The Types Of Energy Star Appliances You Should Buy




The Energy Star program is strategic approach to energy management, promoting energy efficient products and practices. The Energy star program was developed by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 due to concerns about the increasing environmental crises.

It has included its Energy Star logo on many products so that consumers know to find best energy efficient products that are earth friendly. Energy Star logo consists of blue star and “energy star” written below it. These logo is symbol of product begin Eco-friendly and consumes less energy as compared to the other products which doesn’t have logo.

Energy Star rules and specification regarding products are effective and rigorous. These products are tested for energy consumption percentage and its usefulness. For example, refrigerator with energy star consumes less electricity as compared to other which doesn’t have energy star; appliances that use water, they utilize less water than other appliances that are not energy star labeled.

Energy efficient appliances are designed for energy saving, economic saving and pollution reduction. Such appliances are more convenient for consumers. Almost every home appliance can be Energy star certified which further helps lot in economic saving, electricity consumption decreases and work efficiently for long period.

According to research energy star labeled appliance uses 3/4 less energy compared to regular non-energy star products. The energy saving certified household products include dryer, dishwasher, freezer, cooler, refrigerator, TV, water coolers, computers, fan, ventilators, light etc. In fact consumers are unfamiliar that some products are also available with Energy Star labels.

Products like dehumidifier, water heaters, water coolers, boilers, heat pumps, solar appliances, decorative lights are few to name. Even Solar appliances have energy star and are most efficient for consumers. All such basic home appliances make energy efficient home.

Environment friendly person surely wants to own such products but it not possible for all to do so. One of vital reason for this is cost. Such products are quite expensive that are available in retail market. But some owners prefer to upgrade their appliances as soon as new product with Energy star label arrives in retail market.



During remodeling or construction of new home they sell such products which are still in working condition and are energy efficient. Those who still can’t afford energy saving product new one, can opt for in-store sales, stores where used appliance are available which are still in good working conditions. Such stores sometimes offer discount too.

Also they can go for stores which sales green energy efficient product on sale due to cosmetic damage on it. Cosmetic damage can never affect working of machines. Slightly damage of machines look only reason for it sale in lower prices. Cosmetic damaged machines are best for those who want Energy Star labeled products at lower cost and still be benefited from its energy saving, economic saving.

Cost of brand new products having Energy Star depends on number of stars labeled on product. So its cost is directly proportional to energy saving capacity of machines. Also economic saving and Eco-friendly makes Energy star labeled products high demanding for consumers. Energy star Labeled products are overall significantly benefiting products for household.

Why You Should Install Your Own Home Solar Panels




If you are interested in the conservation of the environment and want to install Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, the following guidelines can be of great help to you. The choice is yours, you can use commercially manufactured or you can build your own, the investment depends upon the level of your participation with the installing process.

The investment will be more if you pay full retail cost of the solar panels and the installments. You can save lots of money if you use do yourself method and install PV panels, the DIY home solar manual will guide you for installing your own solar panels.

Factoring Kilowatt Hours and Kilowatts

You can also use term kWh for kilowatt hour, this the average quantity of energy used by an average America home. In a typical 31 days month, you will have 744 hours.

Factoring each hour of energy coming from the grid may be 20 cents; it means a consumption of power worth $148 per month. There are several factors which have direct effect on your monthly power bills and this will be certainly different in different households. This will help you to arrive at the total consumption of power in your home.

Commercial Bought PV Panels & Professional Installation

The most costly equipment is the solar panels when you purchase it from the market, it may cost of lot of money. Many experts have arrived at figure of $7 to $9 per watt when the panels are installed by a professional.

It means that solar panels that are rated at four kilowatts should cost around $28,000 to $36,000. The big question is after spending so much of money, what will be the amount of power produced by four kilowatt solar panel installation.

To answer this question is quite difficult; it also depends upon the availability of sunlight and also for how many days in a year. It will also depend upon the longitude, this is a complex situation. There are some estimates available for California, San Francisco; here an average residence can get 2000 kW every year from one kilowatt solar panel system.

