Steve A. Parker asked:

The construction industry is turning green nowadays, and this refreshing change of attitude is thanks to a consumer market that wants to pursue a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. The consumers-turned-environmentalists desire to live and work in buildings and facilities that use only the greenest materials, and constructed without harming the environment in any way.

Now that the green building movement is gaining momentum, the construction industry is abuzz with environmental concerns, such as energy efficiency, lesser environmental harm, sustainability, to name just a few. For building designers and facility managers, this means that existing construction methodologies, products and materials must all undergo very deep scrutiny – from paint formulations to concrete finishes – to find out if they meet the standards of the environment-responsible.

Energy Conservation and Concrete Finishes

The dull gray slab of cement is shaded eco-friendly green because of its unique ability to help in managing the cooling and heating systems in the facility, making it a very energy-efficient material.

Concrete finishes have a remarkable capacity to absorb and retain heat when needed. In the summer months when heat permeates building interiors, they act as insulators, absorbing heat and keeping the area cool. In nighttime or winter, they also regulate the room temperature to achieve comfortable warmth, using the same heat absorbed earlier.

Adding to its value as an energy-saving application, concrete finishes often come in natural earth tones and hues. The lighter coloring helps the surfaces reflect more light and cooling the surroundings, further lessening the energy and lighting costs in the facility.

Green Concrete Finishes

When it comes to lessening environmental harm, eco-friendly building designers already give concrete finishes the highest scores in green building design and construction. After all, this material is sourced from the earth itself, being made from cement, which in turn is made from crushed limestone.

Limestone extracted from the earth’s bowels is abundant everywhere on the planet. This means limestone does not require the use of harmful materials for its extraction, processing, production and transport. Furthermore, green builders appreciate that cement is friendly to recycling – often using by-products such as ash in its composition, which are normally just thrown away as useless waste.

Sustainable Applications Using Green Concrete Finishes

Many eco-friendly building materials work because they lessen the harm to the environment during construction and application. But when it comes to longevity and endurance, concrete finishes are by far the best choices available for green builders.

Concrete is not only environment-friendly and energy-efficient, it can also last for long periods of time, impervious to physical damages that other materials are very vulnerable to. It is also resistant to decays, and can withstand physical damages brought by fire or water. When building materials have longer life spans, the facility incurs lesser replacement costs in the long run.

Sustainability is particularly important to modern consumers, who are increasingly demanding creative methodologies and materials with which to build their homes and work places. Architects, engineers and facility managers find concrete a very reliable material to satisfy the environmental concerns of consumers.

Mark Justice asked:

As someone that has to pay bills each month, you already know the importance of energy conservation. There is no way for you to have not noticed that your bills have been increasing. It has happened and is one thing that you just should consider doing. But, energy conservation is not always something that is on our minds. If you find yourself only thinking about it when the bills for the month arrive, then you may be missing the boat.

Why You Need To Know

Energy conservation is helpful in a number of ways to each of us. The most profound way that affects us directly is the cost. If you just turn off a few lights, you may not notice it. But, if you do several things to keep yourself in line with your energy goals, you may find yourself able to really save money here. Energy costs continue to rise and even if they slow down in that rise, they are not likely to come down. If you want to cut your bill down, then, you must use less energy.

Yet, there are other reasons for conserving energy as well. Consider, for example, the fact that one of the most vital fuels that we all rely on is that of oil. Some scientists believe that we will run out of oil within the next 60 years. Can you image the cost of your bills then? Still, consider the fact that many of these energy needs also produce toxins in the air. That makes them not only running out but also destroying the environment while they do it.

As you can see, there are many reasons why you, as a citizen of Earth should consider energy conservation in your daily life. Even if you just cut back slightly here and there, you will notice a difference in your bill but not necessary in your overall lifestyle. There are many benefits to taking care of the energy we use. It is a good thing for all of us to take into consideration as well. The end result is a result that satisfies everyone’s needs.

Find a few ways that you too can cut down on the amount of energy that you use. Challenge yourself to a few different limits. See if you can save just $5 this month on your electric bill. See if you can conserve energy for your own and for the world’s well being.

