Solar & Wind Power

Owning your own pool is beyond the wildest dreams of most people. Many rumours exist about the cost of installing and running a swimming pool. In practice most people don’t really have much idea about what’s involved in setting up and running a swimming pool until they actually own one. In recent years, the introduction of a large range of PVC based above ground pools has brought the ownership of a swimming pool within reach of many more consumers.

These pools, generally referred to as above ground pools, are now offered in a range of sizes from several major global brands. Two of the most well known are Bestway and Intex. They have a selection of pools which range from the shallow 8ft diameter pool right up to deep pools over 20ft long. Shapes are slightly limited but are on the increase. Currently round, oval, square and rectangular pools are the norm. Most of these shapes can be found in both of the two most popular styles of above ground pool. These are the metal framed pools where the pool is situated in a metal frame. These pools can often be left up all year round and are the more robust type of pool. The other style has an inflatable ring around the top of the pool. This is inflated prior to filling. It acts as a float on the water and ensures that the top pf the pool stays above the water line. Both of the brands mentioned above also offer a hybrid of the two types of pool. Usually this hybrid can be found in the oval shaped pools. The larger pools are effectively as big as the in ground equivalents that many people would install if they could afford them.

Compared with installing a pool as a permanent feature buying and installing a flexible substrate pool can yield significant savings. Looked after, these pools will last for many years, although probably not as long as a permanent pool. Installation of these pools is usually a DIY job and requires little more than a level piece of land and the time to do it. Usually the assembly of the pool is quick and easy and within the space of a day you can go from empty garden to fully installed pool – although depending on your pool size and water supply it may take more than a day to fill the pool.

Once full the pool is usually ready to be used immediately. A mistake which is often made by many people is to use the pool in the same way as they have used children’s paddling pools. These pools are designed to be swimming pools. As such they are not designed to be emptied and refilled on a regular basis. Many are supplied with pumps and filtration equipment. This is designed to be used with conventional pool chemicals to keep the water clean thus eliminating the need to continuously empty and refill the pool just as one wouldn’t empty and refill an inground pool on a regular basis.

Treatment with chemicals normally follows the same sorts of routine that a permanently installed swimming pool would require. This can be time consuming and expensive but is essential to keep the water fit for bathing in. Without treatment pool water will become unsuitable for bathing in within a couple of days, often with algae appearing within 5-10 days. However, as with many products, as owning a swimming pool becomes more popular then technology on pool treatments moves on. For example several companies now offer method of treating swimming pools using salt as a sanitiser. Although the salt is cheap the units required to do this are not and the electric bill to run them can sometimes be significant. Others such as Chemipool in the UK are working with the chemical industry to formulate multifunctional liquids which are just added in the required dose once a week. This makes treating one of these pools both cheap, quick and easy.

Another area of development is in heating these pools. Again, as with their permanent counterparts, flexible above ground pools can often be heated with similar equipment to the traditional pools. Exactly what is required to heat the pool depends on the pool volume. If you require a heated pool it is worth spending the time and money to buy a heater which is sized for your pool. To small a heater will have almost no effect on heating you pool. Spending money on to small a heater is wasting your money. Some companies have developed solar panels to heat the water. The effect of these can be quite good for heating the water but they can be expensive to install. Some owners have made their own solar panels by placing a longer pipe on the return to the pool from the pump and weaving this backwards and forwards behind a plate of glass. Some very effective results have been informally reported.

Mark Ebrey
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/from-paddling-pool-to-swimming-pool-120265.html

A Funny Thing Happened

Not long ago, I was riding my bike on a familiar trail near my home. I was deeply engrossed in possible topics for articles downloadable from our Natural Healing Tools web site.

The trail is about 20 miles long. Three to four miles of it run under large power lines towering over the path. Suddenly, it hit me – the topic of my next article. EMF! That buzzing sound overhead was coming from those power lines just above me. No, I couldn’t see the field of energy emanating from the lines, but I sure could sense that I was passing through an area I wasn’t comfortable with. Then, I remembered that I usually picked up my pace a little when I reached this stretch of trail, probably out of a sense of self-preservation.

