Air Conditioning 2.0

Solar Attic Fans

One of the more popular uses of solar power in the home is the solar attic fan.

As its name implies, a solar attic fan is powered and activated by sunlight. It is installed into the roof of the attic, with its panels facing the sky.

Why would one need a solar-powered attic fan?

Well, for that matter, what is the purpose of an attic fan?

Since heat rises, all of the heat in a home tends to rise up into the attic. If this heat has no easy outlet, it will simply get stuck up there. This causes the over-heating. When combined with a lack of proper ventilation, this leads to dampness, mildew, and the the like.

Furthermore, when the accumulated attic heat is not allowed to escape, the temperature of the entire home rises.

While there are some circumstances under which you want to warm up your home, there are other circumstances under which you would prefer to cool it down. A lack of sufficient ventilation in a hot attic can make matters difficult. Thus, an attic fan can play an important role in allowing you to control the temperature of your home.

Okay, now that we understand what the purpose of this fan is, why would we want it to be solar-powered?

The first answer is obvious - to use greener energy and to avoid using energy sources which damage the environment.

By using solar power for the fan, we can also save a bit of money on electricity.

But a more pragmatic reason for using a solar powered fan is the simple fact that it is basically “wireless.” You won’t have to worry about installing electrical wires and cables into your attic, in order to run your fan.

Solar-powered fans are relatively simple to install into one’s attic. But if you aren’t an enthusiastic DIYer ready to climb onto your roof with a knife and a hammer, you will probably want to get someone else to do it.

When installing a solar-powered fan into the roof, one has to actually cut a hole into the roof and install the fan in that spot. It’s smart to install it on the south facing side, which will receive more sun (unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case you would obviously install it on the north side). There is a certain degree of skill involved, as is normally the case when one considers the prospect of climbing up on the roof, removing shingles and roofing material, and cutting a hole through to the other side without damaging any rafters.

But overall the process does not take a long time, for someone who knows what they’re doing. The installation of the fan should be well worth the trouble in the long run, particularly if you live in a hot climate. It will run at virtually no running cost, while reducing the overall level of heat in your home. That reduces the costs involved with cooling your home (using less energy-efficient methods, such as Air Conditioning).

So, even if you don’t give a hoot about the environment, a solar attic fan might be a very worthwhile financial investment. Providing you do have an attic.

Anna
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/solar-attic-fans-715918.html

Compact Electric Power Generator For The Home Based On Solar Energy

The small solar-power generator for homes is waiting to be built as of today, 2008. Parts and components for a solar power generator have been invented, developed, and are in operation for many years, but the full electrical equipment that powers up a home, has not been integrated and is not ready for the market place.

The home power generator (HPG) based on sun heat requires a small solar dish to collect the heat, a small Stirling engine capable of moving a 3 KWh electrical generator, the power generator and a battery system to store one or two days generated electricity. The battery bank would then supply 24/7 electricity to any outlet upon demand. An additional gas heater installation can be included to backup the lack of sun light, making the system a reliable alternative. Components for this home power generator have yet to be integrated into an appliance homeowners can buy at Sears, Home Depot or other stores, and have it installed.  Larger Power Generators using Stirling Engine are a reality and have been developed by Infinia Corporation for the California Solar Plant.

CENTRALIZED POWER GENERATION
Large power generation and distribution companies, are staying away from the home markets. There are 44 companies in the United States that generate and distribute electricity, with 403 billion in revenues, making profits of 36 billion p/year, who wish to continue charging each consumer forever. Developing technology for homes can hurt their central power generation business. Although their plans may include the diversification of their power source, such as: nuclear, hydro, solar, thermal power, as well as, continuing the use of coal, natural gas, oil, it does not include the home power generation market.

Sunlight is the only energy available to all homes, free of charge, provided by God and nature. If sunlight was harness by each consumer to power up their home, central power generators and distributors may not be needed. Other power generating technologies coming from thermal power, hydro or nuclear power, are innocuous to these utility companies, because home owners will never use these energy sources to generate their own power. Thus we can expect that current power utility companies will continue to use these traditional sources of energy extensively, and will defer and try to derail home solar technology as much as they can, as long as they can.

When no other alternative existed for obtaining electricity as we have had in the past, electricity supplied from these large plants was welcomed. But today, with so many more technologies available, large power generation plants and centralized business model is highly inefficient because: 1. consumers pay more and forever, to these virtual monopolies; 2. homes need to be within the reach of the electrical grids, remote country homes not tied to the grid need to find other ways to power up their home; 3. flying electrical cables through the streets provide for visual contamination and make streets and neighborhoods look bad; 4. the land used for laying down the high tension cables is about 3%; 99% of the power generated comes from contaminating fuels, either fossil fuels or radioactive materials; and lastly the expensive investment plant model inhibits poor countries from obtaining electricity. In essence the centralized power plants have American paying electricity forever, and are the direct cause for poverty and starvation in the world.  Please read on Poverty generation:  http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/poverty-and-the-new-world-order-809385.html

We need to understand that insisting in generating electricity via very large plants, without the development of the Home Power Generator, creates world poverty, inhibits poor countries from obtaining electricity, inhibits people in those countries to produce food and make products to generate an income which can sustain themselves, and comes back to the USA in terms of the help we need to provide but always as charity. 

