Solar air heating is quite common in countries such as Australia, China, Greece or Israel, but the United States have a lot to pick up in this area. The name pretty much speaks for itself, as solar air heaters are simple devices, which typically consist of an absorbing medium, insulation to prevent heat loss and a way to transfer the heat into the living space. Sounds too simple? Well, that’s just how it works, no hidden secrets; in fact, they’re so simple, many people choose to build them themselves instead of buying from professional companies. The absorbing medium can be nothing more than a painted aluminum sheet, the insulation can be silicone and the transportation medium usually consist of regular pipes. I’ve even seen people build them from soda cans painted black, and working just fine at dirt cheap prices.

However, they are rather complementary heaters, being able to supply only a part of the necessary heating. Typically, they account for 25%, but if built in very suitable areas, such they can go up to 50%, and even more. It is very useful both in households and in industrial buildings; many use it to heat their chicken coops or garages.

So in the long run, using a simple measure like a solar air heater can save you a lot of money in the long run, while not requiring any maintenance or big efforts; you help the planet while also helping yourself. Whether you feel confident and want to build one yourself and spend as little as possible, while also enjoying great quality, or you want to just buy one and spare yourself of the work, I cannot recommend a solar air heater enough. Having built a couple myself, I can tell you that with a minimum of care and thoughtful work you can get great results as well, so personally I would encourage that course of action, but the choice is yours – and so are the benefits.

This is a guest post written by Andrei Mihai, who usually blogs over at ZME Science. If you want to find out more about solar air heating and how you can make your own solar air heater, check the highlighted links.

Chinese herbs have carried on to influence and care for people all over the word today. Virtually all medicines have been created by blending herbs in different amounts and proportions. The Chinese herb medicine is a vast field that consists of numerous types of herbs possessing a wide range of properties and specialties.

Chinese herb basically possesses a specific taste, temperature and certain special characteristics. The basic tastes are sweet, bitter, salty, pungent, bland, astringent and aromatic. Some are known to poses herbs are mixed together on the basis of their tastes and temperatures.

Sweet herbs are sticky in nature and if they are mixed with a cold herb they are useful in creating Chinese medicine that is useful for fluids. The yin property allows the energy of the body to be restored and also cure stomach and urine problems. The sweet herbs are sticky so they help in clogging the misplaced elements of the body. The bitter taste herb possesses the quality of dryness. So whenever there is a defiance of yin in the body this herb is used to cure the problem.

The pungent herbs assist in the movement functions of the body. When this herb is mixed with a cold herb it is useful in solving joint problems and regulating the other movements of the body. The salty herb poses the quality of codify and dissolve. It is mostly obtained from the marine world which is why the salt content is high in these herbs. Whereas the astringent herb is useful in supplying the useful components to the body.

Apart from these properties herbs also poses properties such as hotness, coolness, coldness, warmth and neutral. All these are combined with the Chinese herbs to give you the best medicine for your problem.

Turning eco-savvy is the catchphrase these days. You can do it too! After all, it is real easy to adopt green living ways and it doesn’t cost a dime. As a matter of fact, you might just end up saving money. In times when prices are shooting up and resources are scarce, everyone can make a positive change by going green. Here are a few simple things you can do if you also want to take on a greener lifestyle.

1. Recycle and reuse

The supply of many material like plastic and metals is limited. So, try to reuse and recycle as much as possible. Keep track of recycling centers and pick up services to which you can make a donation. Make use of recycling bins set up in your locality or office. One can easily reuse cloth, paper and glass items around the house. Buy recycled paper, bricks, plastics or reclaimed wood.

2. Buy eco friendly supplies

Ditch plastic and stack green tagged products at home such as bamboo mats, cloth table covers and stone crockery. Furnish your house with eco-chic goods like bamboo flooring, reclaimed wood furniture, stone islands and cloth drapes. Even insulation installed in your house can be eco friendly. Munch on organic and fair trade certified foods. Use plant based cleaners or baking soda and vinegar to scour things up in your house. Plant trees wherever you can, be it indoors or outside your home.

3. Generate less trash

Garbage thrown out of homes is bunging up landfills and polluting the environment. Recycle or reuse trash by making new objects or turning it into compost. Avoid throwing out non-biodegradables like plastics or chemical wastes like batteries and electronic chips. A good way to create less trash is to buy things that you can use for longer. Opt for recyclable batteries, sturdier furniture and durable appliances.

