Taking your home off the grid by investing in renewable sources of eco-energy will minimise your carbon footprint and dramatically reduce your energy bills. You may have found cheapest energy supplier at MoneySupermarket.com but now in some cases, you may even be able to stop writing those checks altogether.
Switching to clean, green eco-energy can increase the resale value of your home and may qualify you for government incentives, rebates and tax credits.
Top Eco-Energy Improvements
Solar Panels
Harness the rays of the sun to power everything from your reading lamp to your swimming pool pump. Solar eco-energy has seen huge growth in the past years as more homeowners instal rooftop panels to reduce skyrocketing electricity costs.
Government programs make it possible to have solar systems installed for a monthly payment equal to your current electric bill, resulting in zero out-of-pocket costs. In many cities, local utility companies will even pay you for the excess energy your panels produce.
Geothermal Heat Pumps
Geothermal or ground source heat pumps use the underground warmth of Earth as a source for heat in the winter and as a heat sink in the summer. Geothermal eco-energy is the most efficient source of renewable home and water heating and cooling.
Though they are costly to instal, in cold climates an eco-friendly geothermal heat pump can reduce home heating and cooling bills by 30 to 40 percent. Despite its name, geothermal energy doesn’t come from the center of the planet, but rather from the top layer that is heated daily by the sun.
Small Wind Electricity Systems
Wind energy has been used for years to pump water on American farms and ranches, and is the most affordable eco-energy alternative to instal and maintain at home. Wind energy is renewable and produces zero carbon emissions. In the right environment, small wind systems consisting of only one or two turbines can reduce residential electricity bills by as much as 90 percent.
Wind generated eco-energy is especially useful in rural communities where the cost to tie-in to existing power lines can be prohibitive, or in areas where the power grid is unstable and blackouts are frequent.
Home Fuel Cells
Residential hydrogen fuel cells use existing natural gas lines to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. This cutting-edge eco-energy technology has been used for years in industrial applications and is now starting to take off for home use.
Typically installed by local energy providers, fuel cells deliver consistent energy generation 24 hours a day. At peak production, a hydrogen fuel cell can provide as much as 70 percent of the electricity used by a family of four living in a 1,280 square-foot home and can heat water for household use more efficiently than traditional natural gas systems.