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Written by Graham Hall
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You are no doubt familiar with the expression, "can't see the
wood for the trees". It means when something is so obvious you
often overlook it. OK, so what's the most obvious thing that you
are overlooking every day, something that could put money in
your pocket on a daily basis 365?
If you hadn't read the headline you would never have guessed.
The actual answer is "daylight".
All you need to turn daylight into cash is a solar panel. They
can put money in your pocket, or to be more precise they can
reduce your expenditure and allow you to keep more of your hard
earned cash in your pocket.
How do they work?
There are two distinct technologies at work here. One is called
solar (PV) or photovoltaic that will turn light into
electricity, which you can then use to power up your appliances.
Solar (PV) is a brilliant technology that is under constant
development and will eventually lead to houses being built with
solar roofs. Right now, due to cost per Kw, it is best suited to
smaller applications such as garden lighting, pond pumps and
mobile use on boats etc.
If the rate of development echoes that of the computer, which
has gone from mainframe to laptop in under 20 years, it won't be
long before you are much less dependant on your power company.
Solar thermal, however is already a well-tested technology and
has almost universal appeal, but through lack of education or
human inertia is still under utilized in many developed
countries. Domestic take-up of these panels differs dramatically
from county to country, with Germany having reached a level of
50% of domestic homes with solar thermal, against the UK with
around 2%.
With energy costs set to rise to unparalleled levels in the near
future, more should be done to educate the people to the
benefits of installing solar panels. Solar energy is a free and
ever-lasting source that doesn't pollute the atmosphere and,
being cheap to install with extremely low maintenance costs, is
surely the route to take.
It may be the misconception that solar thermal requires direct
sunlight to produce heat and that northern European climates are
not suitable candidates. Due to continued research, panels have
been designed for just such climates that are capable of turning
diffuse daylight into heat without the need for clear blue
skies.
So if you want to reduce your energy bills by using a free,
everlasting source, that will provide around 70% of your hot
water annually and at the same time dramatically reduce your
impact on climate change, you need to be looking at a solar
thermal system for your home.
About the Author:
Graham has worked in energy related industries for 40 years and
now runs a website dedicated to educating the homeowners to the
benefits of "going solar". Solar Energy is Free Energy. Solar
Energy is Zero Carbon Energy. Visit his website: Solarism.co.uk
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