4. Save energy

Do not leave appliances running when you do not need them and use electronic gadgets only when required. Reduce dependence on the lights by using candles or oil lamps wherever possible and replace incandescent bulbs with florescent ones. Use cold water while doing laundry and leave your clothes to air dry. Buy locally manufactured goods as less energy is expended to transport them. Switch off the air conditioners and open the windows to cool down your house. During the winters, layer yourself with warm clothes instead of turning up the heater. Go for energy efficient appliances and if possible switch to renewable sources of power like solar or wind energy.

5. Conserve resources

The fresh water reserves in the world are depleting fast, so try to minimize use of water. Do not leave any taps running and get all leaky spouts around the house fixed. A lot of water pours out while showering, so opt for a tub or bucket while having a bath. Try biking, walking, public transport or carpooling instead of your gas guzzling car. You can also drive a green vehicle. Minimize use of paper to save another tree from being felled.

Resources like energy, metals and paper are diminishing rapidly and most products up for sale are doused with harmful chemicals or pollutants. Do your bit to fight this crisis by conserving wherever you can and buying all-natural merchandise. In fact, doing up your home the green way can also increase its resale value.

About the author: Diana Maria is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she’s fond of books. Recently an article on Richard Branson attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on biomass energy.

There are many forms of water energy:

Hydroelectric energy is a term usually reserved for large-scale hydroelectric dams. Examples are the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State and the Akosombo Dam in Ghana. Micro hydro systems are hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 100 kW of power. They are often used in water rich areas as a Remote Area Power Supply (RAPS). There are many of these installations around the world, including several delivering around 50 kW in the Solomon Islands. Damless hydro systems derive kinetic energy from rivers and oceans without using a dam. Ocean energy describes all the technologies to harness energy from the ocean and the sea.

Marine current power, similar to tidal stream power, uses the kinetic energy of marine currents. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) uses the temperature difference between the warmer surface of the ocean and the colder lower recesses. To this end, it employs a cyclic heat engine. OTEC has not been field-tested on a large scale. Tidal power captures energy from the tides. Two different principles for generating energy from the tides are used at the moment. 1. Tidal motion in the vertical direction – Tides come in, raise water levels in a basin, and tides roll out. Around low tide, the water in the basin is discharged through a turbine, exploiting the stored potential energy. Tidal motion in the horizontal direction – or tidal stream power. Using tidal stream generators, like wind turbines but then in a tidal stream. Due to the high density of water, about eight-hundred times the density of air, tidal currents can have a lot of kinetic energy. Several commercial prototypes have been build, and more are in development. Wave power uses the energy in waves. Wave power machines usually take the form of floating or neutrally buoyant structures which move relative to one another or to a fixed point. Wave power has now reached commercialization. Osmotic power or salinity gradient power, is the energy retrieved from the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and river water. Reverse electrodialysis (PRO) is in the research and testing phase. Vortex power is generated by placing obstacles in rivers in order to cause the formation of vortices which can then be tapped for energy. Deep lake water cooling, although not technically an energy generation method, can save a lot of energy in summer. It uses submerged pipes as a heat sink for climate control systems. Lake-bottom water is a year-round local constant of about 4°C.

Wave Farms Expansion

Portugal now has the world’s first commercial wave farm, the Agucadoura Wave Park, officially opened in September 2008. The farm uses three Pelamis P-750 machines generating 2.25 MW.Initial costs are put at 8.5 million. A second phase of the project is now planned to increase the installed capacity to 21MW using a further 25 Pelamis machines.

Funding for a wave farm in Scotland was announced in February, 2007 by the Scottish Government, at a cost of over 4 million pounds, as part of a £13 million funding packages for ocean power in Scotland. The farm will be the world’s largest with a capacity of 3MW generated by four Pelamis machines.

Hydroelectric Dams

The major advantage of hydroelectric systems is the elimination of the cost of fuel. Other advantages include longer life than fuel-fired generation, low operating costs, and the provision of facilities for water sports. Operation of pumped-storage plants improves the daily load factor of the generation system. Overall, hydroelectric power can be far less expensive than electricity generated from fossil fuels or nuclear energy, and areas with abundant hydroelectric power attract industry.

However, there are several major disadvantages of hydroelectric systems. These include: dislocation of people living where the reservoirs are planned, release of significant amounts of carbon dioxide at construction and flooding of the reservoir, disruption of aquatic ecosystems and bird life, adverse impacts on the river environment, potential risks of sabotage and terrorism, and in rare cases catastrophic failure of the dam wall.

Hydroelectric power is now more difficult to site in developed nations because most major sites within these nations are either already being exploited or may be unavailable for other reasons such as environmental considerations

Deciding to install solar power system on your home or commercial building is a concrete way of improving the world we live in. It’s not just enough to “talk the talk” about going green, you need to “walk the walk” with your green initiatives. Installing a solar powered energy system, also known as green power you are making strides in your efforts for a greener world.