The common estimate for the Bay area is that a residence consumes 8,000 kWh per year, this means that four kilowatts generation capacity is quite sufficient. You can research it on Google and can calculate the expected power output at your location.



You may also be eager to know about the recovering your investment, commercial installment done by the professionals, assuming the 4kWh, getting less power does not match with the investment. This means that it will take twenty years for you to recover the cost.

Many professionals offer special incentives which include tax breaks and other subsidies given by the Government. Such specials can help you to recover your investment in almost 15 years. This is the cause why many people shy away from the installation of solar panels. The great option is to do it yourself (DIY) which will save you lot of money, building your own is the most viable option.

A Typical Home Solar Power System Cost In The USA




Everyone knows exactly how much a gallon of gasoline costs and how many miles one can drive one’s car when we fill its tank with gas. But how many of us know how much a Photovoltaic (PV) solar panel costs and what will be the total expense when one installs a system of solar panels to provide energy for the house.

We can get mileage from gasoline instantly but solar panels do not work that way. It takes a while to store energy before it is made available for use. This blog post tries to explain two aspects of installing solar panels as an alternate source of energy, namely the cost involved and the cost effectiveness of this system.

First, let us consider the cost involved in setting up solar panels. Solar panels are photovoltaic systems which capture sun’s rays and convert them into electrical energy. The cost of PV systems are calculated as so many dollars per Watt, $/W.

However there are other aspects to be considered when calculating the cost. Are we talking about DC Watt or AC Watt, or are we considering the cost as per Watt peak, $/Wp? Irrespective of all these considerations one must be aware that when we install solar panels, they not only produce energy for current use but also for future use. This certainly sounds good.

Let us now consider how much the set up will cost you. Since each home requires its own unique configuration of solar panels, the cost will differ from house to house. Every state and local body offers solar rebates, and also solar tax credits. These rebates and credits are not uniform all over the country.

This means that the cost of installing solar panels will not only differ from home to home but also from region to region. If you pay Federal income tax, you can claim Federal solar tax solar energy tax credit for 30% of the cost of installing solar energy system in your home.

Listed below are some resources which would help you assess the cost of installing solar energy system in your home. First on the list is the Open PV Project, which is a project of the National Renewable Energy Lab. This will give you information on how much PV systems will cost in different parts of the country.

According to this list, in 2010, on average the cost was $7.15/W. However, this is only a ball park figure since not all solar installation companies had participated in compiling this data. But the data provided by the Open PV Project will give you some idea of difference between states in the cost of installing solar PV systems.

For example, the cost solar panel system is $5.64/W in Arizona, but it is $7.64/W in New Jersey. Secondly, in certain states it is required that companies which install solar systems report to the state their installation charges. If the company which had installed your solar PV system had not done so, the state will not give you any rebate.

On account of this requirement, it is possible to have a good idea of what the installation of solar panels will cost. You will find that in Pennsylvania, the Sunshine Solar Rebate program reports an average rate of $5.32/W for domestic installations with 8 Kilowatts as median system capacity.

On the other hand, Go Solar California that is a joint project of California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission reports an average cost of $7.19/W in its latest quarterly report on costs for domestic solar panel installations.



Thirdly, if all this confuses you, you can just follow the rule of thumb, and use a default value of $7.00/W for home installation of solar panels. Though is not an exact figure it will give you a good idea of what the project will cost you. Of course, this will reduce when you take into consideration the rebates and tax credits that you will be eligible to get.

Lastly, make sure you get quotations from three, or at least two, reliable companies that install solar panels for homes. You should be aware that since there is so much variability involved in installing solar energy systems in your home, you will get a proper estimate of the cost of installing a solar PV system in your home only when the installing company gives you a figure.

Anyway, going by the default figure of $7.00/W, it could cost you $35,000 for a system that would provide you an average of 5KW energy. When you take into consideration the rebates you will be eligible to get and the 30% Federal solar tax credit, your actual cost would be considerably less.