A quick and easy way to reduce your electricity bill is to turn off appliances at the powerpoint when you’re not using them. When things like computers and TVs switch into standby mode, they still use electricity, which can really add up over time.
To make your water heater even more efficient, drain the tank and flush out the sediment at the bottom (Photo 2). Otherwise, you could be heating through inches of sediment before heating the water.
If your fridge was made before 2001, it’s using at least 40 percent more electricity than new Energy Star models. If you’re replacing your fridge, buy an Energy Star model and recycle your old one. Don’t hook up the old one in the basement or garage—an inefficient refrigerator costs as much as $280 a year in electricity. Any money you save buying food in bulk and storing it in an inefficient second fridge is lost in electric costs.
A programmable thermostat can save you tons of money over the long run (as in, thousands of dollars). If you don’t have one, consider making the investment. It’s also one of the easiest ways to save electricity because of the whole set it and forget it approach. There are many ways to save on electricity.
Dishwashers may use electricity, but they save more energy, money, water and time than hand washing. According to the California Energy Commission, using an Energy Star-qualified dishwasher instead of hand washing can save you, on average, 5,200 gallons of water and $40 in utility costs each year, not to mention 240 hours of your time.
Insulate your home. Making sure there are good seals on the doors and windows leads to huge savings in energy costs. Insulation keeps your home from leaking cool air-conditioned air during the summer and warm heated air during the winter. Have a contractor inspect your home’s insulation to determine whether it’s efficient enough. Consider the attic, crawlspaces, basement, walls and ceiling. You may want to look into fitting your home with new insulation. Weather-strip your home by using caulk and weather strip in your doorways, windows and around window air conditioners. You can also purchase plastic sheeting to put over the windows during the winter.
If your family members can never seem to be able to turn off a light, then the best solution is motion detectors, such as the GE Indoor 120-degree Motion-sensing Light Control or the Defiant Indoor 360 Degree Motion Sensing Socket. They only turn on when someone’s in the room and then turn themselves off when they don’t detect any movement. You can get these at your local home improvement store and they simply screw into light sockets. Then, you screw the (hopefully energy efficient) light bulb into the motion detector. It’s crazy-easy, and the US Department of Energy says that using sensors like these can cut wasted lighting electricity by 30 percent.
Speaking of summer, if you run an AC, consider planting trees on the south and western sides of your house. The shade will help it stay cooler. Bonus points if they are fruit or nut producing trees too!
Understand that this saving is not restricting your freedom, but this a way to be fair to yourself, the nature and rest of the world. Unplug electric appliances when not in use to save electricity. Try to use the air conditioner less by turning on one at a time to cool the whole house. Instead of using the air conditioner, you can save money by opening windows or using fans, especially ceiling fans, and finally the best way to save money of electricity is to go solar and we can help you with that.
How many solar panels will I need for my home? The number of panels you’ll need for your home will depend on several factors. The easiest thing to do is to look at your electricity bill to get your home’s hourly energy usage, multiply that by the peak sunlight hours for your home (3 to 5 hours on average), and divide by 300, which is an average wattage for solar panels (although they can range from 150 to 370). Hourly energy usage x peak sunlight hours / 300 = number of panels. This typically ranges from 17-42 panels. One simple way of answering “How many solar panels do I need” is to let a local solar installer check out your home and give you a quote for system size (including number and wattage of panels), cost, and estimated annual and lifetime savings. Let our Solar Advisors match you with the perfect installer in your area.. Which is the best type of solar panel? There are several types of solar technology, but almost all home solar panels use crystalline silicon (monocrystalline or polycrystalline). The main difference is the purity of the silicon. Monocrystalline silicon is made from a single-crystal, and polycrystalline silicon is made by melting silicon fragments together. In monocrystalline panels, there are fewer impurities, so the electrons are less likely to get blocked before leaving as electricity, thus these panels are “more efficient” or better at turning sunlight into electricity. German produces the highest efficiency monocrystalline solar panels available. The best Solar Panels have efficiency of up to 22.8 percent, making it the best performing panel on the market today. Polycrystalline panel efficiency typically ranges from 15 to 17 percent. You may ask, Why do high-efficiency solar panels matter? More power in less space. A high efficiency rating ensures your solar system will generate more electricity with fewer panels on your roof. Fewer panels with more power are great for smaller roofs as well as maintaining curb appeal on larger roofs. Plus, with fewer high efficient panels, you’ll have room to expand your solar system if you get an electric vehicle or add on to your home. Right now. Using fewer materials per watt is also great for sustaining our planet. In fact, it’s a double benefit, because less energy is required to construct the system, and more solar energy is generated at a faster rate. Do solar panels wear out over time? In short, yes. Your roof isn’t a very hospitable place, so conventional solar cells lose power over time because of corrosion and breakage. To save cost, these solar panels are commonly built with less durable design and materials.
A home energy audit is often the first step in making your home more efficient. An audit can help you assess how much energy your home uses and evaluate what measures you can take to improve efficiency. But remember, audits alone don’t save energy. You need to implement the recommended improvements. ENERGY STAR provides extensive information about home improvement projects to enhance energy efficiency, lower utility bills, and increase comfort. You can perform a simple energy audit yourself, or have a professional energy auditor perform a more thorough audit. Do-It-Yourself Audits If you have five minutes and your last 12 months of utility bills, use the ENERGY STAR Home Energy Yardstick to compare your home’s energy efficiency to similar homes across the country and get recommendations for energy-saving home improvements from ENERGY STAR. You will also need to enter some basic information about your home (such as zip code, age, square footage, and number of occupants). If you don’t have your bills, contact your utility for a 12-month summary. Hire a Professional Home Energy Auditor such as LA Solar Systems If you are interested in getting specific recommendations for improving the efficiency of your home, consider us. Home Performance with ENERGY STAR can help you cost-effectively improve your home’s energy efficiency. Specially-trained contractors evaluate your home using state-of-the-art equipment, recommend comprehensive improvements that will yield the best results, and help you to get the work done. Find more information on Home Performance with ENERGY STAR in your area.