With every major decision that you make, of key importance is the research that you do to ensure its ultimate success. Before you make the decision to install a green energy system, you need to educate yourself on a couple of key components: Do solar economic work in my area? If not, are there other reasons to switch to solar? Are there local solar professionals that can help me integrate solar seamlessly in to my home or commercial projects?

In response to the first question, do solar economics work in my area, it is very much dependent on an individual basis. First of your location can make a big difference. Depending on your states demographics will affect the solar energy you will achieve. If you are installing solar MA or installing solar in CA which has more sun light hours will affect the bottom line. Also, if you are contemplating installing a solar powered energy system into your home or your commercial type project, it makes a big difference at what stage you plan to install the system. If you are building a home or a building from scratch then it will be far more economical to structure the solar power installation as part of the plans.

When this is done, the costs associated with the solar power installation are factored into the mortgage, thereby increasing your monthly payments ever so slightly. Plus with the government incentives being offered in so many different states, this will deduct the cost and you may even be making some money right from the start. The government credits being offered is definitely something to do lots of research about. These credits will very possibly make installing a solar powered system very worthwhile.

Another reason to switch to solar energy is because the homes sell at double the rate that another very similar home would sell at. Many builders are now implementing solar powered energy into the homes which they are building because the sale price is increased so drastically that it is a worthwhile investment. Also by installing a solar powered system, you are locking in the price that you pay for energy. Your costs will be the same each year whether or not the price of electricity skyrockets.

Lastly, finding local solar professionals to integrate solar energy seamlessly into your home is the single most important part of the process. Do your homework and find an experienced local installer. Talk to the professionals in your area and see whom they recommend. Using a company who has vast knowledge of the systems will lend you a company that will be able to work with your from start to finish to customize a solar energy system that is right for you. Over the last few years switching to green energy has become an increasingly popular trend. This is of great benefit to you as there are more and more experienced professionals in this industry to assist you in making the switch to green energy.

Lisa Greenwald is a customer care coordinator for Greenpowerdevelopers.com. She has a vast amount of knowledge in alternative energy solutions and has assisted many clients in making the change to a solar power energy system.

The Beginning

Photovoltaic effect, the conductivity resulting from the build-up of charge between two electrodes under direct sunlight, was first noted by French physicist Becquerel in 1839. Although some experiments had attempted to harness the tiny charges that could be harnessed, using primitive strips of selenium bound with gold connectors, they barely produced enough wattage to make the needle move

Albert Einstein

As late as 1905 Albert Einstein had established the physical properties of Photoelectric Effect, but the technology simply did not exist to support his theories. It would take until 1954 for Bell Laboratories to come up with a workable selenium cell designed to produce a constant charge.

Initial Problems

Even then, the reception was lukewarm. The main problem was that 1 watt of power generated through this array cost $250 in manufacturing and production costs; a similar amount of power generated from coal cost around $2. There seemed to be nobody interested in finding a practical use for the technology.

Use in Space

Salvation came from the heavens, and the space race was a great accelerator of events. From 1957 artificial satellites orbited the earth, but their limited battery life meant that they could only effectively transmit for a few days or weeks. In 1958 Bell’s array powered the US Navy satellite Vanguard 1, which allowed it to transmit for 7 years until its transmitter failed; amazingly, it is still in orbit today and shows no signs of stopping.

The Gradual Rise

The success of Vanguard 1 meant the widespread adoption of solar cell technology for space missions. As orbiting spacecraft greeted the sunrise once every 90 minutes, it seemed a perfect solution. By 1973 the solar cell was not only helping probes make the most of every bit of sunlight on their way to the farthest reaches of the solar system, and was powering life support systems on space stations. This also led to new manufacturing techniques and a lower unit cost for the technology. However, even at this point, solar panels on Earth still cost over $100 to produce 1 watt of electricity. Apart from spacecraft and ships, there seemed to be few practical applications for solar panels.

Solar Energy as an Eco Friendly Alternative

The Oil Crisis of 1973 led to renewed efforts to make the technology workable. With Middle Eastern producers snubbing the west, governments realised just how acutely vulnerable their energy supply was and sought alternatives. This led to the development of solar panel companies by the major petroleum producers, and the invention of thin selenium strips sandwiched under sheets of glass. Efficiency also increased, allowing production costs of around $1 per watt – lower than coal. By 1979 a 600 watt array was providing lift for the world’s first solar-powered aircraft – the Gossamer Penguin. Solar power was here to stay.

People like you and I can now take advantage of solar energy by installing solar panels in our home. Solar Contact can provide information on different solutions for solar energy in the home and put you in contact with local solar energy experts.