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With energy costs on the rise and global warming changing climates across the globe, more people are looking towards renewable sources of energy to reduce their carbon footprint and more importantly save themselves some coin!  However, even the most eager and environmentally passionate person cannot pursue such endeavors because of the cost of setting up a renewable energy source.  The professional installation of a solar energy system can cost in the thousands, so many resourceful individuals are turning to resources that can help you build your own solar panel.

It is possible to completely build your own solar panel, but for the most part, these panels are small and don’t produce the wattage necessary to power more than a lamp….and only for a couple of minutes at that!  The most effective way to produce power from the sun, when you can’t afford to hire the professionals, would be with a solar panel kit.  These build your own solar panel kits come with everything you need to successfully build your own solar panel in the comfort of your living room, or the garage may be a wiser choice.

Surprisingly, build your own solar panel kits are not difficult to find.  With large companies like GE producing these kits, the build your own solar panel sets are very affordable and offer quicker return on your investment than purchasing and professionally installing a solar energy system.  In general, the instructions are easy to follow and in no time you are on your way to your own solar power system.

If you are looking to build your own solar panel there are a numerous resources and guides available to help you through the process.   Click on the link to find out how to get Started making your own power at home and take advantage of the potential money savings and the reduction of your carbon footprint.

Chances are that if you are reading this post you do not have a programmable thermostat installed in your home….what are you waiting for!?!  The key function that makes the programmable thermostat great is it’s ability to monitor your room/house temperature and make adjustments based on set points that you input.  Set points you ask?  Most programmable thermostats come with four set points: WAKE (set the time you get up), LEAVE (set the time you go to work), RETURN (set the time you come home), and SLEEP (set the time you go to bed).  For each of these set points you enter the temperature that you want your house set at.  For example, when I wake up in the morning @ 7am my thermostat will bring the house temperature up to 20 Celsius.  When I leave for work @ 7:45am the set point changes to 16 Celsius, which means that the furnace will not come on unless it goes below 16 degrees.  When I come home from work the set point changes back to 20 degrees @ 4:40pm, and then goes down to 18 degrees @ 10:00pm when i’m ready for bed.  If you have an old style of thermostat you would have to do that every day 4 times a day!

So you may be wondering what’s the benefit of all those different set points?  By lowering the temperature when you’re not home you’re saving money because you’re using your furnace or baseboard heaters less.  Now of course you could still do this with a conventional thermostat, but you would have to remember to change the dial 4 times a day everyday.  With a programmable thermostat you input your set points once and that’s it!  Studies have shown that by installing a programmable thermostat you could save up to 25% on your heating costs….so I recommend that you look into getting one as soon as you can.

The cost of a programmable thermostat can go from a base model of $35 up to a 7-day touchscreen model for around $150.  Most people will be fine with the basics, but if your work schedule is constantly changing I would go with a 7-day unit.

Happy Easter everyone!

I was just at Canadian Tire on the weekend and I saw the Black and Decker Power Monitor there and decided to give it a shot.  I got it installed on my Smart Hydro Meter, but quickly found that the unit was having trouble picking up the sigal from the Smart Meter.  After several attempts to find troubleshooting for my particular type of hydro meter, I decided to read more on the Smart Meter technology on the Hydro One Website…

What I found was that by 2010, all Ontario residents will have a Smart Meter installed and will be able to view your energy usage online.  This way you can track what times you are using the most energy, and then you can adjust to keep your energy usage at a minimum during peak hours.  With that being said, this will also be the start of Time-of-Day (TOD) billing which will see high rates during peak hours (estimated at 8.8 cents per kW) and low rates during off hours (estimated at 4.0 cents per kW)

Therefore, if you currently live in Ontario and have purchased a Black and Decker Power Monitor, it will essentially be useless by sometime next year.  You will be able to more accurately check your usage on the internet and have access to the past 13 months of usage to monitor your progress.  I suggest that if you’ve purchased the Power Monitor recently, you take it back for a refund and wait patiently for the smart meter technology to come into effect.