What Does Green Travel Mean?

The terms green travel, eco travel, and green tourism are basically interchangeable. The concepts don’t necessarily refer to vacations with a concentration on nature or wilderness. In fact, green travel can take you anywhere from the Australian Outback to the bustling cities of the U.S.A. and Europe.

To become a green traveler, you simply need to incorporate the basic ideals of green living into your travelling experience. For instance, if you are mindful of recycling at home, you will want to carry that habit over into your traveling and be careful to recycle wherever it is you might journey. Perhaps take a bicycle tour instead of a bus tour, and leave a lighter carbon footprint on the place you are visiting. Don’t litter when visiting someone else’s country, city, or place.

There is also a social context to green travel. You don’t want to do anything that would negatively impact on the eco-structure of the place you are visiting, and neither would you want to do anything that has a negative cultural impact, as well. Be respectful and mindful of tradition and cultural practices. Many societies outside of our own have time honored methods of doing things that differ vastly from ours. Before you visit a foreign place, educate yourself about the traditions and heritage of that region. Green travel extends to socially aware travel. It’s a natural crossroads.

Green travel seeks to turn the negative effects of tourism into something more positive. Travel and touring can be beneficial to a location’s economy and disastrous to its eco-system at the same time. This is particularly important to remember when visiting nature sites. An eco- traveler does everything he or she can to enhance their positive impact and eliminate the negative impact of their visit. Like taking a hiking tour instead of a driving tour, being sure to leave the location as clean or cleaner than when you arrived, purchasing mementos from native artisans instead of purchasing factory-made items from fancy gift shops.

If your idea of eco travel, however, is to experience nature or wilderness, then you may want to visit some of the world’s most exotic green travel destinations, which include:

• Madre De Dios, Peru – Rainforest conservation groups promote ecotourism to the area in the hope of creating an economy that depends upon the rainforest remaining healthy and intact.
• Dubai – The ecotourism industry in Dubai helps to protect the desert habitat and the species that live in it, like the exotic Arabian oryx, a large white antelope that was once close to extinction.
• Great Bear Forest In British Columbia, Canada – A global ecological treasure, this coastal forest extends for 250 miles and is home to rare and exotic bird species.
• The Galapagos Islands – Visitors to the Galapagos are accompanied at all times by an accredited park ranger to ensure that you enjoy the natural beauty of the islands and the threatened wildlife that inhabits these without causing damage to their environment.
• Kerala, India – Known as ‘God’s Own Country’ and one of the most sought-after destinations in Asia, boasting some of the richest biodiversity on the planet.
• Costa Rica – Costa Rica is one of the world’s most sought-after eco-travel destinations, with hundreds of companies that specialize in providing sustainable services.
• New Zealand – One of the most beautiful places on earth, this isolated island country draws ecotourists in droves and engages in environmentally and culturally sensitive tourism strategies and practices at local community, private business and government levels.

Adequate planning can ensure a fantastic green travel experience. In this day and age, all types of eco-friendly options are available to travellers who are willing to plan ahead. You can start your green travel by planning to offset your carbon emissions from air travel. Some airlines, like British Airways, offer you the opportunity to offset the carbon footprint of your trip by making a donation based upon your flight plan. These donations are then made to eco-friendly technologies like hydroelectric production or solar production. Such an offset will generally cost you anywhere from $10 to $50 depending on your flight.

The next thing you might want to consider doing while making your green travel plans is to book lodgings at an environmentally friendly hotel or hostel. There are more and more places to stay that will give you green travel options and they can easily be found on the Internet while planning your trip.

Lastly, try to book activities that are earth friendly rather than not.

These are just a few easy ways that can help make your next holiday a green travel experience.

If you are interested in learning more about ways to go green, save money and help the planet, go to www.FreeTipsForGoingGreen.com and subscribe to receive a FREE email daily containing great green living tips for making your home, office and life greener and more eco friendly. For more details, visit Eco Tourism

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Green Technologies – A Guide For Beginners

Green technologies employ environmental science for conservation. There are some very basic green technologies, such as recycling, water purification, air purification, sewage treatment, waste management, renewable energy, and energy conservation.

