Saturday, August 25, 2012

DIY Solar Panels - Build Your Own Homemade Solar Panels

By Kevin Nutt


Solar systems can be a great addition to your home, and many people are having them installed and experiencing the benefits. If you are considering putting a photovoltaic system up on your roof, be sure to weigh all the pros and cons, in order to be certain it's the right decision for you and your home. The following article will touch on the advantages, as well as the disadvantages of adding a solar photovoltaic system to your house.

One question you need to ask yourself when considering solar panels is whether your place of business or home is in a location that can make optimum use of solar panels. If you are in an area that is surrounded by trees or buildings that will block a good amount of the sunlight, then you are going to be less benefited by solar panels. However, if you are in a home that will receive a good amount of sunlight for the majority of the day, then you are in an optimum location to invest in solar panels.

For you to enjoy the costless, renewable and eco-friendly sun-power to the maximum level, you can always resort to the installation of photovoltaic panels for your home. These energy collectors are extremely dependable - rain or shine - day in and day out! Furthermore, since solar panels are securely built and intact with no moving parts, you have nothing to worry about replacement parts. These require very minimal maintenance and almost maintenance-free! Most of all, you need not worry anymore about the regular pricey utility bill because you are already off the grid.

Find out how much your solar panels are going to cost you. Get in touch with a professional and have him or her inspect your property. The exposure of your property and size of your household will determine how many solar panels you need and what kind of technology you should invest in. Once you get a better idea of how much this investment will cost you, you can figure out how many years you will have to make payments on your system. In most cases, you will start saving money on your energy bills after fifteen years. Solar energy is a good investment if you intend on staying in your home for a long time.

Make sure you have a professional come install the equipment. This is first of all to ensure your safety. It takes more than one person for installation anyway in order to maintain a safe environment. Also, you want to ensure quality. This is a big plan and a big investment. Make sure that you protect your investment by having a professional come out and do the installation.

Know how solar energy will work. Many people think that solar energy means that you do not need to use electricity anymore, but in many places that is exactly what happens. You may be using electricity on days when there are storms and the sky is overcast. Find out what power you are going to be using, and find out how your system will work before spending money to get the process started.

With the clean energy awareness level at an all time high, solar energy is one of the most attractive alternate energy options. Solar energy is a clean alternate energy option which is good for the environment. These days, solar energy is considered one of the most green energy alternatives.

The choice of solar conversion is one that will save you money over time. You will be helping out the environment and your wallet in the long run.




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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Hybrid Car Myths

By Colin Jones

If you are considering a hybrid vehicle, you may be hearing quite a bit of "talk". Some people think the hybrid car is the best thing since sliced bread. Other people say it will just pass. Yet other people again say they think they can save a lot of money, but you're not sure it's really worth it. What is the truth, and how do you separate fact from fiction with all of the stuff that is being thrown at you? Below, you can read and consider the usual hybrid vehicle myths.

Hybrid cars are just the same as electric cars: This is not true because hybrid vehicles are fuel-powered most of the time. But they have what are called 'battery assists'. The assist is powered by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack that is rechargeable.

You are guaranteed to economize with a hybrid car: If you are doing city driving, you may save gas and you may not. The same goes for long-distance driving. There are just too many different factors involved. It has been said that if everyone bought hybrid cars, the fuel consumption would decrease by only 10%. That's not a very big difference, is it?

A hybrid car's battery can run out: A hybrid car battery should not run out when you are actually driving it. The engine in a hybrid car does not idle when stopped (at a red light for example). What does it do instead? Well, it is recharging its battery. So, there is no need to worry about a hybrid car stopping for that reason.

A hybrid vehicle's rechargeable battery lasts only for two years: A hybrid car definitely would not be worth buying if this was true. A hybrid car's rechargeable batteries usually come with an 8-year warranty.

If I run out of gas, I can keep driving on the hybrid vehicle battery: Bear in mind, a hybrid car's battery is an assist. That means that hybrid car's still run on fuel. After you run out of gas, the battery could keep the car running for a short while. However, the car will stop running pretty soon.

Hybrid vehicles will soon put normal car dealers out of business: I'm sure that this won't happen very soon. The reason for the delay has to do with the how much a hybrid cars cost. Most people simply can't afford one. Also, people just aren't too sure whether they will actually save money on a hybrid car. Therefore, they are loathe to join the rush of people who want to own a hybrid car.

Hybrid cars will only save you about 88USD per annum: I did hear something on the news once, but it may not be true. If there's something you really want and there's a lot of rumour surrounding it, you simply have got to do some research yourself. There are many different types of hybrid car, and many different manufacturers make them. This means that there may be much more involved than we have time to discuss here. A hybrid car may be of use to you, and it may not, but at the end of the day, is up to you.

Therefore, please don't worry too much about what people tell you. They probably have only listened to others passing on rumours Do your own due diligence and make up your own mind. Try the Internet to get your information. The manufacturer's literature is also rather useful, if you stick to reading the facts and gloss over the gloss. Check that what the literature claims is also in the warranty.

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