Natural Environment Blog

Your electricity and utility bills are what make up the most of your monthly expenses, so as much as possible, you wouldn’t want to wake up one morning and find out that your energy bill has gone up. This is something you don’t want to happen, especially during these tight times. But if you feel that your energy bill is too high, you really need to take a moment to determine what is causing it. Here are a few possible reasons.

Your Energy Supplier is Charging You More for Energy

When you know you have been consuming the same amount of energy, but your energy bill has suddenly indicated otherwise, the most probably reason is that your kWh cost has gone up. This means your energy supplier is charging you more for electricity you are using. Now, there are several reasons why this happens including inflation, fuel price hikes, and even change in local energy regulations.

There Has Been a Change in Your Electricity Use Pattern

Clearly enough, how much electricity you use at home will have a direct impact on your monthly bill. If you’ve noticed a sudden increase in the size of your energy bill, it may be that you’ve bought a new electrical appliance, you have had a friend or relative who has come to live with you during the past months, you’re not unplugging appliances and gadgets when you’re not using them, and so on.

There Has Been Extreme Weather Conditions in Your Location

This may seem obvious, but not too many consumers realize that extreme changes in weather conditions can increase cooling and heating bills. When it gets too hot or too cold, for instance, your cooling and heating appliances will have to work doubly hard, thus increasing your electricity consumption. Moreover, moisture can build up on the coils of your air conditioner when there is high humidity, causing for the appliance to use more energy.

The Solution

Now, while you cannot easily manage your electricity use pattern and definitely cannot control the weather to lower your energy consumption at home, you can, nevertheless, find a new energy supplier who can provide you with cheaper services. With the number of energy suppliers today, it is very possible to find and choose a cheap electricity and gas supplier. Also known as green energy, cheap electricity is power produced using renewable resources such as solar power from the sun, wind power, and hydro electric power.

Unlike energy produced using conventional sources, green energy is renewable, cheap, and in no way can cause harm to the environment. Therefore, by choosing cheap electricity, you are not only grabbing an opportunity to cut down your energy bill and save money, but are also doing something that has a significant impact on our environment.

Gene Armstrong is a writer for www.switchwise.com.au. He specializes in subjects with regards to energy efficiency and green energy.

With the environment already bruised and battered from overuse of fossil fuel, it was time a stop was put to the pollution caused by carbon dioxide emissions. The solution of energy deregulation was put in place to allow consumers to choose from energy suppliers and pay cheaper electricity rates. It also enabled them to get their utilities from one provider to make their lives easier and household budgets easy to manage.

Reducing energy these days is vital but it is even more important to be able to implement energy-efficient methods as soon as possible, not only to save the environment but the economy as well. With the government paying billions of dollars every time we need to import fossil fuel, that’s billions of dollars the economy loses. Harnessing renewable energy which is an infinite source, we allow for more jobs and more investments because it takes a lot of work and a lot of hands to be able to manufacture, design and install energy-efficient technologies.

One of the most environment-friendly ideas was putting up energy companies like energy Australia because these companies provide the three components of energy consumption, which are generation, transmission and distribution. In addition to being able to save money, exploring their best options will also allow customers to upgrade the efficiency of their heating, cooling and lighting systems at home. The beauty of switching to these energy suppliers is that they offer viable options important to the customer like pricing options. Customers may be able to pay three ways: fixed, floating and hybrid.

Customers agree to pay a set, agreed-upon price when they opt for the fixed option. Even if prices increase in the future, they will still be able to save money. The floating option on the other hand, depends on the rise or fall of wholesale costs for electricity or natural gas. The customer’s price is generally a percentage of the entire cost so there’s still guaranteed savings even as the prices change. The last option, hybrid, is a combination of the first two options. Suppliers usually offer different variations so you need to ask for details.

Switching is especially recommended for those with high energy usage and those with favorable load curves and load timing. By being able to make some changes to your usage during peak hours, you can save as much as $100-$300 on your electricity bills. Companies like energy Australia list complete details on their websites about how you can make your switch easy and stress-free. Why pay for more on your energy consumption when you know you can lower it down significantly? Check out their website now for options you can take to make your life easier.

Gene Armstrong is a writer for Switchwise Australia. He specializes in subjects with regards to energy efficiency and green energy.

Introduction

In planning the landscaping around your home, you may consider how and whether you should illuminate your garden. Solar garden lights that gather their energy from the rays of the sun represent an eco friendly option to conventional outdoor lighting. However, there are tips that you should follow to ensure that your solar lights provide the type and amount of illumination you desire.

