Are you running your ventilation systems on conventional power? Yes? Then why are you not using a solar attic fan at home? You may have thought all solar products are expensive, but the truth is, it pays off in the long run to replace your typical electric attic fan with a modern solar powered attic fan.

Once you have discovered the advantages of a solar attic fan, you’ll be ready to move into the 21st century. Here are 5 such advantages:

1 – Easy Cheap Installation:

The sun is the power source for a solar attic fan, so no complex connection to the home’s power supply is necessary. Instead of having to waste time and money getting in an expert electrician to install the fan, all you need to do is follow the instructions over a couple of hours.

2 – Renewable, Free Power Source:

Sun’s energy, which happens to be the source for a solar powered attic fan’s power, is free. So all it will cost to use the fan is the amount you pay for it.

Also, most states offer tax incentives for installing renewable energy technology at home. This lowers the initial cost of a solar attic fan.

3 – Constantly works:

Since a solar powered attic fan uses no electricity, it can operate all day long, from when the sun rises until a little after the sun sets. So air is constantly circulating in your home, regardless of the temperature, keeping your home well-ventilated and cool.

4 – Helps Maintain your roof’s condition:

Many households suffer from ice damming in winter, where snow melts on their roof, collects in the gutter and then refreezes. A solar attic fan can even operate in winter and prevents ice damming, by releasing the hot air out of the attic.

Also the solar attic fan keeps your attic well-ventilated, helping prevent fungal decay of your roof frame. This decay is usually caused where warm moist air from showering, and cooking collects in the attic, forming mildew and mold.

5 – Reduce Your Carbon Footprint:

Electric fans need power to operate. And where does that power come from? Well, burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil, and nuclear power stations – which all emit carbon that pollutes our air and causes global warming.

Whereas a solar attic fan operates on the sun’s clean, free energy. This helps decrease the need to burn fossil fuels and aids in fighting global warming.

Final words:

So many people rant on and on about global warming, but hardly any of them actually do something about it. Now that you understand how affordable, clean and simple it is to use a solar attic fan at home, you can play a part in living a greener life.

Most solar powered attic fans can be purchased for $400 or more (before taking tax cost and subsidies into account), which a tiny investment to make for free ventilation and greener living.

People may argue that 25% of the world’s energy is produced through nuclear power, but what they do not understand is all the problems it brings:

1 – It costs a lot of money to setup:

Nuclear power plants are definitely not a cheap investment. At around six to twelve billion dollars each – just for installation – taxpayers have subsidized billions of dollars to keep the utilities afloat. This money could have been invested in cleaner renewable energies instead.

2 – It actually increases green-house gases:

Nuclear enthusiast argue that reactors emit very little green-house gases. But what they do not realize is all the carbon dioxide released in other links in the nuclear chain. For example – gas-guzzling machines are used to mine the uranium, transport it to the reactors, and help build the reactor itself.

What’s more is these reactors take years to be fully operational – wasting precious time in our fight against global warming. We could have used that time and money more wisely, such as improved research and development in solar and wind power.

3 – The bi-product is radioactive waste:

From mining to milling, processing to enrichment, fuel fabrication to fuel irradiation in reactors, large amounts of harmful, long-lasting radioactive waste is produced. In addition to 20-30 tons of high-level radioactive waste per reactor per year, this includes so-called “low” level radioactive waste.

4 – Any accident would be catastrophic:

Nuclear power plants are not as safe as they are said to be. They could easily be attacked and even if an accident happened, there are no realistic evacuation measures in place. Furthermore, thanks to the Price-Anderson Act, a utility company is liable for only $10.8 billion as opposed to the real potential damage of $600 billion! Who will be picking up the rest of the bill? The working-class taxpayers – that’s who!

5 – Low-level radiation causes cancer:

Though authorities deem the levels of radiation emitted to be “safe”, children and other vulnerable individuals are not taken into account when reaching this conclusion. This is very irresponsible, and could lead to more cancer cases as the number of reactors increases.