Recycling is one of the most popular green technologies used around the planet. Recycling is the reuse of materials that can be salvaged and reprocessed, rather than discarded. Significant quantities of paper, metal, and plastic items are recycled each day around the world. Cartons, boxes, bottles, cans, jugs, and jars are among the hundreds of types of items suitable for recycling.

Removing impurities from water is one of the main green technologies. Whether it is the manufacture and distribution of water purification products to mount on your faucet at home or developing treatment systems for entire cities and towns, water purification is a significant and vital green technology. Clean water contributes to a healthy earth and healthy humankind. A significant number of today’s most virulent diseases are spread by contaminated water.

Green technologies can be used to improve air quality. Reforestation is an ongoing effort to continue to plant trees, which are essential to clean air and the health of the planet and all living organisms. Removing sources of contamination from carpeting and furniture, to building materials and paint, can help purify indoor air.

Wastewater treatment is a method where green technologies are used to facilitate the natural process of water purification. The primary stage of wastewater treatment allows solids to settle and be directly extracted from the water, while the secondary stage involves treating the water with a biological process that uses its own bacteria. Green technologies support the use of ultraviolet light or ozone instead of using chlorine in the water purification process.

Green technologies utilize the four R’s when it comes to waste management. Those are, recycle, reuse, reduce, and recover. Simply put, when referring to waste management, the strongest green initiative is to reduce the amount of waste that humans create. We can achieve this by recycling as much as we possibly can, reusing products or containers rather than discarding them, and recovering as much from our waste as possible.

Renewable energy is without a doubt one of the most researched green technologies. Utilizing solar power, wind power, hydroelectric and other sources of renewable energy, we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and conserve the world’s vital natural resources. One of the fundamental premises of renewable energy is that its sources can never be depleted and its implementation is eco-friendly.

Energy conservation technology employs methodology to reduce the amount of energy we use to do almost anything from washing our clothes to illuminating our homes. This is one of the vastest of the green technologies because of its application to almost every facet of our lives. There is a means available to conserve or reduce the amount of energy we use to do nearly everything. Energy conservation technology, like renewable energy technology, is evolving everyday in its efforts to bring to a minimum the environmental impact of energy consumption.

Above, we have outlined some of the most basic green technologies. Their process and application to their particular fields are varied and detailed. The function of green technologies in our lives becomes even more important as we aim to reduce the human impact on the planet and its natural resources

If you are interested in learning more about ways to go green, save money and help the planet, visit this site to receive a FREE green living tip delivered to your email inbox each day: Sustainable Living Tips

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New Innovation Strategy Helps Invent Green Gadgets

In this beginning of the 21th century, we are becoming more and more aware of the importance to preserve our environment. Our planet as been here for millions of years, but we’ve only been there for a couple thousands. If we want to survive as a race, we have to take care of our surroundings. For the last century, we have come to develop very interesting technologies. Some technologies we’ve invented are harming the environment very badly. A good innovation strategy could help us improve new technologies without doing any harm to our planet. A growing number of scientists are working hand in hand to develop new gadgets using solar power, wind power, plants…
Here is a great video to show you the efforts deployed in the green gadgets field:

Most of the new gadgets are not so green. Technology will not stop tomorrow, in the near future, their will be more and more pdas, cars, laptops, cell phones, etc. Thats why we need to innovate to create new solutions. The term innovation refers to a new way of doing something. We don’t have to reinvent everything here. We just have to think better when we are creating a product or buying a product. In our economy, what we decide to buy can change everything. If everyone would start buying green gadgets tomorrow, those would become more affortable and there would be more green gadgets on the market in a flick of switch. In my opinion, we need an innovation strategy that will help us change the way we are thinking about new technology.
Here is a short list of new green gadgets that will help improve our situation:

• LED lighting: light-emitting diodes have been around for a while now. But, it is just recently that we have started to see them replace more and more incandescent bulbs. Right there: it’s a 80% energy saving.
• Universal solar battery charger: this little device let you charge your small electronics with the built in solar panel. If it sunny and all your devices are already charged, it can collet energy from the sun and holds it in the internal battery for later use…
• Energy saving outlets: these are small outlets that you can connect on your wall outlets. It is a very simple way of saving energy from your home appliances and your electronic devices. While you don’t use your hardware, these outlets automatically cut the power. So nothing is wasting energy in standby mode.