Jon Wayne asked:

What are solar panels? Simply put, this is some of the best technology we have at the moment and is constantly being improved. Our world needs an everlasting source of renewable energy to combat our increasing carbon footprint. There is another type of renewable energy, such as wind energy and water, but solar energy is the most widely studied technology at the present, and we need to slowly adapt to this development as we are aiming to protect our planet from global warming and other calamities, which result from increasing amounts of carbon in the atmosphere.

Solar energy is one of the most versatile sources of energy. Light, as it travels around 8 minutes to earth is being captured on a solar panel. The photons are trapped on a solar cell and are converted to electricity. The energy that is generated on one solar cell is not enough, that is why it is mounted as many solar cells in a panel to harvest the energy that is needed. The solar panel now becomes an extensive source of energy. It may take a large acre of land to power a small city, but it is an eco-friendly that is making their way to popularity.

The solar panels are installed in a large area of land, which is then arranged in rows. To get more solar energy, the panels are connected in series to get most out of it. It should be located in places where there is a low humidity and the sun shines throughout the year.

Solar energy has been regarded as the main source of power for most spacecraft. These machines have built in tracking devices to follow the position of the sun and never lose energy while on its voyage to space.

It is a very durable material and losses its energy over a long period of time. The panel is only affected by radiation, such as the mid-altitude orbits on Earth will result on a decrease of its lifespan.

The space crafts are generating its energy from the sun. During a flight on space, the solar cells capture, these solar energies are converted into electricity to power the machine. With respect to the size of the panel, scientists have found a great way to increase the efficiency of the solar cell to some percentage by adding a Fresnel lens.

Fresnel Lenses are also called a solar concentrator. This is like a concave mirror that concentrates the energy to its focus. To elaborate on this, try to take a magnifying lens and make a small fire using their lenses, the heat generated by the interfacing material is the concentrated solar energy produced by the lenses, and the same principles applies to spacecrafts solar power generators.

Solar energy is one of the cleanest sources of power today. The only thing that makes it unavailable to most of us is its price. It is an expensive energy investment but will surely cut the cost of buying gas and decrease the carbon footprint of our planet. However, wind energy is on the rise.

Dan Powell asked:

In the winter it is those heating bills. In the summer it is the electric bills caused by constantly running the air conditioner.

And, to make matters worse, the kids never seem to turn off the lights in their room when they leave, are not turning faucets off so water drips constantly in the sink, or are leaving doors and windows open letting the hot summer time air inside the house.

How can we make our children help us reduce our utility utility bills now, instill in them energy conservation habits that they will have for a lifetime and create an environment where they want to actually talk with you and learn about energy conservation?

Our local electric utility is having for the first time this year an electricity reduction contest over the summer. Electricity usage will be compared for those residences who register for the contest between May 1st and the end of August of this year to last.

There are two levels of winners. Those achieving a reduction less than 10% will be entered in one group to participate in a drawing of various prizes. Those achieving a reduction of more than 10% will be entered in a second group where the available prizes will be larger, for example a solar water heating unit.

Sure, we have registered our home to participate. We even think we have an ace in the hole because of the home energy audit we had performed recently on our home with lots of energy conservation ideas. And, we have even installed solar shades on the outside, yes … the outside, of our south facing windows to reduce much of the sun’s UV rays from even entering our home while still allowing us to see outside which most in North America have only started to learn about in the past few years.

However, we (my wife and I) can’t be the only ones who keep running around the house turning the lights off in this room and closing the back door and …. you get my gist.

So, we have mentioned the contest to our children. They have seen us make some energy conservation adjustments in our house like the CFL lights and the previously mentioned exterior solar shades. But they have not seen everything we have done like the weather stripping the door to the cold cellar or apply caulking here and there.

So, we started by telling them of the contest, our participation in it, what we have done so far ourselves for our own home, and so on. Would you be motivated by just this if you were a child? Likely not.

Why not have them participate in the winnings. Everyone likes to win. And, why only have them share in something called a CFL light bulb?

