Solar Power: Is it for you?

There are many choices when it comes to alternative energy these days. From burning garbage to produce electric, to windmills and wind turbines to the ever popular solar power. With all of these options to choose from which is the best bang for your buck?
In a nutshell none are really cost affective right now on a large scale but all will help reduce costs. Today I want to focus in on solar and how you can actually make it a more viable option then ever before.
Unless you have lived in cave you have heard of solar power. The process of solar power takes the suns rays and through the use photovoltaic cells converts those suns rays into electricity. Sounds simple right? Well out of all of the options it is the easiest to implement, however if you were to load up your rooftops with solar panels, it could cost anywhere from twenty thousand dollars up to one hundred thousands dollars. I can tell you right now you would never recoup your cost in your lifetime. But here is what I suggest if you want to take advantage of solar power to help reduce costs.
Believe it or not you can build your own solar panel for more than half of what it costs to buy a solar panel. So if you are a handy do it yourself type of person build your own solar panel. Of course you will need an electrician to hook it into your electrical supply that feeds your house. Solar cells can be purchased online or at Radio Shack and you can even obtain step by step plans to build a simple panel. The cost will vary from the cells you choose and other material, but I built a solar panel that generates 18 volts of power for less than $100.
So what if you are not a handy person what then? Well instead of investing in various panels you can invest in solar specific devices, such as roof top vent fans powered by solar, solar landscape lighting and other outdoor lights to name a few. I haven’t seen any solar powered kitchen appliances yet, but I am sure they are on their way.
If you still want to invest in a solar panel, instead of purchasing all of the solar panels for your entire roof, buy one now, and then add on additional solar panels as you can afford them. This last option has become the most popular. It is popular because the amount of money needed up front is less than two thousand dollars in most cases, and then additional panels added on later are cheaper since the initial work has already been done.
We all want to utilize cleaner energy for our homes but do not want to break the bank in doing so. Just keep in mind that there are various options you available to you and you are only limited by your own creativity.

Recycle: Composting Your Food Waste

Every year Americans put thousands of tons of waste into landfills. Although government standards have become more strict on the way our trash gets placed into landfills, such as eliminating items that won’t biodegrade within a reasonable amount of time, lining landfills so harmful chemicals that did make it through do not end up in our water supply and so on, the fact is we can do so much more.
Even though we can do more, when you present most people with the question or the responsibility of doing more to keep trash out of landfills, almost invariably the first question they will ask is, “what’s it going to cost me?”
That is a fact of life and who can blame them. A lot of people are on tight budgets just to feed their families or keep a roof over their heads, so spending extra money on recycling is not an option.
So to make it clear, the information that I am about to give you, so you can help reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, will not cost you a dime. The only thing it will cost you is a couple of minutes of your day.
I am talking about recycling your food waste. You can do this in a couple of different ways. Although both ways are called vermicomposting, the first way is what deem as managed composting. This is where you build a box, or have some kind of container, and in that container you have worms known as red wigglers (commonly used for fishing). These aren’t some wild species of worms, you probably or should I say more than likely have thousands in your ground right now, and that is a good thing.
You add your food waste to your container of worms, cover the waste with damp shredded newspaper so the smell of the food waste does not seep out and you are done. In about 60 days the worms will have consumed all the waste, leaving behind their castings. It is these castings that you add to your flower beds, and gardens as it is the best type of fertilizer you can give them. What you have just done is keep the food waste out of the landfill, feed worms and they in turn gave you great compost. It is a win-win for everybody (or everything).
Of course the managed way will required you to keep monitoring the container so the worms are never without food. You will need a container, you will need to keep it damp as worms like moist environments, and of course it needs to stay dark at all times.
However there is an easier way. If you have a section of your yard that you use as a vegetable garden or flower bed, you can simply dig a hole about a foot to 3 feet deep (depending on the amount of food waste you have), and bury your food scraps. The worms (and bacteria, fungi and other helpful creatures in the ecosystem) will find your food scraps, eat them and leave their castings in the soil. Then all you have to do is turn your soil over to mix the castings and whoala you are done!
You should pick the scenario that best fits your situation and of course budget. But as you can see both options are very beneficial to the environment by adding much need nutrients to your soil and keeping the food waste out of a landfill.

