Reducing your carbon footprint at home is made much easier nowadays, thanks to affordable, renewable energy sources. While some are more cost effective than others, all are capable of helping homeowners reduce their energy bills, while reducing their reliance on harmful fossil fuels.
Below are 6 of the most effective ways to power your home using renewable energy:
At the top of the list with good reason, solar systems are becoming increasingly more affordable, and through solar photovoltaic panels installed on the roof, you can use the sun to generate enough electricity to power your home.
Capable of generating power even when it’s not sunny, that power can then be stored in batteries, so that you can still have enough power under the cover of darkness. Better still, any electricity you generate that you don’t use, can be sold back to the grid.
While the sight of gigantic wind turbines in wide open spaces is now a common sight, they also come in smaller versions that can be erected at people’s homes; either as a free-standing pole or attached to the building itself. Electricity is generated as the blades turn in the wind, driving the internal turbine and creating power.
This renewable energy system uses heat from the air outside to provide homes with heating and hot water, and can be described as working in a similar way to a refrigerator, but the opposite way round.
Almost totally silent when operating, this is a clean and environmentally friendly heating source, and can save homeowners money on their heating bills every month.
Providing heating and hot water by burning organic materials, like wood pellets, chips or logs, biomass heating systems can reduce your carbon footprint when compared to other methods that rely on burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Experts have found that a biomass system can save homeowners hundreds of dollars on their heating bills every year.
As well as providing your home with electricity via the suns rays, a solar energy system can give you all the hot water and heating you need, all year round. The power generated from the solar system heats up water that is then stored in a hot water cylinder, and the size of the solar panels you choose, will depend upon your electricity and heating needs.
While most of us think of large-scale hydroelectric power plants that operate industries, you can actually buy smaller systems for the home, although this will depend whether you live close to a natural water source, such as a river or lake. On a river with a one metre drop, a hydroelectric system can generate enough power to power a home, all year round.
Solar energy systems are by and large the most affordable option for the average homeowner, and are a great way to begin reducing your carbon footprint and saving money on your energy bills.