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Since FPL, Duque Energy, Constellation Energy and the other 39 companies are incapable of developing the HPG, other investors are need to develop this light weight Solar power generation industry. , similar to the Air conditioning manufacturing plants. Development and fabrication of the HPG would be the integration of the 4 components, which can be produced or outsourced by the investor, making the investment accessible to smaller investors. The HPG appliance will be maintenance free, operating cost free, can be sold all over the world, to power up homes and eliminating the electricity cost of those using it.

Juan Trevino
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-opportunities-articles/compact-electric-power-generator-for-the-home-based-on-solar-energy-725300.html

The Importance of Solar Energy to our Everyday Lives

Daily headlines make everyone aware of the dangerous situation in which our environment must operate. The human population has historically overtaxed its natural resources and today we are seeing the long-term effects of this selfish behavior. While many people try to reduce their “carbon footprint” by recycling, spending their money in more effective ways and eating a more “earth friendly” diet, one of the most important practices we should all begin is improving our energy efficiency.

One of the most well developed methods of becoming energy efficient is through the use of renewable energies such as outdoor solar lights. In fact solar power is the best developed and most broadly applied of the modern energy technologies and almost anyone can use it to reduce their traditional energy consumption.

How? It is actually quite simple to recognize the ways in which the sun’s energy can be put to use in even the most basic methods. For example, during the hot summer months a home owner or apartment dweller could close all window blinds, curtains or shades to reduce their need for air conditioning or home cooling. (Imagine a summer without warnings about “rolling blackouts” because everyone has to keep their air conditioner turned to its highest settings simply because they allowed the sun to pound into the room all day long.) Alternately during the winter months they could easily rely on the sun’s warmth to heat up a room during the earlier hours of the day and then close the blinds before dusk in order to capture the remaining heat.

Those who have the financial means can use solar energy in a significantly wider number of ways, and not just to heat their domestic hot water or supply their homes with some energy. While such functions are ideally where all home owners should be headed, currently the materials and equipment required to convert a home’s energy supply entirely to a solar powered system are not within everyone’s budget or ability. Home owners can however employ a wide number of solar powered LED lights and appliances (including radios, solar landscape lights, ovens and attic fans) as an effective approach towards energy efficiency.

Finally, solar power has finally reached the automobile industry and several major manufacturers have promised consumers that they will make cars with rooftop solar panels available by the year 2010. While such vehicles may not be fully powered through solar energy it is clearly a step towards a healthier planet.

Jonathan Gal
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/the-importance-of-solar-energy-to-our-everyday-lives-734197.html

does anyone know how i can get financial help (capitol) for a new concept car ?

The vehicle (passenger class) is already constructed which absolutely exhausted me financially and i need help finishing it and finding a viable marketing means .The vehicle uses no fossile fuels ,no batteries ,no solar power ,no electricity . NONDISCLOSURE FORM REQUIRED for futher details . Will be virtually maintance free and last approximately 2,000,000 highway miles .The current configuration is passenger (5 persons) but can be made a sport vehicle with little retooling necessary . The vehicle will be designated 0.00 emissions . Funds needed to develope " build" (creature comforts) i.e. Air Conditioning ets…any help would be greatly appreciated and might be financially vialble for the individual that provides necessary information .Projected completion amount approximately 75,000 . Thank You Paul M. Maxwell Innovative Technologies

Go to this website and use the search feature on the right to find investors:

http://www.vfinance.com/home.asp?ToolPage=venca.asp

Sounds like a very interesting project… good luck!

how much does the shade from rooftop solar panels reduce energy consumption in cooling? (assume 100% covered)?

So if an average home roof in North America is covered with solar panels, how much does the shade from the panels reduce the demand for cooling via other methods, i.e. Air Conditioning? I’m not looking for how much power they generate, but how much power they save strictly from the shade they provide.

Found the site listed in the source. It compares different roofing material and the temperature rise resulting. One could imagine that the solar panels would be smooth. The other source goes on to say cooler roofing material can reduce air conditioning costs 10-20%.

how much does the shade from rooftop solar panels reduce energy consumption in cooling? (assume 100% covered)?

So if an average home roof in North America is covered with solar panels, how much does the shade from the panels reduce the demand for cooling via other methods, i.e. air conditioning? I’m not looking for how much power they generate, but how much power they save strictly from the shade they provide.

