With public awareness increasing about conserving the natural resources on our planet, renewable energy resources have gained a lot of popularity. In 2008, only 18.5% of the globe’s energy demand was met by hydroelectric power as the chief source of renewable energy.
Fast forward to present times, we have solar and wind capacity installation alongside hydroelectric power. In total, about 25% of the world is powered through these green energy sources now.
This use of clean energy source is anticipated to strike 30% by 2022. Not only does renewable energy save the earth’s natural resources from running dry, but it also helps you to save some bucks.
For instance, geothermal sources of energy can help cut down between 25% to 50% of your electricity usage. This is in contrast with the electricity that you would otherwise use via employing conventional heating or cooling systems.
While these numbers may sound fascinating, the real question is how can we use renewable energy sources at our homes? To help you in this regard, here are some interesting ways you can use clean energy at your house:
1. Use Natural Light
The first and free way of incorporating renewable energy into your home is by using natural light. This is a, particularly, useful way during the daytime. So, open your curtain drapes and let the sunlight in.
It will help you reduce your electricity consumption. Plus, you can see better with all the natural light flowing into your house. Not to mention, natural light boosts your mood and is an excellent source of vitamin D that strengthens your bones.
2. Set Up A Wind Turbine
One of the best ways to employ the clean energy source of wind is to install a wind turbine. Carefully planned wind systems can help lessen energy costs by about 90%. An off-grid wind turbine system can cost anywhere in the range of $4,000 to $9,000.
However multiple factors including the wind flow, your location, and others play a role in determining if wind power is suitable for you or not. For example, you need a minimum of 10 mph to produce electricity via the wind. Thus, you need to consult several guides to be sure.
3. Use Natural Geo-energy
Another creative way to use clean energy at your house is by employing a ground source heat pump. It is possible that you may confuse ground source heat pumps with geothermal energy, but both are different.
Geothermal energy comes straight from ground sources of the earth including volcanic areas, hot springs, geysers, and so on. On the flip side, heat pumps use the earth’s temperature to cool and heat buildings.
These heat pumps can slash your use of electricity for heating and cleaning. Already, heating and cooling add to 48% of the electricity use in an average home in the US. The ground source heat pumps are therefore great for saving your money as these use roughly a quarter of electricity as compared to traditional systems.
4. Install Solar Roof Panels
Installing solar roof panels is one of the easiest ways of using renewable energy sources. If roof solar panels aren’t your cup of tea, you can opt for installing solar panels in your yard. If you are worried that your roof’s lifespan is almost nearing its end, you can use solar shingles.
Much like wind power, multiple factors determine the amount of green energy that you can generate via solar panels. For instance, the orientation of the panels and how close you are to the sun can assist in maximizing your energy generation.
Depending on such factors, you could produce ten or more watts of power per square foot. A typical house uses a minimum of a kilowatt of electricity so a few square feet of solar panels should meet most of your energy needs.
5. Get A Solar Oven
Downsizing here a bit, you can employ green energy in your house by building a solar oven. This is an incredible idea if you are not ready to tackle a big renewable energy project. Solar ovens may sound like a science fair project.
In reality though, you can replicate these ovens at your home. They trap sunlight to heat food. You can take on some DIY work to build a solar oven or buy one. These ovens help you heat your food for free, and they work even when you are facing a power outage.
6. Use A Solar Heater And Conditioner
You also have the option of a solar heater as a means of renewable energy at your home. These heaters employ the sun to heat a water reserve. This can then be pumped through your showerheads, faucets, or radiators.
Using a solar heater is cheaper than using electricity or gas to heat water. Plus, these are also easy to install and serve as green sources of energy as well. Moreover, you can avail these advantages in the form of a solar conditioner.
American homeowners spend an estimated $29 billion on air conditioning costs. Interestingly, solar power uses the same mechanism for saving your money and supplying green power for cooling as for heating.
In that, it uses the hot water in an air conditioner to help you keep your house cool in the summers. Therefore, you can easily switch to using solar air conditioning and heating for using clean energy while reducing your electricity bills.
Summing Up
As technology advances, it paves the way for tapping into renewable energy sources. Resultantly, you can use all sorts of green energy sources including the solar and wind energy at your home on both large scale and small scale.
In addition to the ways mentioned above, you can use more advanced tech such as the Tesla Powerwall to harness more of clean energy. You can also get in touch with companies such as Terramera Corporation to learn more on how to use cleantech at your home.
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