But, that’s just the beginning. If we really want to makes things change in the next century, we have to do this as a team. New technology like Internet, teleconferencing, blogs and forums can help us work together by exchanging ideas. Our world as never been so connected than today and we have to take advantage of this situation. That’s part of our innovation strategy. The second part of this strategy is making the decision to become greener together. Most of us would rather make more money with a new gadget than creating a greener gadget and making a little less money. Organizations that produce electricity don’t want us to use alternative green energy sources, they want us to buy their electricity. When we will decide to turn our back to these companies and to pay a little bit more for green gadgets, a new world will be born.
The green gadgets are just one part of the innovation strategy I am talking about here. But, I think it is a very good start. Children of the new generation are craving for new gadgets. Maybe if they have more green gadgets, they would be inspired to create and buy more green technologies. After all, children are our future…

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You don’t have to be a fanatic to live green

Eco-responsible lifestyle recommendations are the main topic of many publications and web pages created in the last years. Though being a Toronto realtor gives me plenty of occasions to talk about the many ways of eco-friendly living with my clients, my topic today will be a bit more specific. My aim today is not to cover the whole subject of environmentally conscious living, giving all the tips you’ve probably heard before. Today I would like to consider the three very common things which people from the industrialized countries usually take for granted: food, water and electricity.

Groceries

Suppose that the majority of people are used to recycling part of their litter – at least paper, glass and metal, then we can say that most of the remaining household rubbish is comprised of food. The majority of the groceries that we throw away is in most cases in flawless condition and in some cases even in the original wrapper or box. The sad reality is that on average most families in Canada throw away 20 to 30% of food bought in shops. If we include all the food that is thrown out in stores and restaurants, we come to the conclusion that some 7 to 14 billion tons of groceries is thrown away every year. Speaking in money language, it means annual waste of $3 to 5 billion in Canadian dollars).

Now you are probably surprised by these societies directed at fighting hunger, and on the other side so much food being wasted right at our homes and neighbourhoods. But wait before you start packing the groceries you are not going to eat and sending it to places full of hungry people. There are some other methods you might want to try instead of throwing the food away. 1. Do you have any food left from yesterday? Try to incorporate it into today’s lunch. For example you can stuff some peppers with some leftover rice. 2. In your larder or food cabinet, try to stick to a simple habit: the groceries closest to the expiration date is always stored in front of the fresher ones. 3. It may happen that you know beforehand that there is some food you are not going to be able to eat before its expiration date. Instead of throwing it away, try to find a local charity or soup kitchen and bring your food there when it’s still serviceable. Let some people eat it – hunger isn’t only to Africa. 4. Have you thought about mulching the leftovers instead of dumping them? Maybe you will oppose that you don’t own a garden. But your neighbour might own one and may be able to help you to get rid of your leftovers.

Water

There are plenty of ways to avoid wasting water and you can probably name most of them yourself. One problem that comes to me when thinking about sensible water usage is the way we handle human waste: toilets. We got used to using toilets so much that we no more think of them – as long as they operate the way the are supposed to. But try to calculate the amount of water your household uses every month just for flushing the toilet. Big number, isn’t it? But it doesn’t have to be that much, there are some methods of reducing the amount of water necessary for every flushing. Basically, we can mention two useful recommendations: 1. Substitute your old toilet by a new type that has been designed to use as little water as possible. Just check out your local store – you might be amazed what choices regarding toilets there are today! 2. Another way of decreasing the amount of water for flushing is to place some plastic bottles filled with water into the tank of your toilet. Keep testing to find how little water is enough for the toilet to work properly.

