|
In this tough economy, every dollar saved can add up to thousands of dollars a year. Sometimes even when your home is paid for, some people cannot afford to provide the hot water or heat required to live in it. In areas where sunshine is abundant and in cold countries, using solar hot water and solar heat in your building design will save you thousands of dollars a year. In order to build an energy saving home, here are some tips: 1. Examine the houses that were popular a hundred years ago. Our ancestors had to use ingenious methods to provide free solar hot water or solar heating for their homes because fuel or electricity was either unavailable or expensive. For example, in Spain people built cave houses to provide natural cooling to the home. In areas where heat was required, they installed a lot of windows and used heavy curtains in the winter to keep the solar heat inside 2. Consider the sun when orienting your building. Depending on your climate, orient your house with consideration of whether you wish to avoid the sun's rays or collect them. For example, south-facing glass (in northern climates) will collect the sun's heat even in winter. In addition, by installing a solar hot water system like the SolarBeam Concentrator, you can heat your home and provide free solar hot water all year round. As an added bonus, you can use the solar heat to heat the pool in the summer. The SolarBeam can provide as much energy as 15 flat panels and because it installed in the ground, you do not need to worry about damaging your roof when installing flat panels. In addition, many insurance companies do not cover structural damage when flat panels are installed on roofs, so that is something to keep in mind. 3. Build as small a house as your household can comfortably inhabit. Obviously, the smaller the house, the less space there is inside it to heat, cool, light and maintain. However, if you can afford to build a big home, then install a solar hot water system and PV panels. You will have free solar hot water and free electricity and you will pay less per month for energy than that small trailer down the road from you. Who says big homes can’t be energy efficient? 4. Limit your "exposed" walls. Buildings like townhouses, duplexes, apartments or just attached single family homes eliminate walls facing the outside. Less outside exposure provides more protection from losing air and temperature from inside the house. 5. Provide ample and consistent insulation. A well-insulated wall will do no good next to an open window. Use foam board insulating sheathing (instead of, or on top of, the structural OSB/plywood) as it works for both insulation and moisture/condensation control. There are lots of innovative building systems for insulation (e.g. SIPS structural foam panels, insulated concrete forms (ICFs), externally insulated buildings, straw bale construction). All are good ideas to consider. 6. Select good windows. Fewer and smaller windows can provide less opportunity to counteract the positive impacts of your excellent insulation. If you do have windows, use heavy curtains during cloudy days to keep the heat inside your home. Good windows are low emissivity coated, double or triple glazed, or with argon fill gas. 7. Choose energy-efficient mechanical equipment (water heater, air conditioner when necessary, furnace). These are generally labeled as such at the store. When possible use alternative energy; either solar hot water,solar electricity or wind energy as your main fuel source. The other systems can work as a backup when the natural resources are not available. 8. Select an efficient refrigerator. After heating, cooling and water heating, address the electric loads inside the house. The refrigerator is probably most important since it's always on. 9. Light consciously. Carefully placed windows (and furniture) can reduce your need for electric lighting during the day. For example, make sure the living room and kitchen have windows that aren't obstructed inside or out. If you do not want to use lamps, choose lamp fixtures that use compact fluorescent and not incandescent or halogen lamps There are many ways to save money when building your new home. By adding alternative energy, you can build a large home and still use less energy than the small trailers down the road. Here the author tairoylance says a. solar heat and solar hot water for more information, please http://www.solartronenergy.com/
Related Articles -
solar hot water, solar heat,
|
