If you happen to still be going through your own debate as to whether or not you think going green is for you consider a few facts regarding the power sources available to renewable energy.
1. The amount of solar energy intercepted by the Earth every minute is greater than the amount of energy the world uses in fossil fuels each year.
2. The energy in the winds that blow across the United States each year produce more than one and one-half times the energy consumed by the entire planet in an average year.
3. Renewable energy sources are 100% clean and carbon free.
4. Renewable energy sources cannot pollute our air, land, or oceans when accidentally spilled and they certainly do not harm the wildlife.
These energy sources are absolutely free and once you have the equipment needed to harness them for use in your homes and businesses you will be able to breath much easier knowing that you will never again have to worry about the ever increasing energy costs from your local utility companies or pollution created in its generation. How much money has your current utility cost you in the past years to power your home or to keep the lights burning at your business? Would you say that your financial life would be impacted by the savings you would experience immediately? All across the globe people are waking up to the fact that if we learn to live in harmony with the world instead of using up its resources we would all live far better lives, and the world would be in much better shape to leave to our children. Utilizing renewable energy sources in our daily lives just makes sense in every possible case anyone can think of and they definitely make the most sense to those of us who want to not only save for the future, but plan for it as well.
In fact, at present there really is only one drawback to going green and that is its initial cost to purchase the equipment and have it installed. This is mostly because from a production perspective we are still paying off the costs associated with its development and with all of the start up companies that are only recently coming into the game these costs will not likely be coming down. Just like every other new technologies emergence has shown, prices start out and remain high until we reach a point of market saturation. But you need to lower or eliminate your electric utility bill today you may think. Well herein is where the trade off lays and while the costs associated with going green are in fact high, the costs of not going green over the long run are far higher allowing you to save less.
There is a silver lining to this dilemma brought to you by our State and Federal government agencies known as Renewable Energy Incentives, Rebates & Grants whereby in some states you can receive enough to offset your costs for your equipment. Visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) web site for all the details regarding these incentives. A word of wisdom for those of you considering the Do-It-Yourself method of building your very own solar panel system or wind turbine generators or for that matter ANY sustainable energy system you plan on using either grid tied to your utility companies grid or off-grid. First of all your power company has very strict guidelines as to what systems can be tied to their grid and they are not going to permit any home made system to be tied to their grid. As part of these strict guidelines all sustainable energy systems MUST be Underwriter Laboratories (UL) and California Energy Counsel(CEC) listed meaning that they have been rigorously tested by these organizations and given their seal of approval before they can be used in any grid tied configuration.
Off grid systems are also in high demand and as the technology behind deep cell batteries used with them has improved greatly as have their costs they make an excellent energy source for remote locations. These systems can function both on or off the grid allowing home owners to receive the best of both worlds because once these systems are fully charged the remaining power generated is then passed back out onto the grid through Net Metering allowing the homeowner to build up credits with their local utility company that are used during the evening hours and the excess is paid out monthly in some states, annually in others. However, despite this great energy sources ability to supplement many area utility grids partially there are yet many utility companies that refuse to pay for any power they receive through net metering.
Do-It-Yourself renewable energy systems follow none of the accepted standards which are required by your state department of energy, North American Board of Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) or any regulatory agency which oversees and implements these standards. In fact, the ONLY thing that the individuals who market the plans for these systems want is the instant cash to sell you their plans so you can try building them. If you do attempt this do not go looking for any incentives to help pay for it unless of course you are simply planning on giving someone at your department of energy a good laugh. So I would recommend using nothing but quality UL and CEC listed systems designed with your safety, energy efficiency and cost effectiveness in mind.