Trying to not overreact, I remember thinking, “Hey, what you can’t see won’t hurt you…right?” I thought a little longer, then got the hell out’a there!

Over the last several years, I’ve speculated about the numbers of artificial energy sources – sources of EMF, or Electromagnetic Fields – that fill our environment. I, perhaps like you, question just how safe places like the path under the power lines are, despite overt signs of harm. Here’s where I come down on the subject of EMF. Just my opinion, but based on a growing body of hard evidence and many hours of in-depth investigation.

A Little About EMF

As a kid, I remember learning that our Sun, Earth and other bodies naturally radiate electromagnetic energy of varying frequencies and intensities. Perhaps you’ve experienced the low electromagnetic frequencies generated by a lightning storm – you can feel the lightening.

Our sun is a natural source of EMF. We’re told to use sunscreen to protect us from UV radiation. The Northern Lights are actually solar radiation colliding with the gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Without the protection of the atmosphere we would be bombarded with harmful, much more intense and potentially fatal radiation.

But these are natural sources of electromagnetic radiation and there’s only so much we can do about them. What about the new forms of artificially generated radiation? Modern technology has introduced countless new sources of electromagnetic radiation.

Some estimates suggest that humankind today is subjected to 100 to 200 million times more electro-magnetic radiation than our distant ancestors. One hundred to 200 million times more! How can that possibly be good for us? The sources? Those power lines I mentioned earlier, but also computers, TV’s, radio towers, cell phones and microwave ovens, to name just a few.

One recognized authority on the subject of EMF, Robert O. Becker, states in his book “Cross Currents” (pg.188), “We have now almost reached a state in which the entire electromagnetic spectrum has been filled up with man-made frequencies. Our electric-power systems oscillates (operates) at 50 or 60 times per second (50 – 60 Hz), just above the highest naturally occurring frequency of 30 Hz. Our microwave beams operate at billions of times per second and are getting even closer to the trillion-cycle frequencies of visible light. We have filled the previously empty electromagnetic spectrum between these two extremes with man-made radiation that never existed before on Earth. And we did it in less than eighty years.”

Here’s the problem.

We’re the guinea pigs! In a sense, we have been silently recruited to participate in some ongoing experiment that will impact us long-term in ways we can only imagine. Only through the outspoken concern of people and groups has the issue of what many call “electropollution” been brought to the forefront.

According to Becker, there is a growing body of scientific evidence showing that exposure to man-made electromagnetic fields results in significant abnormalities in the physiology and function of living organisms. The potential risks to human health, he says, are well documented.

In his book “The Body Electric” (pg.327), Becker states, “Three dangers of EMF overshadow all others. The first has been conclusively proven: ELF, electromagnetic fields vibrating at about 30 to 100 hz, even if they are weaker than the earth’s field, interfere with the cues that keep our biological cycles properly timed; chronic stress and impaired disease resistance result. Second, the available evidence strongly suggests that regulation of cellular growth processes is impaired by electropollution, increasing cancer rates and producing serious reproductive problems. Electromagnetic weapons constitute a third class of hazards culminating in climactic manipulation from a sorcerer’s-apprentice level of ignorance.”

So, what are the implications?

Let’s look at what’s known. All of those electrical devices with which we surround ourselves – office machines, computers and other devices that get plugged into a wall socket – all operate at a frequency of 60Hz. The huge power lines that cover over 500,000 miles across the United States operate at 60Hz. Studies show that these 60 Hz frequencies (ELF, extremely low frequency) have damaging effects on all life forms of life. These frequencies are suspected of contributing to or even causing depression, suicides, psychosis, cancer, leukemia and a number of other physical and mental problems. Scientific evidence also indicate these frequencies can influence our genetic material during cell division, possibly linking chronic exposure to the origins of cancer (Becker, above).

Then there are those devices that operate at the other end of the electromagnetic spectrum, like our cell phones. Cell phones use microwaves that oscillate at billions of times per second. What are the long-term effects of using devices that operate at billions of time per second? We simply don’t know. This is an area that is much less understood.

What can we do to protect ourselves?