Electric current

Here the situation is similar to the one with water and wasting it – there are a lot of tips on how to save electric energy to be found in books, magazines and on the Internet. But one of the machines that needs vast amounts of energy is one that you might be using daily: a tumble dryer. We got used to having anything we like or need immediately, that we no longer care how much superfluous resources are wasted just because we don’t want to wait. It’s a fact that no one has time today to wash clothes by hands and dishwashers actually save water. But tumble dryer? Would it be such a great obstacle if we just waited 1 – 2 days for our laundry to get dry? If you really want to “live green”, use your tumble dryer only in crisis situations or get rid of it (sell it) completely. In addition to the environment, you will save some money on your electricity bills as well.

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3 Types of Roof Gardens

Aesthetically pleasing, roof gardens are functional as well. In addition to growing food, roof gardens can also provide temperature control, hydrological benefits and architectural enhancements. In some instances they can even be wildlife habitats. There are a number of advantages when you plant a roof garden. On a hot day, for instance, the garden can cool the room beneath it. In the winter it can provide insulation from the cold. Water is retained from evaporating in Germany because roof gardens are required there. It will prevent flash floods from occurring. Three basic types of roof gardens exist. The primary differences are related to the depth of the soil, the type of plants the roof will support, and the required maintenance.

Extensive Roof Garden

Due to the shallow soil, this type of roof garden is easiest to maintain. Because they are lightweight, extensive roof gardens work wonderfully on top of garages, sheds and other small home extensions. Although it’s easy to maintain this type of roof garden, it has the least aesthetic value, and the number of plants that can grow on it is quite limited. Lichens and mosses are prime examples of plants that thrive in an extensive roof garden. Surfaces like metal, glass and plastic are ideal places for lichens, which are symbiotic organisms, to colonize. Mosses, which are small small green plants, do not depend on large amounts of nutrients for survival. Known for clinging to stones and walls, these plants can live off of nothing more than rainwater.

Semi-Extensive Roof Garden

These roof gardens, which have deeper soil, are capable of supporting a greater variety of plants. These types, therefore, are more easily decorated than extensive roof gardens. Stronger structures are needed to support semi-extensive roof gardens due to their having heavier soil. A good plant choice for this type of garden is sedums, which can store water in their tissues. That means you won’t need to go out and water them every day – but during times of drought, they could die and turn patchy if not properly cared for. Wildflowers that don’t need any maintenance are also ideal for semi-extensive roof gardens.

Intensive Roof Garden

This type of roof garden can support trees and elaborate arrangements. Intensive roof gardens require large, strong structures to support them. Concrete buildings and on top of roof decks are the most common places for intensive roof gardens to be installed since most single-home dwellings prove unsuitable for such projects. Assuming the structure of the building can support the weight, there is no limit to what you can plant in an intensive roof garden.

About the author: Megan Barlow helps others learn to live more eco-friendly lives. Find out more about green living at her blog on Green and Environmentally Friendly Gadgets.

This article was originally posted at Three Roof Garden Variations.

Why it is Important to Recycle Mobile Phones

There are many reasons to recycle mobile phones. As people continuously change their old mobile phones the number of unused handsets which end up at the ‘tip’ is on the rise. Therefore damaging our environment and threatening all living things nearby.

It is estimated that by the end of this year the number of new mobile phones being purchased will be over a billion! Meaning that a lot of people are going to want to recycle mobile phones in the not to distant future. The good news is that there are already many companies online that will recycle your old phone and even pay you for it!

Get Paid to Recycle Old Mobile Phones

Should you decide to recycle mobile phones don’t you reckon that you might as well receive a cheque in the process? Well, if your mobile is in good nick and not totally obsolete you may be in luck.