Desired Type of Illumination

Like conventional outdoor lighting, solar garden lights serve a variety of purposes. If you wish to provide a spotlight for one or two prized plants, choose lighting with more focused beams. However, if you want to provide illumination for a garden path, you should choose lighting that provides a wider beam.

Desired Lighting Type

There are two major types of solar garden lights: those that you insert into the ground and those that are strung overhead. Self contained light units each contain a rechargeable nickel cadmium, lead acid or lithium battery. These units do not have cords attached, at each unit must receive sunlight to function. An alternative system uses a single battery with a solar panel attached, with wiring that runs from the battery to each light unit. Only the unit containing the battery needs to receive light, but placement is limited by the reach of the cord to the unit containing the battery.

Amount of Sun Exposure

If you live in a warm, sunny climate, your solar lights receive consistent sun exposure year round. However, if you live in a cooler climate, look for light systems that are designed for winter operation. Otherwise, you may find that your lights produce insufficient illumination during the colder winter months. You must also account for other foliage, such as shade from trees or overhangs from your house or other buildings that can affect the amount of light each unit receives.

Can You Do It Yourself?

In one sense, installing solar lighting is easy. Especially with self contained units, all you do is place them into the ground. However, you must consider how many lights you need and the angle of the lighting. For light systems with a single battery, you must also consider the placement of the battery and the wiring between the light units and the battery. For these considerations, consulting with a lighting expert may be advisable.

What to Look For

Purchase the best quality lights you can afford. Fixtures should be screwed together, or fastened with welds, soldering or rivets. Inexpensive twist-lock or press fit plastic casings may break or crack, especially if exposed to temperature extremes. For free standing units, ensure that the stakes are long enough and sufficiently wide to support the light unit. For wired systems, look for quick-connect units that do not require splicing.

How to Use Solar Garden Lights

Free standing solar lights must be allowed to charge and discharge completely for five to ten cycles before you actually use them in your garden. This means exposing them to daylight and allowing them to discharge at night. Otherwise you may find that the battery life of your lighting units is shortened. On the other hand, properly charged solar lights may retain illumination for up to 15 hours.

For Further Reading

• Exterior Light Buying Guide
• How to Choose a Solar Garden Light
• How to Pick Out the Best Solar Lights for Your Garden
• Outdoor Lighting: Illuminating Finds
• Outdoor Solar Lighting
• Solar Garden Light
• Solar Garden Lighting
• Usage Tips for Outdoor Solar Lights

Author Bio:

Guest post contributed by Patrick Lapointe on behalf of SwallowAquatics.co.uk – specialists in pond pumps. Patrick has worked extensively in urban design. He is also trying his hand out as a freelance writer where he shares his design insights.

We hear all the time that going green is a good choice, but have you ever asked yourself why? Have you ever asked yourself why you should even bother to be eco-friendly?

“Why should I go green?” is actually a good question to ask yourself as it gives you the opportunity to seek and find answers. Today, there are a lot of people who just go with the flow and decide to go green without even bothering to ask whether it makes sense at all or not. Don’t get me wrong. Going green does make sense. However, wouldn’t it make more sense if you know the reason behind the very thing you are doing?

Going Green Is the Better Option

Now, if there is one good reason why you should choose to go green, it’s that it is the better option. It is the better choice because it has a positive impact not just to the environment, but to your health as well. And you also probably realize that it has a positive impact to your finances. Take switching energy providers, for example. Choosing to switch power suppliers can actually help you save 10%, or even more, on your electric bill.

The Impact of Going Green to Your Health

When it comes to health, going green is also an excellent choice. Today, more and more people are suffering from respiratory diseases, allergies, and even cancer. And if you come to think of it, it has something to do with the presence of toxic elements that come from the everyday products that people use at home.

Now, both the consumers and the companies that manufacture these products have a role to play on this one. It’s not that manufacturers deliberately want to make people sick by making toxic products, but it’s just that consumers are after cheap products. And in order to make cheap products, companies make use of cheap materials and resources that are often the ones that contain health hazards.

You Can Always Make a Better Choice

Fortunately, you can always make better choices by being more responsible when deciding what type of products to buy and what kind of services to avail yourself of. This doesn’t mean you have to transform your home into a greenhouse overnight, though. You have to understand that even the small, simple choices you make can have a positive impact to the environment and to your health. Investing in eco-friendly products, for instance, may not produce instant results, but it absolutely has a huge impact in the long run. The same is true with choosing to switch power suppliers, investing in energy-saving appliances, and observing other eco-friendly practices.