Save Money, Save Energy

The economy is struggling as are most Americans right along with it. We are looking for different ways to save some money. Whether it is cutting down on driving the car to save on gas, clipping coupons, or reusing items more than once, everyone is doing their own part to save a few bucks on the bottom line.
One of the areas you can save some money on right now is energy costs. When I say energy I mean a combination of electrical, heating, ac, and water usage. Adding in small savings from all of these areas could add up to big savings.
Electrical is the easiest to save some money on. Without spending thousands of dollars on a solar panel system for your roof tops, here are some more realistic approaches you can implement right now to help save on costs. First replace your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs in the rooms that you use the most. The federal government has shown that this can save up to $120 per year in savings on electrical costs. Remember to unplug all appliances that are not in use. Many appliances still draw power even though you are not using them. The easiest option is to plug you appliances into a surge protector outlet strip and then shut off the strip to ensure no power is being drawn.
Regardless of whether you have a gas clothes dryer or one that runs off electric, a clothes dryer uses large amounts of energy that cost a whole bunch of money. During the warmer months use a clothes line. I read one estimate where savings for the average household that uses a clothesline over a clothes dryer topped $750 for the year. Now I won’t say you will save that much, but then again depending on how often you use the dryer, you could save more.
Staying with our clothes theme, let’s turn to your washer. Most of the energy used by a washer occurs when the water is being heated. Drop the hot was cycles and choose cold. Many detergents today are engineered to work in colder temperatures for this reason. Also choose the correct water level. There is no need to select extra large if you are doing a medium sized load.
When it comes to heating and air conditioning there are some easy steps you can take to help reduce costs. For instance in the winter time drop your heat a degree or two at night when you go to bed and when no one is home. No sense in heating the home if no one is there. Invest in a good programmable thermostat so you can program your house temperatures that are convenient to you and your family. Same goes for AC in the summertime. When no one is home raise the temperature so the AC is not cooling a house as often when it is empty. If you do not have central AC, make sure you get the right size window or room unit for where it will be used. You wouldn’t buy a 50,000 BTU window unit for a 9x9 room. You get the point.
These are just a few of the many ways you can make alterations to your current lifestyle and save money in the process. Overall these tasks won’t take more than a few minutes of your time, but the monetary savings will be well worth it.

High Blood Pressure And Herbs That Help

High blood pressure is one of the most serious problems today, with reports estimating that more than 50 million Americans suffer from the condition. High blood pressure usually doesn't cause any symptoms in the early stages and often runs in families.
The illness is the force in the arteries when the heart beats (systolic pressure) and when the heart is at rest (diastolic pressure).
High blood pressure or (hypertension) is defined in an adult as a blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mm Hg systolic pressure or greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg diastolic pressure. High blood pressure is 140/90 or higher.
The illness can also be caused by an underlying condition: such as kidney disease, hormonal disorders, thyroid disease, adrenal gland disease, and the use of certain drugs, such as oral contraceptives, or herbs such as licorice.
High blood pressure is a very dangerous, sometimes life-threatening condition, affecting people all around the world. It occurs when there is an increase of force against the arterial wall, with potentially damaging consequences.
The illness occurs more often in men than in women, and in African Americans almost twice as often as in Caucasians. The disease is dangerous because it makes the heart work harder to pump blood to the body and it contributes to hardening of the arteries.
It can occur in children or adults, but it's more common among people over age 35. It is believed by some in the medical profession that High blood pressure can be cured by taking high amounts of magnesium and calcium in food.
High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, but it can cause serious problems such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure. It is also estimated to affect about two million American teens and children and the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that many are under-diagnosed.
Herbal medicines rarely have significant side effects when used appropriately and at suggested doses. Herbal remedies can effectively be used to treat high blood pressure instead of the pharmaceutical drugs by those who want to avoid such adverse reactions as dizziness, drowsiness, insomnia, dry mouth, headaches, bloating, constipation and depression caused by anti-hypertensive medications.
Herbs are effective but it is important that you consult your doctor and understand the severity of your condition first so that the correct approach is taken. Herbs have shown overwhelming evidence that they work. Herbs that lower blood pressure such as Stevia and Passionflower have been scientifically validated in a study in the early 1980's.
They act in almost magical and astonishing ways: spasms may relax, pains vanish, constipation is overcome, nervousness recedes, headaches disappear, colds banish, allergies are counteracted, fevers are controlled and blood flow is arrested.
High blood pressure tea, which is a mixture of valerian root, ginger root, motherwort leaves, and hawthorn berries and flowers can also be used to reduce hypertension. Herbal tea is more available nowadays and has become more popular among mainstream consumers who are discovering the benefits of herbal tea.
Garlic helps to break up toxins which leads to abnormal blood pressure and heart problems. Garlic is one of the most ancient of herbs going back to 3,000 BC. This bulb that is so common and abundantly available has shown to be very beneficial.
Garlic (Allium Sativum) has been used to treat high blood pressure and lower cholesterol effectively. In a meta-analysis of seven randomized controlled trials of garlic supplements, it was indicated that in three trials it showed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and four in diastolic blood pressure.
Garlic supplements should only be used under the supervision of a qualified health practitioner. High blood pressure garlic can be taken but should not be taken alone because it can increase dullness of the mind.
Herbal hawthorn and vitamin C help in widening of blood vessels and regulate heart rate. Herbal products like fish oils and flax-seed oil help in proper blood circulation as well.

