Live Green and Prosper!
How can you save money, reduce pollution and increase the value of your home all at the same time?
GO SOLAR!
Going solar is beginning to make more and more sense, what with the price of oil, and energy costs going up and up. Not to mention the negative effects of using oil and coal on the planet.
What is really great is that the cost of solar is coming down, and right now, you can lease a solar electric system (cost of $20K - $60K) and pay for it over time.
Instead of costing you more money, financing your solar electric system actually saves you money. Really! This is because you will typically generate more energy than you will use and can sell that energy back to your utility company. Through Net Metering you will receive credit for the power you generate.
This is a great article about a guy who has no electrical bill:
Futuristic 'green' buildings are fighting global warming, offering perks to residents and workers, and, for some progressive homeowners, cutting power costs to nothing or almost nothing.
By Ann Monroe, MSN Money
Amory Lovins lives 7,000 feet up in the Rocky Mountains. Winter temperatures there can drop to 40 degrees below zero.
His monthly heating oil bill? Zero. That's $0 -- no dollars and no cents.
It's not that Lovins doesn't use his furnace: He doesn't even have one. When it's really cold, he does use a couple of wood stoves, paying about $125 a year for wood.
His household electric bill? None. In fact, the power company pays him. How about carbon-dioxide emissions? The building is roughly carbon-neutral, Lovins says.
He is certainly not freezing. Far from it. He grows bananas and other tropical fruit in a greenhouse inside his home. Check out this house.
How does he do it? It's a mix of technology, design and the right priorities. Super-insulated windows (recently upgraded from the equivalent of 8 sheets of glass to that of 14) warm the house, and 16-inch insulated walls keep it that way. Extra-efficient appliances and lots of natural light mean that his solar panels produce much more electricity than $5 worth a month he needs. What does he do with the surplus? Sells it back to the power company.
And the kicker: Lovins' entire energy system cost only about $6,000 more than a standard household heating system would have cost. That extra investment paid for itself in less than a year. See entire article.