Solar Panels – Power your Home for Free

Solar power is generated when energy is extracted from the suns rays through the use of photovoltaic cells (commonly referred to as solar cells). These cells convert photos (from the suns rays) into electricity, and this process is known as the “photovoltaic effect.”

Many people are beginning to invest in such technologies to avoid rising electricity prices and to help our environment. If every home could be fitted with solar panels, then the strain on power stations would decrease dramatically, which means we wouldn’t be left as dependable on fossil fuels as we currently are.

There are many alternatives to solar power, so why should we invest our money into solar technologies, rather than lets say, home wind turbines, or a geothermal energy system? To answer this, we shall look at the advantages and disadvantages of the technologies above.

Solar Panels:

Advantages – widely available, relatively easy to install, very significant output, a solar panel will pay for itself in two to three years, lifetime of 20 to 30 years, modern cells can harness power on cloudy days, can bring power to remote locations.

Disadvantages – costly to begin with, older technologies won’t work too well if cloudy.

Wind Turbines:

Advantages – fairly cheap for a home turbine, can be used in harsh conditions.

Disadvantages – totally dependent on the wind, small output, larger turbines can be noisy, wind farms are seen by many as eyesores, larger (more effective) turbines can be very expensive.

Geothermal Energy:

Advantages – can aid in the heating of hot water, save money on running your boiler, can supply effective underfloor heating, heat from the ground can be relied upon.

Disadvantages – have to lay hundreds of meters of piping underground, hard to fix a leak, expensive, longer time to heat water than a boiler.

So there we have the advantages and disadvantages of each. Assuming you do not live by a rapid stream or running river (which rules out hydroelectric power), then as you can see from the above text, solar power is your best option. Solar panels offer many more friendly factors and less disadvantages than other technologies.

A proven method is to have more than one of the above technologies installed around a home (all three would be a dream, but also leave a large hole in your wallet). So if you have the spare cash, are interrested in saving money on future electricity bills, care for the environment, and would like to be less dependent on fossil fuels, why not take a deeper look into the world of renewable energy resources.

http://www.clean-energy-ideas.com/solar_panels.html

New Multi-million Learning Centre in Coedpeth Complies with the DDA

Coedpoeth’s new £2.3m Enterprise & Lifelong Learning Centre, Plas Pentwyn, incorporates a movemanSKG Prestige platform lift, which allows less able visitors to move between levels. It means Plas Pentwyn’s facilities, which include meeting rooms, a café, an information resource centre with 20 computers, business units and a playgroup, are accessible to all.

Plas Pentwyn aims to bring Coedpeth’s community closer together and provide learning and employment opportunities. The building is energy efficient and incorporates sustainable energy features, such as solar panels, a ground source heat pump, sunpipes, windcatcher and rainwater harvesting. Plas Pentwyn’s Prestige platform lift allows wheelchair users to access the reception/café area from the building’s lower level entrance.

Nicola Millar, Plas Pentwyn’s Centre Manager, is delighted; “Our Prestige platform lift satisfies our access requirements. It means less able visitors can further their learning at Plas Pentwyn and get the best out of its facilities – something we are keen to encourage! The lift is simple to use, comfortable to ride in and helps us comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).”

Finished in white to match the building, Plas Pentwyn’s Prestige travels nearly three metres between levels. It features tactile illuminated push button controls, positioned at a convenient height to allow wheelchair users to operate the lift independently. Controlled acceleration and deceleration mean no uncomfortable jolting at landings.

movemanSKG’s Prestige is extremely popular. A freestanding unit, it requires no wall or supporting structure, and lifts loads of up to 400kg. Prestige recently received Type Approval accreditation renewal from the Local Authority National Type Approval Confederation (LANTAC), which means it complies with all building regulations. This speeds up the planning process and reduces installation time.

Plas Pentwyn is the result of funding from the Urban II Programme, a community regeneration initiative supported by Wrexham Council’s economic development department, the Welsh Assembly’s local regeneration fund and the European Regional Development Fund.

