Get Off The Grid - Get A Solar Power System
Solar power is now a viable option for many homeowners as the cost of electricity continues to soar year on year. One thing is for sure, energy costs will only rise further are energy cost caps expire or are removed. Building a home solar power system is really the only way you can get 'off the grid' and become energy independent, a dream which many homeowners currently aspire to. Saving tens of thousands of dollars over the next two decades could become a distinct possibility if you build a large enough solar power system. You will need to take into account where you live and the energy demands of your home.
The Savings Are In The Figures
Amazing savings are available. Your only cost is the initial fee to install the solar power system, as one the system is installed you will never have to purchase power again. At first, the $20,000 or more that you spend on such a system will be more expensive than several years of electricity. Eventually though, the system will pay itself off, offset by rises in energy costs. Additionally, a large tax credit will bring a welcome sizable rebate. In this way, home solar power systems effectively cost much less than their price tag because of various energy initiatives that lower the cost of these products. No matter the size of the solar system that you use, it will pay itself off in about ten years or so.
Selling electricity back to the energy company may become a reality as it his highly possible you may produce more than you need. But an average household probably won't produce enough electricity from their solar power system to make this a reality. Just think about the winter months when less electricity will be produced because their is less sunlight available. However, the average household could be further renovated to save even more energy and become greener. Newer types of insulation, better windows, and other upgrades can save thousands of dollars a year in energy costs. By changing you incandescent light bulbs for energy saving bulbs every household can still save hundreds of dollars each year.
Getting away from the grid is a long term goal that can be expensive at first but the benefits are well worth it in the long run. In the years to come making your home green and more energy efficient will become even more cheaper to achieve. They will not only use less electricity, but more homes will produce their own electricity as well. In addition to existing energy initiatives such as hydrogen fuel cell and electric cars and better mass transit systems, America is making huge steps to energy independence, and you can begin now by renovating your business or home with a solar power system.
About the Author: Discover the advantages of home solar power systems and the amount of money they can save you. Home Solar Power Ideas has all the details you need to make a solar panel in just one weekend!
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How The Military Is Using Alternative Energy
The US military knows that its branches must revamp their thinking about how to engage in "the theater of war" in the new, post-Cold War world of the 21st century. One thing that the military leaders stress is the desire for the forces deployed in the theater to be able to be more energy-independent. Currently the US military has policies and procedures in place to interact with allies or sympathetic local populaces to help its forces in the field get their needed energy and clean water when engaged in a foreign military campaign. However, this is not wholly reliable, as the US might well find itself facing unilateral military activities, or have itself in a situation where its allies cannot help it with the resources it needs to conduct its military actions successfully.
The US military is very interested in certain alternative energies that, with the right research and development technologically, can make it energy independent, or at least a great deal more so, on the battlefield. One of the things that greatly interests the military along these lines is the development of small nuclear reactors, which could be portable, for producing theater-local electricity. The military is impressed with how clean-burning nuclear reactors are and how energy efficient they are. Making them portable for the typical warfare of today's highly mobile, small-scaled military operations is something they are researching. The most prominent thing that the US military thinks these small nuclear reactors would be useful for involves the removal of hydrogen (for fuel cell) from seawater. It also thinks that converting seawater to hydrogen fuel in this way would have less negative impact on the environment than its current practices of remaining supplied out in the field.
Seawater is, in fact, the military's highest interest when it comes to the matter of alternative energy supply. Seawater can be endlessly "mined" for hydrogen, which in turn powers advanced fuel cells. Using OTEC, seawater can also be endlessly converted into desalinated, potable water. Potable water and hydrogen for power are two of the things that a near-future deployed military force will need most of all.
In the cores of nuclear reactors-which as stated above are devices highly interesting, in portable form, to the US military-we encounter temperatures greater than 1000 degrees Celsius. When this level of temperature is mixed with a thermo-chemical water-splitting procedure, we have on our hands the most efficient means of breaking down water into its component parts, which are molecular hydrogen and oxygen. The minerals and salts that are contained in seawater would have to be extracted via a desalination process in order to make the way clear for the water-splitting process. These could then be utilized, such as in vitamins or in salt shakers, or simply sent back to the ocean (recycling). Using the power of nuclear reactors to extract this hydrogen from the sea, in order to then input that into fuel cells to power advanced airplanes, tanks, ground vehicles, and the like, is clearly high on the R & D priority list of the military.
About the Author: Find tips about growing beets and benefits of beets at the Fruits And Vegetables website.
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