Here’s what I do and don’t do. Again, this is what I think and believe based on compelling scientific evidence and hundreds of hours of investigation. Follow your conscience.

• Don’t position your electric clock radio in close proximity to your head.

• Minimize all electrical devices in your bedroom.

• If you sleep with an electric blanket, turn it on before you get in bed and unplug it when you get in. Never keep it on while sleeping.

• Avoid waterbed heaters.

• Sit at least arms length away from your computer.

• Stay back from appliances when running – microwave, electric range, all of them.

• The larger your TV screen the further back you should sit (a readily available hand held meter will test EMF and help you determine how far back you should be).

• Stay at least ½ miles away from TV or radio towers.

• Avoid long conversations on cell phones and always wear an earpiece (above 2 minutes has shown alterations in electrical activity of the brain for at least 1 hr. after use.)

• Don’t wear your cell phone on your belt or in a pocket while it is on (you are still absorbing radiation)

• Use a landline instead of your cell phone whenever possible.

• Limit your time spent under fluorescent lights (they produce much different magnetic fields compared with incandescent bulbs.

• Before you buy a home have it tested for high levels of EMF.

• Consider proper grounding of household wiring.

• Use protective devices that have been tested in areas where there is increased EMF exposure (workplace, home, vehicle).

In the meantime ………

We’re just now beginning to understand how electromagnetic fields affect living organisms. More hard knowledge and wider awareness are needed to help us make wise choices and ensure a safe future of the generations to come. We continue to see newer advances in technology that outpace the research being done to warn us of potential dangers. Most people continue to enjoy the comforts of these new technologies but never think about the consequences of using them.

The choice to use or not use these new devices and how often or long to use them is an individual one. I’m unwilling to let the never-ending new sources of EMF work their way into my home, my car, my clothing and my work area without questioning and limiting my exposure to them. For my money, no exposure and very limited exposure is the way to go. Until there are uniform guidelines based on hard scientific evidence about how much and how long are safe for each type of device, I choose to do without or do with less.

It’s time we stop letting ourselves be guinea pigs. It’s time we start insisting that those elected or appointed to protect us do their job. It’s time to find out what is and isn’t happening to us after hours, days, weeks, months and years of exposure.

Dr. James P. Urban
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/emf-electromagnetic-fields-and-tips-for-protection-116391.html

Does anyone use solar power to provide energy for their home? If so, is it worth it? How does it work? What equipment is needed/installed etc?

I have had my system for almost a year. I have a 3.74 kwh dc system that cost $26K to install, I got a $10K rebate and a $2K fed tax credit. It is saving me about $2K a year in energy costs, so I should break even in my 6th year. Many people say it is a lot of money, but it was about 1/2 what I paid for my pool, so it’s a matter of perspective.

Conservation is key to maximizing your investment. I was averaging about 45kwh daily usage in the summer and my system takes care of at least 75% of it. The home next to me is the same model and they average about 95kwh daily usage for the same time.

I had a professional install it, because we aren’t that mechanical and with all the permits to hook it up to the city power and all, just didn’t want to risk it. I have 20 panels and an inverter that turns the dc into ac current. My panels are guaranteed for 25 years and they say that I will likely need to replace the inverter about 1/2 way through that. I expect to save about $50K over the life of the panels since electric rates increase an average of 5% annually.

I’m looking for ways to save some money on my electrical and gas bill at home. I’ve heard that solar power is a great way to do that, but it looks pretty expensive to have it installed. I’m thinking that I may have to spend some time installing it myself. Where can I find Solar Power Information to install my own solar power equipment?

Solar power is a great way to save money on power bills. For instance, I had a solar water heater installed for my pool. It uses the sun’s energy to keep my pool heated throughout the day, even during the winter. It’s really nice having a warm pool to jump into, even during the winter when it’s cooler.

But anyways, I installed the solar water heater myself. It’s fairly easy, and the trick is to find a good deal on the equipment. However, once you have the right equipment, you’ll need to find the right solar power information. Awhile back I found some good books that will help you with your solar projects. It’s been extremely helpful for me, so I hope it works out for you too, especially if you’re looking to try and save some money from your power bill. Check out the sources section below.