Found the site listed in the source. It compares different roofing material and the temperature rise resulting. One could imagine that the solar panels would be smooth. The other source goes on to say cooler roofing material can reduce Air Conditioning costs 10-20%.

I want to know some thing about solar energy?

suppose a person wants to do central a.c. (air condition) of his home by solar energy can he do it ? Please tell me the process. Will he have to pay the extra bill to electricity office for it or not

Yes, it can be done. Solar power is actually very powerful. As mentioned above it is very costly, but this is if you purchase pre-made solar panels ( which typically fetch $1000-$3000 each depending on the brand).

There are now ways to produce solar panels on your own. It’s actually really cheap (under $200) and easy to do. Building them is basically nothing more than a weekend project and is very much easily accomplished with a blueprint aide.

Check out http://inhomesolarenergy.com - Great Guide there for making them on your own.

Like I said, it’s much cheaper than buying them from a manufacturer.

How to Rename Your Breakfast Nook

Can you decorate your morning? Of course you can. Heck, you can decorate a pet ferret if you’re so inclined, although I’d be sending some men in white coats your way if I saw you do it. “Morning rooms” exist, they rock, and in the grand words of my old high school English professor, “‘nuf said on the subject”.

Lots of people have never even heard the expression “morning room” and those who have usually envision a room residing somewhere in Bruce Wayne Manor, right next to the secret door that leads to the Bat Cave. In fact many homes built after the turn of the last century have an area that can be used as a breakfast nook. The difference between a breakfast nook and a morning room is essentially flowers, comfortable chairs, good coffee, and pompous attitude, so potentially you already own a “morning room”, it just has an identity crisis. Now if only you had a butler named Alfred and a secret lair.

So, if you’re following along, one can consider the “morning room” as the classier incarnation of that tried and true “breakfast nook”. This epiphany - of course - assumes that you make significantly less than $10, 000, 000.00 British Pounds per year. If you are a rich bugger, then the concept of “morning room” can contain an entirely different meaning.

The purpose of a morning room is to have a sanctuary within your private house or establishment - where people can sit, talk, relax, ponder, e.t.c… during daylight hours. Also, genetically speaking, it is within our human nature to seek sunlight upon waking so as to acclimatize our bodies and minds for the day ahead. In that respect a morning room is a perfect spot to nibble a quick bite, grab a coffee and gather your thoughts.

• Factoid: In my relentless pursuit to inform and educate, I’ve come to discover that morning rooms are - for the most part - designed for morning use. I tell you fair and gentle reader, I leave no stone unturned, no weed unearthed.

So if by now, you still are unclear as to what a morning room is, I’ll quote my 16 year old son and then … ‘nuf said on the subject.

“It’s kind of .. like… just a place where you can chill and munch out before school.”

So how do you appropriately adorn and decorate a morning room? Of course this all comes down to your personal style, but there are a few things worth noting:

• Darker wall colors will absorb natural light and heat, so they can be useful to keep your guests from feeling as if they’re sitting inside a solar flare. The opposite can be said for your color choice of furnishings, because incessant sunlight can heat up a dark seat like a frying pan.
• Any respective artwork will want to have some darker shadings, perhaps even textures, to make it feature more within the natural light surrounding it.
• Window coverings - if at all necessary - should be sheer and loose, having a translucent quality. This can be achieved using any open weaved decorative fabric.
• Certain high-light plants can give you that “outdoorsy” feeling, should you be so inclined. Larger floor plants work if your “nook” is on the larger scale. Plants such as Norfolk Island Pine, Weeping Fig, even Fiddle-leaved Fig plants can work well in bright, sunlit areas as accent pieces. Otherwise, you can achieve a similar feel by utilizing a good soft toned *flower arrangement as a center piece on your table.

A morning room is easy to decorate as long as you start by defining it as a “mini-dining room for sun worship”. You will of course need an appropriate table - I prefer smallish - with a few comfortable chairs surrounding it. I wouldn’t go for a table that sits too high vertically; instead try to find something that’s in between dining table height and coffee table height. I have seen a few very attractive morning rooms with typical dining room chairs being used, but my personal preference is to bargain hunt for some good quality high seated, cushioned chairs. These are not the soft and cushy flop chairs you find in a master bedroom or living room, but a kind of hybrid dining chair that adds lots of padding and some “sink in” value. They can be found at any furniture gallery worth a salt. I keep harping on the chairs because seating is one of the more important elements of a good “morning room”. It should be more comfortable than a typical dining ensemble, and should enable you to sit upright for a spot of tea as well as be comfortable when leaning back to meditate on the coming day.

