasing batteries to back up the main |
| that have the natural ability to collect and store | | | | utility source. |
| heat. Trombe wall is also equipped with passive | | | | People living in isolated areas with no power lines |
| cooling to block the sunlight from entering the | | | | available can only rely on the off-grid system. To |
| south facing window during summer season. | | | | back up this system a wind turbine can be a |
| For general household hot water used for cooking, | | | | perfect companion provided there are enough |
| cleaning, laundry or showers you can use solar | | | | wind in that areas. Other option is to back up the |
| heating panel. There are two types of solar | | | | system with a gas powered generator. |
| heating panel. The first one is an open loop | | | | Regardless of which options you prefer, energy |
| system. Heat collected from the sun is used to | | | | efficiency is the most critical factor to successful |
| directly heat the water filled tubes. Water inside | | | | solar homes application. You have to be able to |
| the heated tubes will then be circulated to the | | | | minimize the need for electricity, cooling and |
| water tank with the help of an electric pump. The | | | | heating. Never use the solar electricity to power |
| other type of the solar thermal panel is the closed | | | | your electric stove or water heater for example |
| loop system. This system does not allow fluid | | | | because any devices using electric heating |
| change between the tubes and the water tank | | | | element to create heat consume a lot of power. |