Alternative Energy Should Be Priorities For Everyone

In 2009 we all need to be thinking about how we individually can do our part to go "green." So far we think of going "green" on a nationwide basis. We think about putting restrictions on oil companies, cap and trade, making the big three produce more efficient cars, city recycling programs, and so forth. What about looking at ourselves as individual households and contemplating what investments we can make to reduce our carbon footprint, use less non renewable energy, or recycle more.

There are numerous technologies and tax incentives that we all can take advantage off, some more expensive than others, that will allow our home to become more energy self sufficient from utility companies and waste less.

Solar Panels

I have several solar panels on my garage roof. I live in Alaska so we have extreme temperature swings throughout the year and my power input is directly affected. In the summertime we have 24 hour daylight for three months. In the wintertime we have 4-5 hours of daylight, and most of that is overcast, per day.

My three panels can produce enough power when its sunny outside to power my computer. If I got more panels I could produce a lot more. Getting enough power to juice my computer may not seem like much but its something. Its going in the right direction. That's a couple bucks a month that I save and several kilowatts that I do not have to get from the electricity company.

I was at beautiful wedding reception at a house on the upper Hillside of Anchorage and was surprised to find out that the owner of the house was powering his whole house with solar power. And he had a huge house! He had three seven foot panels perfectly angled and facing the sun to get the maximum amount of power and it worked great. I used to think you had to have a farm of these things to produce any significant amount of juice but I've come to find out the key is sun access and placement of your panels. He was high on the hill, had no blockage whatsoever, and had his solar panels really high up to get the maximum amount of sun rays. It was awesome to see!

Windmill Power

If you live in a very windy place why not take advantage of the wind. Its a 100% free energy source.

This alternative energy source is much like solar power. Its about wind access and placement. You need to place your windmill as high as you can get it. Usually living by the water or high up on a hill will produce the most amount of wind.

These devices are fairly expensive though. They should not be. William Kamkwamba, who was a 21 year old high school dropout, made a windmill from wood and an old plane propeller in his hometown and powered the whole village with it. Cost.....zero. So why do windmills usually retail for thousands of dollars? That's a mystery I would like to find out. Nevertheless, if a young African kid got a book from a library and build a windmill that gave electricity to his whole village than you should be able to power quite a bit with your windmill if you live in a windy place.

Waste Oil Burner

This has been my most cost savings alternative energy. I have a windmill and solar panels but I do not live in a year round sunny place nor is my location windy enough to power my windmill more than a couple turns. But I do have a mobile oil change business and get a lot of waste motor oil. I heard about waste oil burners from a friend and invested in one two years ago. Since then I have been producing free heat for my home and business. I pay the natural gas company $8 per month just for the hook up fee in case my burner breaks down. I spent a little over $10,000 on this machine including shipping and installation and have gotten all of it back. I get to turn a product that is considered "waste" by most people into a valuable commodity that gives me free heat. I love it!

Watermills

Very few people are in a position to take advantage of hydro power. Hydroelectricity is hard to come by because you have to be near running water that traveling at enough speed to make a mill's arm turn.

Bakers used to use the watermills to make bread over 150 years ago. The water turns the crank, which turns the mill, and you can produce power that way. An excellent power source if you live by a fast running creek.

Vegetable Oil

If you have a diesel vehicle you can outfit it with a kit to run off bio diesel or commonly referred to as vegetable oil. You can make a deal to pick this stuff up from any restaurant. You just have to find a way to filter it. There are a lot of particles in used vegetable oil and it can quickly clog your fuel filter so you want to have a good filtration system in place. I know people who have done this and saved thousands while reducing our dependence on oil. Great way to go green if you can.

Use Your Imagination

Going green is not that hard. I have only named a few ideas you can look into. We each can do our part to personally invest in alternative energies that will a) save us money and b) save our planet. We have over six billion people on the planet now and we each have to do our part to lower our consumption and wastefulness. If we do not I really hope that Mars can support life because our children may have to live there.