Boyd Porter is movemanSKG’s Sales Manager.
Please direct all enquiries to [email protected]

movemanSKG is the UK market leader for specialist lifts. It was one of the first companies to recognise the special access needs of the wheelchair user and has subsequently installed over one thousand units.

As part of Otis it has unrivalled financial and technical resources. We offer technical expertise and advice to users and specifiers of these types of products.

For more information visit www.movemanskg.co.uk

How to Build a Solar Panel – Earth for Energy DIY Solar Kit Review

As most of you will know, purchasing solar panels is an expensive business. So expensive is the cost associated with installation of a solar system, it has put most of us off buying them.

Earth for Energy has developed a guide that shows you step-by-step how to build a solar panel. These how to build a solar panel guides (around $40) will walk you step-by-step via an illustrated manual and easy to follow videos through the process of building your own DIY solar power kit.

The guide shows you how to build a solar panel and generator with materials available from your local hardware store for less than $200! compare this to the thousands of dollars you would normally have to outlay and I am sure you will agree its an investment worth making.

Once installed you will soon be on your way to saving some serious money. The instructions are literally child’s play to follow, in fact get the whole family involved in the project, its educational and fun!

So don’t wait any longer, join the over 1 million US households implementing solar energy in one form or another. Remember not only will you be saving money by slashing your power bills by as much as 80%, you will also be doing your bit for the environment as solar is a clean, renewable energy source.

NOTE : If you act now you can save $40 off the normal price of the earth 4 energy how to build a solar panel and solar generator guide Click Here for more information.

Like most things released in this format there are some products to avoid, Click Here for a review on the best DIY Solar Power Kits available on the web

Jon Elsdon is a Solar Energy Consultant and Environmentalist. Jon is editor of http://www.solarpowerdiy.info to read more about solar energy solutions [Click Here]

Nationwide Finds DIY Could Help House Sales

Britons could be rushing to get themselves a home improvement loan following the latest tips from Nationwide about the best ways to sell your home, which reflected the need to have any outstanding do-it-yourself (DIY) work done and dusted.


A study commissioned by the building society into what buyers look for when they consider buying a property has created plenty of food for thought for those looking to sell their house, something that could encourage a number of those with their house on the market to look for the best home improvement loans to fund the work.


Commenting on the survey, Katie Harper, Nationwide media relations manager, said: “Higher interest rates and the resulting reduction in new buyers visiting estate agents continue to put further pressure on homeowners who are looking to sell. While there is no evidence to suggest that these top tips would command a higher price, sellers might find they come in useful when they do manage to encourage potential buyers to view their property.”


Tackling DIY disasters is an important factor, according to the building society. This top tip comes from the fact that 90 per cent of potential homebuyers thought that poor building work or bad DIY was a “big turn off”, according to Nationwide.


A big lure for potential buyers is how green a house is, with 82 per cent of respondents to the survey suggesting that environmental factors such as solar panels make a house more appealing. This was a larger number than those that found an attic room, period features or walk-in wardrobes important, a persuader for 68 per cent, 63 per cent and 62 per cent respectively. Again, some of these measures are food and drink for Britain’s DIY fans.


Away from the house itself, a home improvement loan could be used in part to fix up the garden and put up a fence, whether of panels or poplars. Some 80 per cent of respondents to Nationwide’s survey stated that they would think twice about putting an offer in on a property where privacy was not provided for in the garden.


The kitchen was seen as the most important room in the house by more than half of those involved in Nationwide’s survey, with 54 per cent seeing the room as the most influential as to whether they would put in an offer. A home improvement loan could provide the funds for a new kitchen suite.


Nationwide has said that the time of year people look to sell their property is also important, with potential sellers being warned to stay away from “the summer drought” as well as November and December, when the distraction of Christmas is all too near.


In June a study by Halifax revealed that 58 per cent of consumers have carried out home improvements in the last 12 months, many with the intention of adding value to their homes. About a quarter of those surveyed by Halifax hoped to add as much as 5,000 pounds to the value of their home.

Abbi Rouse writes for AllAboutLoans.co.uk, an online loans comparison site, visit us today for information on all loan topics including cheap loans applications and online loans sourcing from all leading UK providers. Our Site: http://news.allaboutloans.co.uk/