Since 2005 energy inflation has meant an increase in household bills which has left everyone out of pocket. In the long-term the Government and the European Union aim to have everyone using some form of renewable energy. Currently there are grants and subsidies available for households to add solar panels or improve energy efficiency. By making your home more energy efficient, you can expect to save a lot of
money in the long-term and of course help to save the planet. However, in the short-term some of these home improvements can be a costly and time consuming exercise for most families.

By far the quickest and easiest way to save money is switching your energy supplier.  Depending on where you live and other factors, a household can save up to 325 pounds on their energy bills. It is very easy to switch energy providers and there are many free websites which will compare prices for you. When you switch ensure you choose a provider which will send you paperless bills, thereby saving paper.

There are also many quick and easy things to do in the short-term which can save money and the environment. Apart from the glaringly obvious recommendations such as switching off appliances, other tips include fitting insulation in your roof and walls, and using energy saving light bulbs. Again many local councils give grants for these things, especially if you are over 60 or on state benefits. Check with
your local authority for the energy packages in your area.

Jane Cocker
British author currently living and working in Buenos Aires

With roots as ancient as the rituals of Mongolian nomadic tribes that have used them for centuries, yurts have found their way across time and space and can now be found all over the world. Classified as a type of tent, the yurt is a round structure that is much stronger and more weather-tight than a tent.

Yurt manufacturers produce a surprising variety of yurts for assembly on the site of your choosing. Some people use yurts as temporary lodging while waiting for permanent homes to be built, while others like the economy of a yurt as a permanent housing option in order to invest most of their housing budget on the land itself. Many manufacturers of modern yurts offer basic packages and also plenty of information about equipping yurts with plumbing, electricity, heating and air conditioning, fireplaces, and more. These functional additions are becoming more common as yurts are growing in popularity as permanent structures used as homes, guest houses, yoga and meditation retreats, and vacation getaways.

Blue Ridge Yurts owners say, “To live in a yurt is to reconnect with our natural origins, and rekindle our potential for living simply. The smooth round walls and soft light create an easy elegance. The tall ceilings and artfully exposed rafters provide a unique airy living space with unlimited possibilities. The low-impact design and construction makes it possible to go from conception to completion in a very short time span. Moreover, this uniquely efficient structural alternative, which can be designed with all of the modern amenities, can be acquired at a fraction of the cost, both to your purse and the Earth, of a traditional home.” Kathy Anderson and Sharon Morley head this women-owned company and both live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Pacific Yurts’ website illustrates the advantages of the yurt’s structure and shape. Some of the illustrations show:

• “An aerodynamic shape: The yurt’s aerodynamic shape allows the wind to easily flow around it rather than pushing against flat walls.
• “Roof Load: Roof loads are transferred down the rafters to the tension cable.”
• “The yurt’s natural strength: Rafters push inward on compression ring and outward on tension cable, which acts in a similar way to a hoop on a barrel preventing the rafters from moving/spreading outward.

Nalina Uehlein, owner of Spirit Mountain Yurts, describes Spirit Mountain Yurts’ design by saying, “The structure can collapse small enough to fit on one draft animal (or in a pick up truck) and can be set up again in a short amount of time. Lattice walls are formed by crossed wood pieces, much like a baby gate. In the yurts that we make, these wood pieces are joined together with nuts and ornamental bolts at the crossings. The lattice wall can be collapsed to take up very little room for transporting.”

If you want to explore the possibilities of yurt living, a fun and easy way to do this is to spend a while staying in a yurt that’s available for vacation lodging. Check out EcoBusiness Links’ Environmental Directory for a huge range of options. You’ll find tempting yurt destinations all across the US, throughout Europe, and in Australia.

Let us start with electricity. You buy electricity from the power company.The power company charges you a “delivery” charge and “usage” charge. The delivery charge is usually small. The usage charge, however, varies from home to home based on how much electricity you use.

Electricity usage is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh for short) and the bulk of your electricity bill is your usage in kWh times the price of a kWh. The typical American home uses about 10,000 kWh per year. (In Europe, the average home uses about 3,300 kWh per year).While 10,000 kWh does not seem like a lot, for a solar electric system it is.

*Sizing a Solar PV System*

We speak of solar systems in terms of their rated peak power output. For example, a system of five 200-watt panels has a rated peak output of 1,000 watts. Using the rated power, we estimate the total electricity production of the system based on the sun and shade conditions for your location. (Average sun hours per day x Rated power x System efficiency x 365 = kWh per year)

In my area, in unshaded conditions, a 1,000-watt solar electric system with the panels facing polar south and mounted at 45 degrees will generate about 1,200 kWh in a typical year and offset 0.7 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The panels will cover 65 to 85 square feet and cost around $8,000 to $10,000** installed.

Now imagine that a homeowner uses 10,000 kWh per year and wants to offset half of that power    consumption, 5,000 kWh per year, with a solar electric system. To do that, they would need a system just over four times larger than the 1,000-watt system used in the example above. Here is the math: 5,000 kWh per year / 1,200 kWh per year = 4.2, 4.2 x 1,000 = 4,200 watt
system.

Therefore, a system big enough to generate 5,000 kilowatt-hours per year would need to be about 4,200 watts. It will offset about 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide, cover 275 to 360 square feet, and cost $34,000 to $42,000** installed.

*Ouch! For most of us, those are big numbers.*

**Grants and Tax credits not included in the cost estimates.

*Making the Numbers Smaller*

While solar electric systems are expensive in the short term, they are quite reliable, can be expected to last well beyond the 25 year warranty provided by most panel manufacturers, and they will eventually pay for themselves by offsetting electricity you buy from the power company.

So how do you make the cost of the solar electric system smaller? Use less electricity. This turns out to be both economically sensible and environmentally smart.

If, for example, you cut your usage from 10,000 to 5,000 kWh per year, your home’s carbon footprint (the amount of carbon dioxide your home is responsible for putting into the atmosphere) goes down by about 2.5 tons per year.

Also, by cutting your usage in half, to 5,000 kWh per year and putting in a 2,100-watt solar system, you can realize three savings. Your electric bill goes down by half because you have reduced your usage, it goes down another 25% per year because your solar system is making half of your electricity, and your only need to put up  a 2,100 watt solar system at half the cost of a 4,200 watt system.

Read More By Mark at www.newenglandbreeze.com/tem.html

Thanks,
Mark Durrenberger