Solar Panels: Take Steps to Conserve Energy to Maximize Your Investment

Going solar is more than just slapping some panels on your roof and generating electricity. It is a complete different way of utilizing a variety of ideas to offset the amount of energy that a family will use. Most people think that if they put some solar panels on their roof then they can use as much electric as they want, not change to more efficient appliances or light bulbs and other wacky ideas.
The reality of the situation is for many solar panels are an investment just as much as they are doing the right thing to reduce carbon emissions from burning coal or oil to produce electric. With solar panels, just like any other type of investment, whether it is a business or a piece of real estate, there are steps you will want to take to make sure you get the most bang for your buck.
Before you even purchase a solar panel system you should take an energy audit of your own home. You should write down the amount of electric you are using on average during each month over the past three years. This is easy to do if you kept your electric bills. If not I am sure you can get a printout from your power company. You are looking for the number of Kilowatt hours (kWh) used each month to see which months you are using more electric. If you have electric heat chances are it will be the winter months if you live in a cold climate and if you are in a warm climate the hotter months due to running the AC.
Now that you know what you use and how much of it use and when you use, you need to know some things that will help reduce these costs before you even put one solar panel on your roof. For starters are you still using those incandescent light bulbs? If so switch to CFLs. They have become very affordable and also now come in a variety of styles that meet every need. Start with replacing the bulbs in the rooms you use the most, such as the family room, kitchen, etc. Make sure you read the package because for lights on dimmer switches and motion sensors you need to buy a CFL specifically designed for that purpose. The ideal solution would be to use LCD lights, but they are very and I mean very expensive, so they are not an option right now. But keep an eye on them for the near future.
Do you have trees planted on your property? More importantly do you have them planted in an area where they would block out the sun in the hotter months? Trees take a long time to grow but they are an investment that pays off in so many ways. They beautify the home and provide shade from the sun. In the colder months they block out the wind and if you buy a tree that produces fruit such as apples or pears they can also provide a food source. The choice of tree is obviously up to you but you should definitely plant a tree or two for all the reason mentioned above.
I can not tell you how many people I have met do not do the basic thing of putting window shades over their windows to block the sun in the warmer months. Even more importantly is the fact that any shading they do use is fairly inadequate. On the windows that get the most sun, use a thicker or darker shade usually around 12mm. It will block out a lot of the sun and keep the room and house in general cooler.
For under $300 you can install a solar powered attic vent fan. Nothing reduces the life of your roof and makes the house warmer in the summertime that hot air that is not moving in your attic space. Installing a solar attic vent fan is the way to go. You do not need to hire an electrician because there are no wires to hook up and there are no costs to run the fan since the sun is free (always has been, always will be). This is a great investment that will pay huge dividends.
These are just a few of the many ways you can save on energy long before you invest the money into an expensive solar panel project. Make sure you maximize all of the ways first so the return on your investment will be its greatest.