Most of the energy audit is done on main service panel where we can determine what circuit breaker is being used the most energy and trace it down to equipment that is being used and compare it to factory name plate to see if within specifications, LA Solar always conduct a energy audit for all its clients.
1. Call LA Solar Systems If you have been thinking about going solar,. Our staff will explain the process and all the financing options, and provide you with detailed information about components and how they work. 2. We realize that your time is valuable, so we’ll make sure you have a suitable site for solar before making a visit. During this step, we’ll talk about your energy usage and what you you’re looking for in a new solar pv system. We keep you posted step by step 3. Solar Audit We’ll conduct a free visit to assess your site’s solar potential using the most accurate tools and technology available today. This data will be used to design the perfect system for your home or business.
4. Design and Review Our solar designer will create a customized computer model of your solar array so you can see how it will look on your roof. The model will also generate information about how much solar energy your system will be expected to produce. That electrical generation translates into savings on your energy bill. 5. We’ll take care of all the detailed paperwork and review it with you before you sign. Our installation process is streamlined and stress free and our installation professionals can often install a residential system in about 5 days.
Now that you have the perfect solar panel that provides you with a myriad of benefits because of the effective solar panel installation. However, your duty is not over yet, you have to maintain the solar panel so that you can achieve the benefits from it for all of its life. We, LA Solar Systems Inc have the aim to make solar energy accessible to everyone and maintaining the solar panels so that the people can earn energy saving for as much as 30 years or even more. Solar panel installation must always be done by the help of professionals and so is the maintenance, there are many reasons that call for the maintenance services, if your solar panel is showing these signs then it means that you need maintenance services after solar panel installation.
Errors:
Since many solar panels are now equipped with monitoring devices, you can have access to any of these devices by installing the app on your smartphone and get the monitoring done weekly or monthly. If the monitoring devices report any error then you can contact the solar installers to resolve the issue.
The shade of trees:
If your solar is under performing over time then this will be due to the tree growth. Installers assume that you will keep your trees trimmed, there are also some places there are laws that ensure your right to the access of the sun. You will get these rights once you have done the solar panel installation on your roof, you will also get it also means that you should also have sun access from your neighbors’ trees as well. This factor is often overlooked and has an impact on the system’s performance. Some people call the solar panel installers to maintain the system but sometimes the trees are the culprit.
Utility bills:
The solar panels should provide a reduction of the electricity bills or eliminate the bills completely. However, if you hit by a massive electricity bill it means that the solar panel is not working efficiently and calls for maintenance of the system.
Inverter:
The inverter needs to be changed every 10 to 15 years, however, make sure that the inverter is on and working so that you get the energy you want. Most inverters have a green light which indicates that all is well so always keep your monitoring on so that you know if the inverter goes out of function as it will affect the performance of the solar panel.
Dirty panels:
Though some dirt is okay, if the solar panel is extremely dirty or covered in ash then you should definitely clean them. For this purpose, you will need professional services for maintenance so that the panel gets clean up and also achieve a basic check that will ensure you that the system is working optimally. The cleaning procedure is also crucial because if the cleaning is done by the soap that leaves residue then the sunlight will get reflected by the panels instead of absorbing the sunlight.
Buying solar panels for sale will greatly reduce your electricity bills and provide you a large number of ongoing savings. Wiser people are turning towards solar panels because they are fully aware of the benefits it provides. Solar panels for sale are now being offered for lesser prices because of the government subsidies and advancement in technology. Solar panels also help the environment by decreasing the carbon emissions. Despite so many benefits and advantages, selecting a solar panel is not always easy. There are a number of factors that you should consider while buying solar panels for sale. This post will help you to understand some of these:
How do they work?
Before you purchase the solar panel for sale, you must know how it works. It generates electricity from solar energy and can also work on cloudy days because they do not need direct sunlight or heat energy instead of the light energy from the sun. The solar panels have an inverter which transforms the direct current into alternating current which is used in the homes. The electricity is then used to fulfil your needs if you generate more than you consume then the electricity goes back to the grid and when you consume more than you generate then the light is provided from the grid.
Suitable roofs:
This factor is important because the solar panels generate the most electricity when facing on the south-facing roofs. If you have east or west facing roofs then also solar panels are a viable option because they will still generate electricity. The roof’s angle also plays a part in the generation of electricity because solar panels work effectively at 30 to 35 degrees. The installer should measure the roof before installation so that you have an idea that how well it will perform at your house.
Maintenance costs:
The maintenance of solar panels is very less, if the dirt or leaves accumulate over the panels then they can easily be cleaned. Also, the solar panels come with a warranty of at least 25 years and the inverter has a warranty of 5 to 10 years. The inverter needs to be changed after 10 to 15 years because it works continuously, therefore, has more chances to get damaged. The installer must check your solar panels every 4 to 7 years, don’t forget to ask the maintenance requirements of the solar panels.
Price:
Good quality solar panels and installation are not inexpensive and usually, you receive what you pay for. So if you have purchased the solar panel for less price than average then you might receive a poor quality equipment and installation. Also, some service might not be included which also lowers the price however, you must gather different quotes and details before having an agreement. You may also receive some package deals but not every package has the same quality services. We, LA Solar Systems Inc provides the best solar panels for sale and for best prices.
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