You should take a look on the internet and compare prices from the different mobile recycling companies to find the best deal for your old mobile phone. The process is pretty simple, go to one or more of the many sites available and enter all the relevant information, such as make, model and condition of your phone to see what they offer you for it.

When you find the best deal, you will be required to fill out a form on that particular recycler’s site and wait for your free postal bag to arrive. This will allow you to send in your mobile for free, although this offers you no insurance on the package. With this in mind, you really should consider paying a small amount to send it with a courier.

Non-working Mobile Phones

Has your phone ever fallen in the pool? Maybe it just stopped working the last time you dropped it? Sadly, if this is the case you may not get much for the phone, however you can feel satisfied that you helped protect the earth from the harmful substances, such as cadmium, found in all mobile phones.

Many online phone recycling companies exist that will happily pay you decent amounts of money for your old phone. The list below outlines some important things to consider when you choose to recycle mobile phones.

Many companies that recycle mobile phones often remove small delicate pieces from a damaged phone in order to repair another. On the other hand, they may simply scrap them for the precious metals contained inside.

One thing that you should know is that virtually all mobiles contain small amounts of precious metals such as gold, copper and silver. Just one phone would not pay for the trouble of extracting these precious materials but when you multiply 0.3 oz by thousands or even millions of phones you can see how this could become a lucrative activity.

Search Around

When you are ready to recycle mobile phones, make sure to search for the best offer amongst a few websites before proceeding.

Do not let those old mobile phones collect dust at the back of your drawer any longer, find out how much cash you could earn today!

Environmental Education – Working Towards A New Education For Our Kids

I’m not sure what it’s like in your country, but here in Australia, I’m deeply concerned about the lack of environmental education being taught in our schools. As a father, an individual, a member of the community and a concerned global citizen, I think it’s vitally important for our education to be responsible and relevant in the 21st century.

Just like in past generations, values, principles, behaviour, goals and priorities will change as a way of life, it has to, and our education needs to not only follow, but where possible, server as a catalyst for these changes. The issue is not related to questioning whether environmental education is essential, but which kind of environmental education is important, in order to incite a change of values and behaviours. Undoubtedly, if you’re a regular on www.EarthHuddle.com, you too are concerned about the social, economic and environmental changes currently sweeping our planet and the urgent action required for change.

When I was attending school about twenty five years ago, I was questioning the content, the relevance, and adaptation of my education. Today, as a wiser individual in an ever changing world, my questions and concerns back then have been justified. It is my opinion that the current ‘curriculum’ has changed little in this time despite the enormous changes witnessed in so many other areas. Twenty five years later and a hugely different world, with a whole set of new values, challenges and opportunities, it’s definitely time for a change in education. It’s time to properly introduce environmental education to our children.

The aim of environmental education should be to create a global population that is aware of, and concerned about, the environment and human impact on the environment. We must gain the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and commitment to work individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones. Environmental education is also about bridging social borders. It is an essential endeavor for the re-evaluation of modern society, thereby helping us in transitioning to a sustainable society.

Environmental education is, in most cases, a non-compulsory component of schools and, as a result, struggles for acceptance in mainstream formal and teacher education. ‘Alternative’ schooling such as Steiner and Montessori could be considered a slight exception. Because environmental education is multi-disciplinary, it is hard for teachers to work it into their narrowly-defined lesson plans. The framework for environmental education is in some ways radical, ambitious and transformative.

Environmental education, however, is the foundation for creating the green workforce of the new economy. It is for men, women and children of all cultures, including those for whom English is not the native language. It should not be restricted to in-class lesson plans for it is often taught or enhanced through outdoor experiences.

Environmental education is also good for student academic performance, and hands-on environmental education connects children with nature. Experience in environmental education is an asset and should be strongly encouraged.

The true aim of any environmental education is not only to raise kids with a healthy respect for the environment, but to help create a generation of leaders who will discover new ways to live in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

If you are interested in learning more about environmental education, consider joining www.EarthHuddle.com – a free online community focused on all areas of sustainable living, including renewable energy, recycling, water saving and eco-living.

