Solar Energy Uses That You HAVEN’T Thought Of!
We’ve all heard about how solar energy can be used to generate electricity for your home to reduce your electric bill and save you money but have you considered other ways how is solar energy used around your home?
Here’s a few solar energy uses that you probably haven’t considered:
Besides solar panels, the most well known use of solar power, you can also build or buy a passive solar heater to help reduce your heating costs in the winter. Basically, a solar heater is a collection unit that can either be built as part of your home or be attached to an existing window and it will absorb the suns heat and slowly pass it into your home. It would be difficult to heat your entire home this way but it can help reduce your heating bill.
You could also build a solar water heater to help supplement your homes hot water supply. This can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. At its most basic, all you’d need would be a used electric hot water tank (you could find one at your local dump for free), a wooden box to keep it in (you can just use scraps of plywood if you have some around your home), something to cover the box with like glass or plastic sheets, flat black paint, and some standard plumbing fittings and pipe and you are in business. Some families have been able to use a solar water for up to 70% of their year round hot water usage, which will equate to serious savings on your hot water bill.
Another interesting way to use the suns power is to cook meals with it using the suns heat. DIY solar ovens are easy to build and fun to use. I even found directions on how to make a solar oven out of a used pizza box! Or you can buy one for a reasonable price online. The only downside is that it takes much longer to cook in a solar oven so you have to plan your meals ahead of time. (You can’t just start cooking and have dinner ready in 30 minutes like you do with your stove.) It will usually take about two to three times as long as normal to make a meal.
This is just a short list of the many ways how is solar energy used around your home besides the conventional solar panels. I hope it helps you think outside the (pizza) box about uses of solar energy around your home.