So, make it interesting to them. What about a trip to the ice cream store every week or two if they can demonstrate that they are remembering to turn off the faucet in the sink or the lights in their rooms? What about going to a movie or the zoo if they remember to close the back door or pull down the interior blinds during the day?

What about a day at the beach if they catch you, yes you, not doing any of the energy conservation conservation habits that you tell them about?

How about offering them a list of rewards from which they can choose and make it clear how you will measure their performance?

You could hold a weekly ‘meeting’ where you review how the family has done during that week to reinforce what they need to do in order for them to be rewarded.

You don’t have to start with everything at once. Perhaps you introduce one energy conservation item at the beginning of the week and have the list of possible prizes be larger as the weeks go by as they demonstrate doing more and more energy conservation tasks.

And, lastly, you don’t have to wait for your own local utility to run a contest. This type of family involvement with energy conservation is something where everyone wins. Start now. With the hot summer days now upon us, there is no better time to start.

For more home energy conservation ideas and tips, and our own family’s experiences with home renovations and energy conservation, simply use the link below to access our blog, Daily Home Renovation Tips.

Davion Wong asked:

Tapping into alternative sources of energy really does a lot to help ease your monthly electric bills. Building homemade solar panels yourself will further reduce that. If you are not the type to tinker around and would rather sit back and have somebody do the job for you, then you can have professionals come over and assemble them for you. This will cost a few thousand dollars though, as compared to building homemade solar panels, which will only cost you around $200. It is still not that bad though, as this cost can easily be recovered in a few months.

The thought of building homemade solar panels yourself might seem a bit overwhelming, but the truth is, it is not really that difficult to make. You do not need an engineering degree to put one together because it has already been thought out, and all you need to do is follow the instructions that you can readily download from the Internet. These packages also come with step-by-step guides and videos to aid you in assembling your little project together.

A lot can really be gained through having your own alternative power generator at home. As stated you will not only get tremendous savings in the long run, there are also a number of benefits that you can further get from it, such as low maintenance costs, inexhaustible supply, being environmentally clean, and the chance of earning from it.

Let us explain that in detail. Your panel array is responsible for collecting energy from the sun’s rays. Aside from this, you will need a battery to store this energy in and an inverter, if you wish to link it directly with regular home appliances. Aside from maintenance of the battery and a little cleaning on the panel surface, there is not really much to do.

We can never run out of the sun’s rays so we can always harvest energy. We create no harmful by-products by gathering or using it and if we generate excess power, we can share it with other consumers through the local electric company and get paid for it. This is why building homemade solar panels is never a wrong choice and is well worth the investment.

Anne Clarke asked:

I agree with the opinion that we, as a nation and even worldwide, must begin to control environmental conditions. It is becoming more and more obvious that our current and continual downslides are just as important to attempt to control. The environmental conditions of our world are just as the continued production of any other industry essential to the survival of human beings, if not more.

More and more one hears of the environmental issues that have risen as well as the ways in which to help improve the environment. Many people are coming to appreciate the fact that we are destroying our world, and that we must take steps to improve the environment and environmental threats that surround us.

Wind turbines collect energy from natural air flow. When this happens, due to the function of wind turbines, the air slows down and then spreads, diverting it around the wind turbine device or devices.

Here is a condensed idea of how the wind turbine works:

1. The Betz Limit

o Betz Law or, the Betz Limit determined that the use of a wind turbine can generate almost fifty-nine percent of the energy that would flow straight through the cross section in the construction of a turbine.

o No matter what kind of wind turbine or wind turbines one has, regardless of design, the Betz Limit applies.

o Albert Betz, a physicist from Germany, discovered this fact: that a wind turbine works (almost universally) as an incredibly effective kind of energy net for wind power.

o Albert Betz made this discovery in the year 1919.

2. The Unpredictability of Windy Weather

o Because windiness varies no matter where you live, it is impossible to predict exactly how much wind can be generated over a significant period of time such as the yield per year.

o In addition, different places have different probabilities of amounts of wind distribution.

o The most frequently used piece of equipment used to determine the wind speed distribution is a two – parameter Weibull distribution monitor.

o This piece of equipment is used to determine what have been termed “distribution shapes” from Gaussian to exponential.