For more information, plus environmental videos, articles, a discussion forum and a whole lot more, visit www.EarthHuddle.com

Do-it-yourself Geothermal Cooling

One form of alternative energy you can use in cooling your home is geothermal energy. This might sound surprising, but you can use the energy found in your own backyard by utilizing geothermal heat pumps. You can save up to 70% on cooling bills.

The bad news is that professionally installed geothermal systems are too expensive. The good news is that there are ways in which you can harness geothermal energy, to partially cool your house, without shelling out a fortune for it.

You might already be utilizing geothermal energy without realizing it. Northern state homeowners often use this renewable energy without their direct knowledge.

This article will teach you how to maximize the cool air that’s stored within your basement.

You need to have a basement, or at least some crawl space beneath your house, for this cooling method to work. You must be able to access the space from within the confines of your home. If the space has a small window or vent, this will help with the air flow. You’ll also need a small portable fan for this one.

The principle of geothermal cooling works this way. During hot summer days, the basement is cooler than most parts of the house. The basement’s exterior walls are controlled by the constant heat trapped a few feet underground, right next to the house’s foundation. The temperature penetrates the basement walls and cools the air trapped inside. You must then distribute the cool from this musty and damp air, throughout the rest of home.

The most efficient way of doing so is to cover your windows with shades or curtains during sunrise, to minimize the natural heating by the sun. During nighttime when the outside temperature falls below 75 degrees, open your upstairs windows while leaving your fan on, to suck in the cool air.

But, once the temperature get higher than 75 degrees, you can turn on your geothermal cooling system by opening one of the windows in the basement. You don’t need to fully open it. A small opening is enough just to let some air through. Be sure to close all other windows in your house except for one. That way, air flows through the open windows. The open window should be the highest one in your house. This will vent out the most hot air.

Your small fan should be turned on and pointed toward the window. This should make the air from the basement move up to the open window, and let the hot air go out. It usually takes between thirty minutes to one hour to circulate the cool air from the basement to the rest of the house.

This method of utilizing geothermal energy might seem to involve lots of work, but your family will benefit from it in the long run. You’ll see your dependency on your air conditioner decrease, resulting in lower energy bills.

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There are more ways to cool your homes without the need of plugging into the grid. For information on where to find complete and step-by-step instructions on how to install DIY Wind and Solar Power systems, along with pictures, videos, and diagrams, please visit Popular DIY Wind and Solar Power Guides.

You can also find more general information and solar power projects at Do-it-Yourself Solar Power.

Source Article: [uc]DIY[/uc] Geothermal Cooling

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• The Importance of Geothermal Power (themoderatevoice.com)

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What is Solar Cooling?

The best way to cool your home is to avoid using heat. But if can’t completely avoid the use of heat, and you certainly can’t prevent the heat which comes from the sun. Wind and solar cooling are among your options.

Solar heat can actually help cool your home. When a solar cooling system is set up properly, the hotter the temperature gets, the cooler your home will be. You might wonder how this works …

You can use heat to cool your home by using the forces of nature to pump air and drive the heat away.

Here are some DIY projects that you can consider, in the quest for a cooler home:

1. You can try building a thermal or solar chimney. This is a heated chimney that collects and ejects heat from the interior of the house. Once the chimney collects heat from the sun, it creates a vacuum effect that sucks in cool air, while hot air exits through the top vent. Your chimney can be in the form of a hole in the floor with ducts through the roof. You can cap the chimney with a turbine that will catch air, to help release hot air out of the structure. If you set it up in this fashion, your thermal chimney will be a wind chimney as well. This solution will make your cooling system work during the day, when the sun is up, as well as during the night, when the wind is blowing.

