May 18 2008
Learning About Solar Power Energy
Solar power energy is really considered as being the mother of most renewable energies on earth. The sun powers natural cycles on earth like the wind, water flow and plant growth, but it can also be used for a variety of applications that we often take for granted.
Lighting in and around our homes for instance does not need to use up fossil fuels and other forms of energy, but instead can be switched to solar power energy. This is advantages in many ways, including that you will save money and that you will not doing harm to the earth by polluting it as you do when you use regular electricity and energy sources.
Even cars can now be completely powered by solar power energy, and although you may not be willing to take this leap right away, you can start off small by changing a few of the lights in your home or garden to solar powered lights.
Solar Energy in Buildings
There are three basic approaches when it comes to ways to gain maximum benefits of solar energy in buildings, and these are: passive solar, active solar heating, and solar photovoltaic systems.
The first, passive solar architecture is a building design approach that seeks to maximize solar gains in the building and ensure a high degree of comfort by using controlled ventilation and daylighting.
There is the active solar heating option and this is one of the primary ways for buildings to use solar energy. This is a technology which uses solar collectors to take the energy from the sun and then convert it into energy that can be used for day to day applications.
Finally there are the solar photovoltaic systems, which use daylight to convert solar radiation into electricity. These are advantageous because they do not require direct sunlight as some solar powered applications do.
Solar power energy is a free and inexhaustible resource, so it only makes sense that you would try to take advantage of it as best you can. You will not only be doing good to others, and the environment by not polluting, but you will also notice a significant savings in your finances as you do not have to pay for solar power energy.
Even if you decide not to actually use solar energy you will still enjoy the financial benefits of energy efficiency and about how solar energy benefits health, education, economics and the environment.
Campaign Urges Restaurants to Take Marlin Off the Menu
(ARA) - The next time you’re in a restaurant and see marlin on the menu, “just say no.” That’s the message of a new, nationwide campaign called “Take Marlin Off the Menu,” which is urging consumers to stop eating marlin, and restaurants to take marlin and other [...]
By Pegah Aarabi
(NC)—The holiday party season doesn’t have to be strenuous for you or the environment. Add a “green” theme to your party to liven things up and do your part. Here are six ways to turn your next holiday event into a “greeny” good time.
1. Serve organic drinks and foods. Offer organic fruits, vegetables, [...]
How A Forest Products Company is Making a Real Environmental Impact
(ARA) – With the growing popularity of green building practices, more companies are incorporating environmental and sustainability policies. These are all positive steps toward reducing the impact of global warming and caring for our earth. But what do you really know about a product you [...]
To help take money out of the gas tank this fall and put it back into the classroom, school districts across the country are switching to propane-fueled buses as a means of coping with swelling diesel costs. And the lesson that families and schools are learning is more than simple economics. While it’s cheaper than [...]
The green building and remodeling movement puts great emphasis on natural lighting, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency. Moving air through our homes and distributing light can be, and usually is, accomplished by a combination of mechanical and passive means, with a fan and an open window for example. But, in today’s technical world, what’s [...]