About the Author: Gene Armstrong is an energy expert based in Australia. He specializes in subjects about switching, energy efficiency, and green energy.

The stage is set. The Olympic venues open for world records. The athletes ready to achieve greatness. London population hyped.

In less than 10 hours the Olympic torch will be lit in the pompous Olympic Stadium in Stratford in front of millions of people. This is the moment London was waiting for. Two weeks of record breaking and thrilling games awaits the heart of London. It has been an expensive and not always fortunate way up till this moment. However, one more aspect LOCOG and the city London is trying to promote refer London 2012 to be the ‘greenest’ Olympic Games to date.

Here are some key facts provided by LOCOG:

• 20% of the energy they use is based on renewable sources
• 2,000 newts and hundreds of toads were taken out of the Olympic Park during the construction
• 90% of materials from the demolished buildings were recovered, in order to reuse or recycle them.

So London will try to use energy- efficient technology from the new Olympic Park Energy Centre during the Games providing electricity, heating, cooling and hot water. The forecast is that 20% of energy will be of renewable energy in the Olympic Park, which shall help in reducing the amount of greenhouse gases created by the games. Examples of those renewable sources are Biomass boilers, which will burn recycled woodchip to generate power. Wind turbines are increasingly used as well in the north of the park as one turbine can produce electricity for at least 1,000 homes.

Before construction work started for all the stadiums and venues, LOCOG was keen on conducting surveys of plants and animals living in those areas, such as in Stratford where the Olympic Park is located. Taking the Olympic Park as an example, rubbish removal, which included tyres and cars, has been carried out, in order to ensure clear and free paths to the Park. Moreover, footpaths and cycleways were improved for the local people and wildlife. To the excitement of all the animal loving people, 45 hectares of wildlife habitats were left around the Park during the Games. You got to say, London is taking care of their wildlife.

The final point, in order to ensure the greenest Games ever, is the material used. London tried to use as less materials as possible, so less waste is created during the construction period. Therefore, this action is definitely better for the environment and resources were reused and recycled on the spot.

For instance, soil washing machines are used to wash, sieve and shake out materials, which pollute the soil (petrol,oil,tar). Buildings around the Olympic Park were taken down and rebuilt elsewhere, which ensured minimum waste in that area. Interesting is the fact that 80 lampposts, two tonnes of red bricks and 76 tonnes of paving stones are saved for reuse on the park.

However, recent studies have suggested that London won’t be able to achieve a zero waste legacy around the whole city, due to low level of engagement with organisations outside the Olympic Park. We will see during the Games how much effort London has put to offer the ‘greenest’ Olympics to date. However, they are trying to be a role model for other organisations of big events. Going green is the step to take in the future!

This post was contributed by Sachinda Jayatilleke on behalf of AnyJunk - the easy and eco-friendly alternative to skip hire.

With the number of individuals concerned for the state of the planet rising at a rapid pace, more and more people are finding ways to switch to green electricity. Now, green electricity can be defined in two ways. First, it can be a renewable source of electricity such as solar, wind, or hydro. Second, it can refer to the arrangement between a green energy supplier and a consumer. This article will talk about the second definition and why is it important for household owners to start considering it.

In Australia alone, there are already more than a dozen of gas and electricity suppliers that provide clean and green energy. By choosing to avail yourself of the services of any of these companies, you are already buying green electricity in a sense.

Tips to Finding a Green Energy Supplier

You have to understand that not all of these suppliers actually provide 100% green energy. Some of suppliers who claim to offer green energy actually make use of hydro, nuclear, and coal energy sources, which are obviously not green at all. Therefore, when choosing among the list of green suppliers, take these things into consideration to make sure you are indeed signing up for 100% clean and green electricity.

By signing up with a green electricity supplier, you will still receive the same kind of electricity you have been receiving before. The only difference is that by doing so, you are creating a demand for energy that’s clean and at the same time saying no to unclean electricity.

Does Switching Make a Difference?

Many people consider the campaign for cleaner energy to be a fraud and something that’s not to be taken seriously. According to these people, switching to green energy suppliers does not really make a difference. However, people who have been using clean energy say otherwise. The truth is, while switching does not provide overnight results, it sure does make a huge impact in the long run, especially when combined with reduction to your energy use. For one, as more and more people switch to green suppliers, the demand for new clean sources all increase. Also, you cannot deny the fact that green energy is usually a lot cheaper than dirty energy and allows you to cut down your monthly bill by up to fifty percent.

It’s never too late to consider switching to an energy company who can supply your home with clean and green gas and electricity. If you do not know where to start, there are several online switching service providers that can help you.

