With the global recession hitting us all quite hard, and with the price of fossil fuels sky rocketing, many people are looking for free energy home. This is where renewable energy comes in. Renewable energy is an energy source like solar, wind, water, and geothermal power that continues to replenish itself. Not only are these energy sources free (the only cost required is in the technology to set it up), but there are no environmental pollutants created either.
The sun is by far the most important source of free energy and can be utilized by either solar thermal collectors or photovoltaic technology.
Solar thermal collectors work by harnessing solar energy that is the sun’s rays, and converting them into heat energy. Water then runs through the coils in the thermal collectors and is then contained in tanks – much like the traditional hot water system, without making use of expensive electricity. There are a few different solar collectors available in the market, it really depends on your objective and what you plan to get out of the free energy home system. The options include unglazed panels and flat plate water collectors.
People install unglazed panels usually for heating their swimming pools. This is because it is not so crucial to keep the heat in and the cold air out – it is only necessary to increase the temperature by a few degrees above the air temperature. But, flat plate water collectors are different. They are typically used for water heating in your home and because of this, it is crucial that you have either single or double-glazing on the panel. There are other solar thermal collectors that are not so common, that don’t require to be discussed in detail here such as flat plate air collectors and evacuated tube collectors. There are many books and periodicals that you can read that actually give you advice and instructions on how to make solar panels such as these.
The next most common application of solar energy for free energy home is photovoltaic cells, just like those used in calculators. Light is converted into electricity in a semiconductor much like a computer chip. Technology is continually improving and the market is growing rapidly. These cells provide electricity and heat homes and businesses. If used with other renewable energy sources like wind energy, photovoltaic cells can provide enough energy and thus remove the need for energy from fossil fuel sources.