Each yard may grow with the changing train of greenhouse wetness and temperatures because of the different factors poised by a greenhouse environment. Temperatures are partially lights in amount. It can diverge in the density and wetness of the air, which transforms to clammy. The sincerity and the changing climate train that may arise to the greenhouse could be great factors in a factory’s evolution.

Heat my assign to the plants’ trees and stems. This happens only when the greenhouse adapts to certain damp limitations that are responsible in the phototropical and photosynthetic conceal activities. The passion removed that is responsible for maintaining energy consider in the greenhouse is very chief to the plants’ shade.

The progress of assorted plants such as vegetables, exotic fruits, zenith plants, orchids, and other green plants in the greenhouse indigence their own warming and cooling depending on certain climate changes. A climate changed influences the wetness and temperature in a greenhouse. Other gardeners that may not be knowledgeable in the limitations of air temperature and damp may encounter midstream and unhealthy plants.

If a greenhouse has an unbalanced mess of dampness, it could be very hard to generate the right amount of wetness desired by the plants. Plants have their own way of adjusting to the mass of light intensity and other aspects that compose greenhouse climates. The best altitude in the greenhouse is also fashioned by the photosyntetical occurrence in plants where the sunlight acting a very big function in the greenhouse wetness.

Sunlight or the solar radiation with energy limitations that influences a lodge’s progress is one cause that may distress the greenhouse damp. The intensity of the solar radiation spectrum can frankly and indirectly change the energy settle that is critical to a deposit’s life means. The energy desirable may depend on the solar radiation intensity that enters the greenhouse. A life managed could show active or still characteristic levels of adjustments that may redouble or lessening their development and swelling.

The soil or hide station temperature may also weight the wetness in the greenhouse. Heat relocated on the ground soil is desirable by the plants to acquire the desired temperature in the greenhouse. Many experiments establish that the best soil temperature affects the life course of plants especially of those easily grown by organic fertilizers. The light intensity and wetness factor change soil temperature because of the absorbed passion and heat on the trees and stems.

Lighting, humidification, and cooling systems are important aspects that may craft different effects on a greenhouse. Evaporative coolers play big roles in sustaining the humidity and temperature. There are units the agreement warmers and humidifiers from cool air to a highest explosion of humidity, which is operated by a three-rush fan motor.

When it is insincere worn in its maximum potential to a large greenhouse, it can perfectly direct the air damp in a recurrent time break. Other units that are central in the humidity of the greenhouse are the directional airflow louvers, which sustain the stream of the air to found a humidifying, ventilation, and cooling.

Coolers that are vacant in the promote are designed to have better significance in a greenhouse. There are some that are modeled with bodyguard-gauge, zinc-covered ringing louvers and cabinets that element a zinc-chromate. This is also furnished on baked-on enamels. They also have non-vibrating trick ropes, tough fan-swings, and three-speed motors. These evaporating basics are built with three unattached pads.

Lighting and most plants desired humidifiers to live. The sunlight and humidity that is normal by the foliage and stem cells form a weigh distribution of Carbon Dioxide from the greenhouse humidity. This developmental round from the plants and to the elements of the life manner is called photosynthesis. Sunlight and courteous temperature are to sell photosynthesis in the plants.

The desirable sunlight depends on the flavor of the year. Too much exposure to sunlight can be experienced during summer seasons. It is better to have cooler systems and humidifying systems to hold a balanced temperature inside the greenhouse. This method also goes well during winter seasons where sunlight could be scarce. The essential to have heating systems and suitable ventilation should also be considered to have a balanced life process in the greenhouse.

Jaden Sloan
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/having-a-humidifier-for-your-greenhouse-755156.html

The world today depends on fossil fuels to meet over 80 percent of its energy needs, a simple fact of the way the industrial world has grown up. But dependence brings with it major challenges: rising demand because of economic growth and new consumers; the global distribution of resources; growing concerns about environmental impacts of energy production and use; and the timescales associated with transforming how we produce, deliver and consume energy.

All this places the United States and the world at an energy crossroads.