About the Author: Gene Armstrong is an energy expert based in Australia. He specializes in subjects about switching, energy efficiency, and green energy.

Sun Power is the leader in solar power all around the world. Most people fall into the dilemma of whether to buy or not buy a solar system since it is really very costly and pinches one’s pocket. The system requires timely maintenance and the understanding of the system is quite complex. This tedious task is reduced by the introduction of Solar Discovery Game.

It is basically a way to help homeowners to comprehend the benefits of installing a solar system at home as well as to intimate them about the history of the solar power.

It is an interesting initiative taken by Sun Power to improve one’s knowledge regarding solar energy and convince maximum people to get a solar power system installed in their homes regardless of the high cost of its installation and management.

Steps to Follow While Playing the Solar Discovery Game:

Facebook has it all. It offers people to participate in “the reduce use of exhaustible energy” and make use of renewable and inexhaustible ones. One just needs to visit the web page of the Solar Discovery Game from the search engine provided in Facebook.

One needs to accept the promotion application present in the page and fill up the on screen registration form. This makes one eligible for an entry in a single sweepstake.

Next, one needs to answer a list of questions to accumulate points to be eligible for the mega prize.

Players can unlock achievements at each successive stage and hence receive “badges” as reward which can be posted to one’s Facebook wall.

Sun Power will add a list of new questions each week along with new prizes to be fetched. Contestants may be lucky enough to grab the grand prize which is a complete solar energy system manufactured by Sun Power. The total value of the system is around twenty five thousand dollars. Regular players can also be eligible to win more featured prizes such as video cameras, event tickets, gift cards, plane tickets and many more such attractive surprises.

The winner has the option of getting the system installed in his or her home or can choose to gift it to a relative or friend instead. Another great and charitable option is to donate the system to a local community building or a recreation center.

The eligibility criteria to be a part of this solar game competition is restricted to only U.S and D.C permanent residents. They can participate if they belong to the legal age of the particular state. People who have any sort of link with the Sun Power Corporation are not eligible to participate in this solar discovery game. One does not need to purchase participation and a purchase does not make someone have greater chances of winning.

About the author: Alia Haley is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of cell phones, fancy accessories and watches. She recently added two Gold Bracelets to her collection. These days she is busy in writing articles on world’s most expensive cars and on 3d racing games.

Despite the legal fracas you might have seen on the news, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are of immense benefit to those householders able to take advantage of them.

If you live in the UK, and have a south or south-east facing roof, that is not shaded by trees or nearby buildings, you can, for a modest investment, install PV panels on your roof in order to generate electricity for domestic appliances, thereby saving you money on your energy bills and helping to reduce your household carbon footprint by cutting down on carbon emissions.

The government’s Feed-in Tariff (FiTS) scheme also enables you to earn money by exporting excess electricity to the national grid.

Solar panels might seem to be an expensive investment, but considering the various advantages it is definitely worthwhile. If you have any doubts about Feed-in Tariffs, it might be worthwhile visiting a website that has a built-in solar calculator so that you can calculate the return on your investment before you actually buy. One such website is Solar Guide. The calculator on this site is very easy to use, all you do is input some basic information and it will then calculate the amount that a Feed-in Tariff will generate over 25 years, based on numerous different types of solar PV system.

If you can’t afford to buy solar PV another option is to take advantage of a ‘rent-a-roof’ scheme in which an installation company fits the solar PV equipment for free but claims the Feed-in Tariff as payment. You might not get the tariff, but you will still make considerable savings on your energy bills, and that is something which will become increasingly important as the cost of conventional sources of energy continues to rise. You could potentially cut your bills by a third if you are a medium energy consumer with the installation of a 2.5 kWp system.

Another thing to bear in mind is that materials costs for solar PV are falling dramatically. You used to have to spend at least £16,000 to £18,000 for a good PV system but in recent years those costs have fallen to around £10,000 to £11,000, although this of course all depends on the system you buy. A good solar comparison website should be able to help you with this.

A solar PV system will also make your home more attractive to potential buyers in the future by increasing its value. A survey carried out in 2009 by the Energy Saving Trust found that at least 35 percent of respondents would be willing to pay more for a home already fitted with solar panels. Almost half of respondents said that they would be interested in buying a house that was suitable for solar PV installation.

This article was contributed by Richard Finch on behalf of SolarPages.co.uk.

With so much focus on a green environment and with the escalating prices in fuel consumption, solar power has come in a big way to help conserve energy with many due advantages.

