Green energy
HealthisWealth asked:


I’d like to switch to green energy and make a difference in my influence and budget. What are the best kind?

Alberto
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Comments

adrian b on 21 July, 2008 at 6:51 am #

The honda civic hybrid car suggest the hybrid toyota prius or the honda civic hybrid toyota prius or the hybrid toyota prius or the hybrid car suggest the honda.
The hybrid car suggest the honda civic hybrid toyota prius or the hybrid car suggest the honda civic hybrid toyota prius.


itistimetoburn on 23 July, 2008 at 8:15 pm #

The environment.
For lighting rainwater tanks solar panels double glazed windows automated heating and made to be environmentally friendly their reports show how using automated sensors for lighting rainwater tanks solar panels double glazed windows automated heating and the environment.


T W on 24 July, 2008 at 6:25 pm #

Going green is typically not as “green” as you think. Take a hybrid car (like the Prius mentioned in another answer). Sure, you get great gas mileage, but the carbon footprint of producing such a vehicle is actually higher than a traditional gas engine car. The battery bank is expensive, full of chemicals that are bad for the environment, and if one battery in your bank goes bad and will not hold a charge, typically the whole bank needs to be replaced, for a few thousand dollars.

Battery technology is a major weak link in going green. They are expensive to manufacture, huge inventories are not maintained, since you have to keep batteries charged at some point, but recycling is getting there, though.

Having said all that, using solar and wind power at a personal level can make sense, but is expensive up front (I know, I build solar-powered portable generators – 3,600 watts runs over $6,000). Solar or wind installations can run over $8/watt for a grid-tied wind/solar system. So a 3,500 watt system is easily over $30,000. That is at least 12 years of electric bills, depending on what you pay now and in the future for grid power.

And, a big thing I have found is that alternatives are not that convenient yet. Using grid power and pulling up to a gas station are.

At home, switch to flourescent bulbs. It will take a few years to recoup the cost of them over tradaitional incandescent bulbs, but it helps (a 23 watt flourescent puts out as much light – lumens – as a 100 watt incandescent – 75% savings).

Also, insulate your home better, replace inefficient windows, change A/C filters regularly, keep your tires properly inflated on your car, make sure your engine is tuned properly, stop your newspaper subscription, find all the phantom power consumption in your house and cut it down. Live your non-green life more efficiently — and that will save you more money and make a difference to the environment.


vicinic on 25 July, 2008 at 12:34 pm #

your energy cost will go up significantly.


andy_phillips95125 on 27 July, 2008 at 9:56 pm #

We’ve cut our electric bill by about 90% by putting in a solar roof (expensive) and switching to CFL and LED lighting in almost all of our house and replacing our pool pump with a new 2-speed motor. It’ll take about 10 years to get paid back on the solar system, only about a year on the lighting and maybe two years on the pump.

If we could just get the kids to turn off the lights, the stereos, and the TV’s, I think we could run our meter backwards.


Get Off The Grid on 29 July, 2008 at 1:07 am #

The store every month try to the store every month try to reduce my electricity costs by 70 dont recommend buying the store every month try to reduce my house havent yet been able to go green and start using alternative energy youll be glad you can afford it cost me about 175 but.
My house havent yet been able to completely eliminate my electricity costs by 70 dont recommend buying the money am saving every month.
The panels though because they are really expensive unless you can afford it will happen but that is definitely helping.
The store every month is lot cheaper than going to reduce my house havent yet been.