Meeting the world’s hunger for energy without fundamentally altering the global climate, increasing geopolitical tensions or causing serious economic dislocation begs for, indeed requires, new technology solutions.

There is, however, no simple or single technology option: In the coming decades we will need a host of new technologies to diversify our fuel mix and control greenhouse gas emissions, and at the same time not hinder economic growth.

The challenge is large but there is also good reason for optimism-largely fueled by a range of new technologies. Some are ready for deployment. Others, though promising, may be a decade away. And some, while more uncertain and higher risk, could have far-reaching impact.

But this optimism must be tempered with realism. The scale of the energy industry is enormous. Therefore, so must be the scale at which these technologies operate if they are to have a major effect. Scale also translates into time.

Policies will have to be thought through and aligned. Also, since both markets and environmental challenges are global, international cooperation must be integral to effective solutions.

Of special urgency is the risk of climate change from global warming. Using atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations before the industrial age as the baseline, a “business as usual” energy supply trajectory would nearly double those concentrations by mid-century, locking in average temperature increases of several degrees along with the expectation of severely disruptive impacts on human health and the environment. Such concentrations are thought by most engaged scientists to be at the upper limits of prudence.

Scenarios that address these challenges successfully, in response to policies that price carbon dioxide emissions, call for major advances in three key areas-energy efficiency, transportation fuels that are not petroleum-based and widespread electricity generation that yields little or no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Greatly enhanced energy efficiency provides both the best short-term opportunity for addressing the major energy challenges and an essential component of a long-term strategy-perhaps a 40 to 50 percent reduction in primary energy use compared to mid-century “business as usual” needs, without a major impact on GDP.

But how to get there? The technology pathways for efficiency involve buildings, vehicles and industrial processes. Two-thirds of U.S. electricity is used for residential and commercial buildings.

Improved lighting, HVAC, appliances, active energy management, cogeneration and energy-efficient design could dramatically reduce our power requirements. Also, new approaches such as passive ventilation and daylighting can both reduce energy use and improve comfort.

In addition, new designs for the coming “gigacities” can minimize both energy use and pollution. We can also achieve dramatic improvements in vehicle efficiency. Options include advanced engine design integrated with new approaches to fuel utilization, hybrids and plug-in hybrids, “lightweighting,” hydrogen and fuel cells, and others.

Hybrid technology appears ready in the next couple of decades, with further advances in battery technology, to deliver both very good overall efficiency and a considerable reduction in oil requirements. The second technology category includes technology options for alternative transportation fuels. This can include biofuels, conversion of coal or natural gas to liquid fuels, electricity and hydrogen.

Biofuels are currently receiving a great deal of attention, as they are renewable and strongly supported by the agricultural sector. Scientific and technological advances are needed to utilize agricultural and forest waste products and “designer” energy crops effectively and economically.

Such advances look quite promising over the next decade or two. Challenging issues also remain in the design of the appropriate infrastructure from field to fuel and of the regulatory structure for assuring fuel quality. And plug-in hybrids would lead to electricity
becoming a major transportation “fuel.”

For the third technology category-electricity production without significant carbon dioxide emissions-we have to think across a wide range of options: nuclear power; renewables, including wind, solar, geothermal and waves; and fossil-fuel use with carbon capture and geological storage.

Nuclear power provides about a sixth of the world’s electricity. Expansion will be based on evolutionary improvements of current technologies, such as passive safety systems and new construction techniques. More advanced technologies may include modular gas-cooled reactors for the midterm and possibly,for the long term, novel reactors and fuels that considerably mitigate waste management concerns.

Wind and solar renewables are expanding rapidly and demonstrating considerable cost reduction. Eventually, direct use of solar radiation appears the most promising energy option given the large amount of solar energy reaching the earth.

However, many scientific and technical advances are needed to realize massive deployment: new manufacturing techniques, new materials, new solar conversion processes and new storage technologies that enable use of a large-scale, intermittent energy supply.

Nevertheless,the competitiveness of solar technology in significant markets with high electricity prices is improving rapidly.