We have also been misled about how safe it really is to “dispose” of all this radioactive waste. There is no scientific proof to show where the safest place to dump the waste is. And more nuclear plants would make the problem worse. There are only so many “safe” storage facilities. Any additional waste would have to be either burned or dumped in landfills – leading to air and water pollution.

6 – Nuclear development aids terrorism:

A country’s national security always feels at threat when extremist countries start harnessing nuclear power. Just think about Israel attacking Syria’s so-called nuclear site back in 2007, and how uneasy America was when Iran was developing its own nuclear program. Nuclear power sets the stage for the production of atomic bombs, so as long the number of reactors increases, the likelihood of terrorists getting their hands on nuclear weapons increases.

7 – There are cleaner alternatives:

What bothers us most is we already have better, cleaner, safer and cheaper alternatives available and ready to implement. Perhaps with the recent election of our new US government, nuclear energy will be put to rest and renewable energy will be harnessed on a larger scale.

But why wait for the country to start looking at renewable energy more seriously, when you can get involved yourself? Many households have discovered how to make their own solar and wind power and become more energy efficient. It is rather simple and inexpensive to do – all it takes is your willingness to learn and take action.

The sun’s energy is one of the most abundant and important forms of energy on the planet. In nature it is used for photosynthesis; in ancient temples it was used as a natural light source, and in arid countries it is used to purify water.

But, more importantly it can also be used on a domestic level, as a clean source energy for various households.

Basically, there are four main ways how to solar power your home:

Solar Ovens:

Solar cooking is the cleanest and cheapest way to prepare food. Although it is widely used in third world African countries, where fuel and electricity is not readily available, there is no reason we cannot use it during summer at home.

With solar cooking, the oven has a number of reflective panels arranged in a parabola, where they focus the sun on a single pot, in which the food is placed. Depending on the design, the cooker can make a variety of dishes from bread to steamed vegetables to fried eggs to a roast beef, and it typically caters for up to 5 people.

The one problem with a solar oven is that it takes rather long to cook the food – up to 4 times longer. But if you are prepared to wait for a healthy, wholesome, energy saving meal to be ready, then a solar cooker is a good idea.

Solar Water Heating:

Thanks to extensive research and development, a solar water geyser is an affordable and clean alternative to using the typical gas or electric powered boiler to heat your water.

With a modern solar water heater, solar collectors are filled with a conductive type of anti-freeze that heats up in the sun, As this gel heats up, it flows through narrow tubes in a cylinder, where the heat is transferred to the water. And so you get hot water.

Passive Solar Design:

Over half of a household’s power bill is spent just on heating and ventilation. So it crazy how few people think of trying passive solar living to save power and ultimately money.

With passive solar living, a household is design to effectively use the sun’s rays for natural heating and lighting. This would include being built on a sun-facing slope, with the length of the house facing the sun and having a number of large Low-E windows. And as a result staying naturally warmer in the colder months.

For natural lighting, the effective placement of large windows and mirrors in your home can help reflect and distribute sunshine throughout the house, and lower you dependence on traditional light bulbs.

To help regulate the temperature in your home, you could plant deciduous trees outside to shade your home from hot sunlight in summer and let sunshine through in winter.

To replace your conventional ventilation system, you could install a solar attic fan or solar chimney that draws hot air out of the house, and pulls in cooler air.

Electric Solar Energy:

More accurately called photovoltaic power, this is the most commonly known way to solar power your home. For this system to work properly, a number solar panels need to be facing the sun to produce electricity.

How the system works is as sun hits the panels, the solar cells absorb the light and convert it to electricity, which is then stored in special batteries. For you to be able to use solar power in your home, it first needs to be converted from direct current into alternating current with the help of an inverter.

Other than providing you cheap, clean renewable power, solar electric panels have become affordable and simple enough for anyone to install at home. In fact, with the right information it is possible to make your own solar power for under $200, as compared to getting a professional installation for a couple of thousand dollars.

So that is how to solar power your home in four ways. If you just implemented one or two of these strategies, you would decrease your dependence on fossil fuels, get renewable energy tax breaks, and reduce your power consumptions and costs while helping the environment. It is not a matter of these solutions being too expensive or complicated to use, but a matter of us being willing to learn how to use them at home.