ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
"Renewable Energy" used to be known as "Alternative Energy". It became clear to the "pioneers" in Alternative Home Power that the conventional methods of heating and cooling a home, washing and drying clothing and dishes, and disposing of household waste were less environmentally sound than they could be. Quite a few individuals decided to do something about the problem by educating people, influencing political changes, providing sources for alternative products and even manufacturing products aimed at providing alternatives to the conventional life style impressed on us by advertising campaigns of influential corporate machines.
Some of these products include: Composting toilets to save water and dispose of human wastes as fertilizer for home gardening. Flow restrictors for faucets and low flow showerheads which help conserve water. Government regulations which require all of certain categories of appliances sold in the US to meet minimum efficiency regulations. An "Energy Star" program which rewards appliance manufacturers who produce products which exceed the government efficiency standards by a certain percentage. Compact flourescent light bulbs which can replace standard incandescent bulbs in many applications and use a third of the energy. Front loading washing machines which use considerably less water than top loading ones and get clothes clean with less soap and generally help them last longer. Grey water systems which recycle wash water to use for watering lawns, and rainwater collection systems which capture rain water for household use. Reuse and recycling programs which encourage people to collect used product containers so they can be remanufactured into new product containers.
Composting, where homeowners and farmers can put organic wastes back into the soil and cities compost tree limbs and fallen leaves into mulch which can go back into gardens. Efficiency programs where the government requires all new housing to meet certain minimum specifications for insulation and utilities provide home energy evaluations for a nominal fee. Government incentives for alternative fuel vehicles including natural gas, diesel, hydrogen, electric, pv solar electric, hybrid electric. Efficient heat transfer solutions such as solar hot water, geothermal ground source heat pumps, solar radiant heating systems, solar hot air heating systems, thermal mass and thermal state-change energy storage systems. Passive solar heat transfer solutions such as efficient gas filled or evacuated windows, e-glass and other differential coatings, new construction and installation techniques for solar heat collection and storage. Solar PV collection of electrical energy and solar electrical generation. Tankless water heaters. Efficient pumps, efficient utility interactive inverters at an affordable price. With all these happenings in the alternative energy category, this site is concentrating on solar PV as a reliable and feasible alternative energy source. PV is an alternative which requires efficient use of electrical energy for it to be useable.
PV will not work without other energy saving technologies to provide all the energy of a modern home.
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