For example: The Rayleigh model

This is a specific form of the Weilbull distribution function. In such a case, the distribution shape should be a parameter that equals two. Imitating or mirroring the distribution shapes, the Rayleigh model of the exact hourly wind speeds and patterns of a particular area.

3. Higher Wind Speed

o Because in certain places there is so much wind power to draw from, a lot of the wind in such places comes in gusts or short bursts.

o Here’s a good example:

When comparing the size of fueled power plants to the potential power of wind turbine farms, one will find that 10000 kW of wind turbine power is theoretically enough to produce as much power and energy as approximately one half of that, in power generation that is coal — fired.

o Despite unpredictability, the annual reports of wind turbine energy output usually vary by only a few points from year to year.

4. Turbine Sitting – when location is key:

o The general rule is that when a location has an average wind speed of ten miles per hour it is a perfect location for wind generators.

o Meteorology plays a very important part in the determination of exactly where to set up a wind farm or any other kind of wind turbine generator.

o Ideally, one wants a location with a constant stream of wind as opposed to turbulent, gusty high mph winds.

o The wind will virtually always blow faster at higher altitudes because of reduced drag from the sea or land, as well as the subsequently lower amounts of viscosity in the wind current.

o Very flat lands with smooth average speed winds are great locations for wind turbines as well.

5. Wind Parks and / or wind Farms of have many wind power turbines installed.

o Utility-scale wind turbine generators have to have limits for the operating minimum.

o This can prevent the application of a wind power generation system in especially cold areas

o There are, however, many experiments in the making. There are internal heaters, heating lubricants, and minimum temperature monitors to consider in the installation and use of wind turbines.

More and more one hears of the environmental issues that have risen as well as the ways in which to help improve the environment. Many people are coming to appreciate the fact that we are destroying our world, and that we must take steps to improve the environment and environmental threats that surround us.

Professionals have estimated that 1% to 3% of the Sun’s energy, the energy that hits the earth, transforms into wind energy. To give you an idea of how much energy this is, in simple terms: it is about fifty to one-hundred times the amount of energy that is produced by plant life and biomass over the entire earth.

Steve Madigan asked:

Most people think of these large panels on the roof of homes, when they think of solar energy and solar power. Let’s talk about some other solar energy facts. Back in the 1960’s, solar power can to the front. Very few used it, but today, still less than 1% use it, but today our hybrid cars are moving up and down the highway using solar. Solar is free energy and can be harnessed for a fraction of what it costs for electrical energy. On top of that, this type of energy is great for the environment. Learn some other solar energy facts.

Back in the 70’s and 80’s, individuals who were using solar power might not have been considered as being normal. Now, they are the ones who are laughing. As the cost of oil to heat up homes proceeds to rise along with concerns about the environment, those who have made the way to solar energy are saving money as well as the world.

When new buildings are going up, in some cases they have some type of alternative energy source built in for saving money as well as thinking about and not destroying our world that we live in. You can do a lot more with solar facts other than just heating our houses. In addition to heating the home, solar energy can be used to provide power for appliances and even modern gadgets like MP3 players. We are all familiar with solar powered calculators. No batteries necessary either to run some devices. Well, why not use that same energy to power other gadgets as well?

If you combine solar energy with wind power, you can even get more of an energy affect. Purposes for solar energy range from warming a house and fueling a automobile to actually making clean H2O in third world nations that can end up saving lives. The things to come will truly be spectacular with what we will be able to apply to do with solar and wind energy.

In order to employ solar energy facts and stay with this technology, more emphasis has to be made on the growing concern over the cost of energy as well as the affect that it has on the eco system. People requiring to save money using solar and people who wish to protect the environment are in agreement in this way. They both think that solar and wind energy can be an answer to a major problem moving into the future. Click on the links below to learn about an amazing product that will start saving you money by the end of the weekend.