2. You could also use an evaporative cooler. We all know that when water absorbs heat, it evaporates. Thus, when air travels over water, it cools down. This method should be used when there is a low level of humidity. And be sure to use preventive measures against health hazards that can be presented by stagnant water – such as malaria, mildew, and Legionnaire’s Disease. The size of you evaporative cooler would depend on the size of your home. It usually consists of a box containing the fan, and a wet pad. It can be mounted on your roof, or at the side of your house. You can use a windmill to circulate the water that keeps the pad wet. The fan will blow the air through the pad and, and the air will eventually enter into the house via open windows or vents.

These are just some of the ways you can use solar and wind energy to cool your home. There are also kits you can buy – but like most DIY projects you can purchase what you need in a local hardware store. Commercially available kits are likely to cost more than what you would spend if you buy your parts separately, although they might also be faster and easier to set up.

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If you are looking for complete and step-by-step instructions on how to install DIY Wind and Solar Power systems, along with pictures, videos, and and diagrams, please see DIY Wind and Solar Cooling Methods.

For more basic information on solar cooling, see Solar Cooling

Source Article: DIY Wind and Solar Cooling Methods

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How To Introduce Solar Power For Homes

Considering introducing solar power into your home? Well, if so, you’ll be pleased to hear that I have gathered together some information so you can get a good idea of how much it will cost and exactly what the scale of the job is.

Start by deciding what percentage of your home are you going to be running on solar power. You could use solar power to provide a water-heating system. You could go to the furthest extreme and take your home completely off-grid thus ensuring the whole house is running on solar power. It’s up to you, but you have to find out the average amount of electricity your house uses per month.

To work out the average energy usage of your home, simply dig out your monthly electricity bills going back over the last two years. Get the calculator out. Be aware of the year’s peak times, like Christmas when you would normally go through a lot more power than normal. This way, we can establish your home’s solar power system so it can surely cope with all of your home’s energy demands.

Now, so you can sleep easy at nights, multiply that amount by a minimum of 1.5. If any extra appliances are brought into your house you remain fully covered. So, by the time you’ve done this you will know how much solar power you need. You will also be able to tell how many solar panels you will have to buy and what size they have to be.

In this day and age, you would almost always be best advised to look online when buying solar panels. Go to Ebay and enter the words “solar panel pallet” exactly as is. Sit back and be prepared to be amazed by the incredible bargains you will find there. If you think they seem expensive, please don’t forget that these prices are a one time cost and solar panels tend to last 25 to 30 years.

In every case, always employ a skilled, experienced solar power technician to install your solar power. You will find plenty online or in your telephone directory. Keep going until you have three quotations for the job, but don’t necessarily choose based entirely on the price. Cost is important, but you may feel more confident to get a job well done from an experienced solar power technician when installing solar power for homes.

You will also have to shop around for a good quality inverter. Solar panels give out direct (DC) current when harnessing the sun’s energy. The inverter will convert this DC current into alternating (AC) current from which we can all enjoy running all our electrical toys and gizmos.

Roughly costing $2,000 plus maybe $500 for installation, inverters will last you roughly 10 years. Bare in mind solar panels.

If you want to go off the grid completely, it is essential that you use good quality batteries to store the excess solar power you pull down on sunny days. Use this reserve of power to run your home’s electrical needs at night-time. The deep-cycle batteries will probably cost $50 to $100. I suggest you buy 10 of them. Their longevity is not so good as the inverter. Expect to have to replace them every 3-5 years.

Always ask your local authorities if they will give you any assistance for the cost of installing solar energy. Most local authorities offer tax credits. Ask your local utility company as well. They might have some good incentives or special deals. Do this right and you could save 50% off the total cost or more.

Although it is essential you get a qualified electrician, it’s reassuring to know that installing solar energy doesn’t mean you have to have a lot of electrical work. normally, the older the house, the more additional rewiring will be needed. However, this is not often an extensive job. I repeat though, be sure to use an experienced, qualified electrician.

Always remember that solar power is a long-term investment. When estimating the value of installing solar power, the question is, “What is the payback time?” After knowing that you now have a house that will be enjoying free electricity for many years to come!

Technorati Tags:: Solar Power, Solar Power Systems

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