Your morning room will certainly want to face the rising sun, otherwise forget a morning room and get a light therapy machine. (I’m kidding, I think) Assuming your room IS guided to glory by the rising of the sun, it will be well lit by a natural light source and this creates two potentially negative effects on the room:

1. Temperature: sunlight produces quite a bit of excess heat, more-so when accumulated in small spaces. You will want to try and offset this with a powerful, yet quiet ceiling fan or a small Air Conditioning unit. Floor model fans are usually miserable in a small room as their use often results in a napkin blowing Festival Of Doom. Unless you’re prepared to tie everything in the nook down, forget a standing fan for cooling. It’s just not really conducive to a relaxing morning coffee when your chasing around the sports section. Get your cardio workouts in the gym, I say.
2. With natural light, aesthetic imperfections are magnified at least 436, 799 (and 1/3rd) times. OK I’m not so sure about the statistic, but I can tell you that fading paint or a chipped fruit bowl seem to have a Rock Star Spotlight on it in a morning room. Room dust can also hinder your morning tranquility, as it just seems to hang in the air, reflecting the sunlight and reminding you of just exactly that which is landing on your breakfast bagel and eggs. As such, you will want to keep the room well maintained and as dust free as possible.

*For full disclosure I have to say that when I commence to feats of decorating prowess, the rule is to never use real flowers in small spaces, using nooks as the prime example. Flower arrangements can produce pollen and irritate sinuses, not the best way for someone to start their day. If you have guests occasionally and you don’t wish to keep a candy dish of antihistamines near by, lose the FTD credit card already. Flowers can also significantly add to dust in a small area, even when kept perfectly. So if you choose to go the route of having a flower arrangement, spend a little extra and get a nice faux flower deal and put some aroma therapy candles around for the scent of lavender, Jasmine, or my personal favorite, burgamot.

Dollars to donuts says that if you have a detached private home there is an area available that you can designate a “morning room”. If not, oh well, no loss really, after all sunlight is highly overrated. (I’m kidding again, I think) If you feel like taking a break from eating toast on your way to work however, recon your home for that one place pointing towards the big, bright and shiny ball in the sky, and start your creative juices to build your own little piece of morning nirvana. Me, I hate mornings, even when they come after noon. I’ll stick to the bat cave, thank you very much.

Peter F Gibson
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/how-to-rename-your-breakfast-nook-746523.html

Should I cut down my trees to go "green"?

Our government wants to give me a monetary incentive (tax rebate) to put up solar panels on my house in Florida. I currently have large oak trees that shade my house thereby reducing the energy use for Air Conditioning but also preventing me from putting up solar panels. If I go along with the government plan, I will cut down the oak trees so I can go solar (Cut down the trees to go "green"?!!!). There are several issues I must deal with here:

1) Cutting down those beautiful old oaks will make make the various fauna homeless.
2) Those oaks pull a lot of CO2 from the air. Won’t I get a net increase of greenhouse gases by cutting down and burning (or just natural decaying) them?
3) Solar is a BIG dollar investment that might be wiped out with the next hurricane. (No one makes 120mph wind solar panels)

Why is our government so short-sighted and simple-minded over this "global warming" issue?

Keeping the Oak trees and building solar panels are indeed great ways to become earth-friendly.As you say,the oak trees produce carbon dioxide and also shade for your home.The Oak trees are indeed a great benefit for yourself as well as the environment.However,the solar panels built can help you to save electricity and as well save the natural resources used for electricity.Both have their own benefits.

You can either choose both if you have enough spaces or either cut down some old Oak trees and build the solar panel.

Which is more energy-efficient: a hollow-core door or a solid wood exterior door w/ 10 glass panes?

We want to replace a low-quality hollow-core door in our 1899 cottage with an antique solid exterior-rated door with 10 panes of beveled glass but are concerned about energy-efficiency.

We live in San Francisco and almost never use heating and never use Air Conditioning. We both agree that the door with the panes would be much more attractive.

I think that the glass-paned door could provide us with passive solar heating through the panes (we don’t have any windows on that side of the house), but my sweetie thinks that the heat loss from the panes would negate any solar heating effect.

Is the hollow-core door more energy-efficient than the solid door with glass? And if so, how much more? Or is weatherstripping more of an issue?

Thanks!

It depends on a number of factors. A holow-core door can be very energy-efficient (the airspace acts as an insulator)–but it has to be a good quality door designed with this in mind (the hollow interior has to be sealed.

A solid wood door is very good, though–but the panes should be "double-panes (two layers of glass with an insulating space between.

However–for doors, the most important factor is usually not the door itself, but the frame and weatherstripping. The frame/weatherstripping need to be in good condition and form a seal (on all four sides–don’t forget the bottom) or you will have so much leakage that you might as well nt bother with making the door energy efficient.

As for passive heating via the panes–that will work in principle (it’s essentially how a greenhouse works. I’m not sure how much heat you’lll get from that, though.