This is our first post from a contributor. CNStars17 sent this to us and asked if we would be interested in sharing this information with the public. We looked through it and were very impressed with not only his research but his content. Thank you CNStars, and we look forward to hearing more from you.

Have you heard the news out of Hawaii? Former NASA executive and physicist John Mankins captured solar energy from a mountain top in Maui and sent it wirelessly 92 miles to the main island of Hawaii. The team of researchers was only able to send around 20 watts, which is not even enough to power a fluorescent light bulb. Most of the power was lost in the transmission process.

Makins says that the project was limited by budget, and that with the proper equipment he could increase efficiency up to 64%.

Not impressed?

Did you know that 170 million gigawatts of solar energy hit the earth every second? That is more energy than the earth has used since the beginning of the industrial era. Now imagine being able to tap into that source on a large scale. With Mankins wireless energy transfer idea many satellites would be launched with high tech solar panels on them. Then the satellites would relay the energy to earth via harmless wireless energy transfer to receiving stations. Also, with the solar panels in space there is no loss in efficiency due to clouds or night. The energy would be available 24/7.

Mankins says he can get a demonstration system in orbit in around 6 years and have the full system up in around 15 years.

There are scientists in Japan that claim they could get the space-based solar power project started in less than 5 months with less than 1 million dollars. Their concept uses mirrors to focus as much solar power possible into the solar cells, and thus create 5 times more energy than conventional solar cells.

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Consider Tomorrow

As previously stated, with the high cost of natural gas this winter, let’s start cutting back on energy. HERE is a good article on how much electricity your stuff uses.   Also, let’s break down how much your gas bill will be.  To estimate how much it will cost you to operate a natural gas appliance or piece of equipment each month, you need to do three things:

Determine how many therms that appliance or piece of equipment uses each month.
Determine your cost per therm rate. Your cost per therm rate can be found on your paper bill.
Calculate the natural gas usage and expense. (Remember, your calculations will be approximate.)

A average water heater uses about 18 therms a month. Multiply that by $1.67 (estimated average across the USA) per therm = 30.06 estimated monthly cost of natural gas to operate your water heater.  This is an old estimate, but it gives you an idea of how to figure it out.

We want to first discuss Tankless Water Heaters.  This is something that companies are pushing because they are supposed to “save energy”.  This is done by only taking water when you “need” it.  They are also called an “on-demand” water heater.  These seem to be what everyone is talking about right now.  Let us first tell you, we commend you on trying to conserve energy, if you have looked into these, or already have one.  Now that that is out of the way, let’s talk about the biggest downfall there is.  Natural Gas is going through the roof, and if you are looking at a nat gas tankless water heater, you are looking at a hefty gas bill every month.  For more in depth information, “Ask the Builder” has done a lot of research, check it out.

Solar Power Water Heater:  Having half of all households use solar water heaters might not be such a tall order. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), there are 1.5 million solar water heaters already in use in U.S. homes and businesses. Solar water heater systems can work in any climate and EESI estimates that 40 percent of all U.S. homes have sufficient access to sunlight such that 29 million additional solar water heaters could be installed right now.  According to the EESI, residential solar water heater systems cost between $1,500 and $3,500, compared to $150 to $450 for electric and gas heaters. With savings in electricity or natural gas, solar water heaters pay for themselves within four to eight years. And solar water heaters last between 15 and 40 years–the same as conventional systems–so after that initial payback period is up, zero energy cost essentially means having free hot water for years to come.  What’s more, in 2005 the U.S. began offering homeowners tax credits of up to 30 percent (capped at $2,000) of the cost of installing a solar water heater. The credit is not available for swimming pool or hot tub heaters, and the system must be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation.

HERE is a good starting article about Solar Water Heaters, and information to get you started

THIS is a great link of more information.

Hopefully this post empowers you to Take a Stand against the high energy costs.

If you have done a water heater, shopped for a water heater, or in general have some insight on water heaters and saving energy, let us know.

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We gave you a how-to guide before, but now, here is an actual house that does it.

Today is all about how you can help with ideas and putting it into action.  Let’s talk about Solar Power, and if done right, how you could actually make some money off of Solar Power.  Let us first tell you, that you have to live in an area to actually make a decent profit off the Solar Power, but, it can be done.  First, I want you to see a video called Solar Power 101.  Here you can see the very basics for those that don’t know much about it.

Let’s get right down to the nuts and bolts of things though.  We would do some actual calculations but it will take some average electric bills plus, how much your state will give for putting power back into the grid, or net metering by solar power.  We will have net metering via other alternative energies later today.

If you are interested in making some money, you can look at this site to get you interested in it, and possibly get you motivated.  That is a buisnessweek article about pioneers getting their foot in the door and how much they made by selling power back.  Remember, it all depends on where you live, because some states do no give a lot of money for net metering.  Here is a website that you can click on each state and it will show you what the actual incentives per state is.  Some of the more liberal conservationist states(i.e. California, Washington, etc) will give a much larger incentive then others.

Take a stand, Make a difference