Coal can also be a “carbon-free” energy source if most of the produced carbon dioxide is captured and stored geologically. With current technology, this is expensive, but there is much promising research on new ways of converting coal to energy and less expensive carbon dioxide capture.

A major governmentled effort is needed to resolve remaining uncertainties, both technical and regulatory, around long-term geological carbon dioxide storage at large scale. This array of promising technologies-some ready today, others with an excellent prognosis in a decade or so, and still others as higher-risk candidates for “home runs”-offers an optimistic view of our capacity to deal with our energy needs.

However, as already observed, this optimism must take into account other realities. First is the issue of scale. For many of these technologies, overcoming key scientific and technical barriers is only part of the story. If biofuels were, for example, to replace half of current U.S. gasoline use, we would need about a hundred thousand square miles of land.

This raises issues not only of land use, but also of water resources, ecological stewardship, etc. As another illustration of scale: If all of the carbon dioxide emitted by U.S. coal plants today were compressed to a liquid for geological storage, its annual volume would be about 50 percent more than a year’s worth of U.S. oil consumption.

These system challenges reflect the enormous scale of the energy enterprise. They will be met only through a complex interplay of multiple technologies, not some “silver bullet.”

Second, policies that are synergistic with societal objectives are essential. U.S. energy policy does not currently incorporate societal imperatives such as oil security or climate change risks into energy prices, as it does for a variety of pollutants.

Instead, we face a complex and somewhat idiosyncratic set of incentives and subsidies that advance introduction of “winning” technologies. Also transforming the multi-trillion dollar energy business, with its vast, durable, and rather expensive infrastructure, takes time-about a half century for significant change.

Finally, these key energy challenges are global in nature and will need far more international cooperation than has been evidenced. Climate change risks clearly have global implications and require global solutions.

However, the global nature of the oil market similarly means that increased demand and security concerns of any region ripple through the world’s economies.

Energy represents one of this century’s grandest challenges:global in scale, powering economic growth, reducing poverty in developing countries, threatening to the environment and to human health, risking geopolitical conflict. Technology is a necessary but not sufficient enabler for resolving these problems.

The right mix of sustained research, technology investments and policies will, however, empower the nation’s scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs to respond to these challenges. Getting that mix right will also present an opportunity for building a sustainable energy future for the 21st century and, considering the inherently long lead times, well beyond.

Daniel Yergin
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/security-climate-and-technology-136874.html

Every house is a potential solar collector, ready to harness the sun’s endless supply of energy. Here’s a comprehensive, entertaining DVD that shows how to put the sun to work for you, explaining the many ways you can capture its energy to heat, cool and power your home. Includes solar water heating, cooking, electricity and more. 24 minutes.

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Ed Begley is a dedicated environmentalist. No, let’s face it – Ed is a little obsessed, but he’s good at it. So what’s it like living with Ed? After thirteen years together, Ed likes to believe he’s winning his wife Rachelle over to his green lifestyle and sometimes odd contraptions. But it’s love and laughter that puts the fun in dysfunction and obviously keeps this seemingly mismatched Hollywood couple together. Hang out with Ed as he tinkers with his solar roof, makes toast with a bicycle and rides in Jay Leno’s 1909 Baker electric car. Or you could just roll your eyes along with Rachelle, but you’ll be too busy laughing. Approx 180 mins. USA. Also available: Season Two Play the video clip, at left, to learn 3 really easy ways to be energy efficient.

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All this solar powered, freestanding shower needs is a tap-water source and sunlight. The 2.1-gal. water-storage tank heats water up to 140F; when you’re ready to shower off chlorinated or salt water, simply adjust the incoming cold-water dial to the perfect temperature (up to 16 gal. of 86F water). No plumbing required; easy assembly; breaks apart for storage/transportation. China.

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5V 10Wh Compact solar power pack charges iPod , Sony PSP, cellular phones & PDAs or any USB powered or chargeable device Includes PowerPort solar battery, retractable charging cable with tips for iPod , PSP & Motorola RAZR/KRZR & other mini USB devices Li-ion rechargeable battery Recharges from the sun or any USB power source 2-year warranty

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