Renewable Energy Development Blog

After a particularly cold winter in which I saw my utility bills skyrocket, I decided I needed to make some changes in the way I consumed energy. A friend of mine had recently taken his house off the grid, so I asked him to assist me with outfitting my home. He suggested that I try to build and install my own solar panels.

At first I wasn’t sure that I had the capability to build my own solar panels. Fortunately, I found a build your own solar energy website that outlined things pretty clearly. I expect that by the time winter rolls around I’ll have saved myself a couple grand by doing the work myself and from owing less to the electric company.

My youngest son is in the third grade and already he is learning what I would consider to be advanced science. Right now they’re learning about energy and the environment. In conjunction with Earth Day activities they were encouraged to work on reducing energy consumption at home.

Most kids in the class opted to waste less water or recycle more. Others went a bit further and asked their parents to switch out incandescent light bulbs with long lasting fluorescent light bulbs. Not my son. He looked up plans to build solar panels for the house. At first I panicked thinking it was too ambitious a project for him to achieve, but after looking over his plans, I saw that most supplies could be bought at the local hardware store. The step by step instructions seemed fairly straightforward, too.

Previously, we wrote about the growing need for trained solar power employees. We highlighted the training provided by Solar Energy International, but there are other solar energy training courses out there. The American Institute of Renewable Energy, for instance, offers a five-day course that covers solar radiation, photovoltaic technology, and grid installation. Wiring, inspections, and maintenance information is also covered in the training.

Solar PV Boot Camp by CleanEdison is another popular course. The six-day in-person class covers solar electric design, installation of solar panel systems, and business topics. At the end of the course, participants can take the certification exam. These training courses are available in approximately 50 cities around the country.

Solar energy is a growing industry. The Solar Energy Industries Association found that in the third quarter of 2010 the solar energy market in the U.S. grew by 38 percent. As a result of this growing industry, there is demand for workers with knowledge of how solar power works and how to properly install solar energy systems. In an effort to bolster the solar energy work forces, new solar energy training courses are popping up all over the country.

Solar Energy International, for example, offers a course on solar electric design and installation. Attendees learn the basics of photovoltaic systems, as well as how to size, protect, and ground solar electric systems. Following the course, attendees can take the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners entry-level exam.

Traveling by RV is something I would recommend to every family. You can see so much of the country firsthand. Plus, you save money by having your own traveling hotel that can feature many of the comforts of home.

Sometimes when our family goes on vacation we like to go to more remote locations. In order to power our electronics, I recently hooked up an RV solar panel system. Installing was a breeze with the handy solar installation guide that came with the panel system. Now when we go off exploring we know that things are humming along smoothly back in our RV thanks to solar power.

Even though we are in the throes of winter – or perhaps because we are in the throes of winter – I’ve already begun fantasizing of getting my pool ready for summer. This year I’m going to be installing a solar swimming pool heating system. I figure it will save money in the long run by reducing my electric bill, plus, solar power is better for the environment.

The solar energy guide to heating pools is fairly simple to explain. Water is heated in solar water collectors placed in an area that receives a lot of sun. Through a system of pumps, water is sucked out of the pool and into the collection tanks for heating, and then circulated back into the pool. The concept is easy to grasp, but I’m wondering how easy installation will be!

Hands-on experiments are the best way to teach children about the word of science. My son and I recently learned how to make solar energy power a light bulb. All we needed were copper sheeting, metal tongs, a gas burner, scouring pad, alligator clips with wiring, a clear jar, and salt. Most of these items we had in the home and the rest we picked up at the local hardware store.

Once we had all of our materials gathered, we put on our safety goggles and aprons, and got to work. First we heated one of the copper strips over the gas burner until it was red hot and a layer of black oxide formed. Using the tongs we then removed the copper sheet and let it cool for 20 minutes. Afterwards we scraped off the black oxide using the scouring pad. We then inserted the cooked and un-cooked copper sheets into the jar and attached the alligator clips. The negative clip went on the cooked strip and the positive clip went on the uncooked strip. We ran the wiring to the light fixture, added in salt and warm water, and placed the jar in the sun. Sure enough, our concoction powered the light bulb!

For a long time I’ve toyed with the idea of going “off the grid” by powering my home with renewable energy. Wind energy makes the most sense where I live. I’ve begun researching how to build a wind turbine because I want to save myself some costs up front. I did find that with a bit of know-how I could build my own wind turbine blades.

All I need is sandpaper, PVC pipe, jigsaw, tape measure, ruler, paper, tape, and scissors. As with any workshop job, it’s important to measure twice and cut once. I would need to measure out four equal sections of PVC pipe that are 50 cm long and 10 cm in diameter. I would also need to cut two by two inch sections from each pipe for later bolting, as well as taper the edges of each pipe to give it the proper blade shape. I think that I can handle this project, but I may need to call in some buddies to give me some more construction insights.

Going green is such a huge focus nowadays that it always baffles me when people aren’t aware of all the simple ways they can reduce electricity consumption. Imagine my surprise when my fiancé turned out to be one of those people! When we first moved in together he would drive me nuts by leaving lights on in rooms we weren’t in, or blasting the heat during the day when we were both at work, or even just running the water while brushing his teeth.

I would get incredibly annoyed having to constantly remind him to turn off the lights! After a while, I decided to write funny sticky notes and put them on the light switches, thermostats, and faucets. I didn’t have to yell anymore and he got the message. Now we can both live comfortably in a less wasteful home.

It’s been almost a month since my family and I started on our quest to conserve energy and save money on heating and electrical costs. The utility bills recently arrived in the mail, so I thought I would check in and let you readers know how things are progressing. First and foremost: Wow! The minor adjustments and sacrifices we’ve made have gone a long way to save us cash. In this economy, that really means something.

I had the furnace filter changed this month, which increased heating efficiency significantly. We also started looking into renewable solar energy systems and sources – such as solar panels and wind turbines – that could eventually be installed and used to our advantage. I’ve also found that turning a ceiling fan to “low” in the living room helps push warm air down where it can be enjoyed by our whole family