Among the renewable energy sources, solar power has proved to be the most sustainable energy source, as the best alternative to gaseous fossil fuels. Solar panels for harnessing solar power, are clean and do not pollute the air, nor is its use limited to one particular aspect only. It is a free source of energy as it collects the sunlight to generate heat, electricity and light.

Of course, the initial investment may sound astronomical but this is covered up in the long with its saving ability. Solar panels are certainly a better option if we want to reduce energy consumption, pollutants and protection of our natural resources.

Versatility in the use of solar panels

Solar panel energy being a free source of energy from the sun, it can be used in remote places which does not have proper electricity facilities. Its use is unlimited and versatile as it can be utilized for large power purpose or smaller ones. It does not leave behind any greenhouse gas and harmful wastage, nor does it emit any noise as from generators.

The added advantage is that, solar panel lasts for a lifetime with little maintenance requirement.

Heating purposes and electricity

The installation of home solar panels can be a beneficial way of harnessing power for far flung mountainous areas, where it becomes difficult to construct power lines. Both in residential and commercial buildings, solar panel can heat water for utility purposes.

With the help of the various types of collectors, solar panels can gather and store energy which is then used for heating water. During the day, especially in hot day temperature areas, the thermal mass material keeps the building cool. The stored energy during the daytime can then be utilized for heating rooms in cool temperature areas.

Solar panel definitely works

By reducing fossil fuels which are harmful for the environment, solar panels can become an added feature in any home that can bear the initial cost of installation. It has made things much cheaper and easier for home use as it depends solely on the solar energy, which is definitely a cheaper natural source. The only time when any pollution is caused indirectly by solar panel occurs during the production and transportation of the cells to your home.

It may also cause slight pollution when electric tools are being used while installing. Other than that, there is really no other pollution emitted by solar panels.

It is also very convenient since solar energy can be directly converted to electricity through the photovoltaic cells without the use of power grids.

Taking into account all these benefits of solar power, there is absolutely no doubt why it cannot be the best alternative for electricity. It can minimize home electricity bill since the excess power is directly fed back into your home meter unit. The use of solar power is truly environment friendly and can only get better if full advantage of its sources is utilized.

About the author: Alia Haley is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of cell phones and watches. She recently added two Citizen Watches to her collection. These days she is busy in writing an article on dyson air multiplier.

The time has arrived for the world to wake up to the alarming scenario of energy crisis. This is no more a situation of single dimension; the other dimensions of it being depletion of the conventional energy sources, global warming, severity in climatic changes and their effects being manifold.

Check out some of the methods of harnessing the tremendous solar energy which is mostly wasted and which has the potential of solving a majority of the above stated global problems.

• Solar water heating equipment is one of the most common and predominant usage of solar power for domestic purposes. Water can be heated normally up to 60 degrees Celsius and can hugely cut down on the electricity bills.
• Solar powered heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems commonly called HVAC systems can be deployed at residential places. Homes with modern architecture can accommodate construction with specific materials which can act as heat store. This acts as a heater when surroundings is cold and acts as a cooler when it is hot.
• Cooking using solar power is possible by solar cookers. The incident solar light energy using concentrated solar power systems is used to boil the water and thus cook the food. This is can also be used as an oven, milk heater and so on.
• Solar powered vehicles are off the beat cutting edge technology automobiles which use solar panels for trapping more and more solar energy and convert it into useful mechanical energy. There are cars, bicycles, boats and even aircrafts which are solar driven.
• Photovoltaic cells which are commonly called solar cells are devices which convert incident solar radiation into electrical energy. These cells can be instrumental in lighting and other electrical needs of residential units.
• By switching over to solar power for simple equipments which we use in our daily lives, we can not only save a great deal of money but can be a significant shift towards utilizing renewable energy sources. Solar powered calculators, emergency lamps, decorative lightings, watches and other electronic gadgets can eliminate our dependency on fossil fuels and chemical sources of energy.
• There are these and many more ways of utilizing solar energy; but all it requires is a one time investment and then reap the benefits on a long run. Another advantage of using solar powered equipment is the relative low maintenance factor. The governments of most of the countries which are signatories of the UNFCCC are unconditionally giving investment and tax benefits for installations to shift over to solar energy for power requirements.
• What more? There are facilities for your house hold equipments to generate solar power and sell the excess to the power grids of the native country at the same price which is collected from you for using it!

As individuals, if we think there is nothing much that we can do about the global problems like climate change, global warming and energy crisis; then we can’t be more wrong. To save a better and healthier tomorrow for your kids and for all the coming generations, ACT NOW – ACT FAST!

This article was contributed by Catherine Annie on behalf of http://www.environmentbasics.com.