You can save on your energy bills by draught proofing your sash windows very easily. A home loses over 25% of its total heat due to draughts. Spending some time to make your home energy efficient will save you time and money with minimal expense and effort.

In addition to heat loss from sash windows, you may want to check the other windows and doors in your home and address the energy loss from all these areas. Properly treating sash windows and making them energy efficient often has the greatest impact on home energy costs because of their size and location in a home.

An easy way to check for heat loss in your home is to light a candle slowly move it around the frame of windows and doors. When the candle flickers, there is a draught that needs attention. There are a few steps you can take to help eliminate draughts from your sash windows that are affordable and relatively easy to carry out.

Using heavy curtains is one way to take care of a draughty window immediately. By hanging a heavy curtain in front of the window you will effectively stop the heat loss and the entry of cold air in your home. Heavy curtains will act as an extra layer of insulation for the room and will keep air from passing through the windows.

Using clear silicone bathtub caulking works very well if you have lose panes in your windows. Older sash windows often have panes that come loose. The silicone will seal the pane into the frame of the window and keep air from passing through any gaps.

When the windows are very old and have not been maintained regularly, you may need to have a secondary glazing completed by a professional to give them a bit more life. However, it will be important to make plans to have a professional group remove the windows and re-fit them with parting bead, foam, and seals to achieve the greatest benefit and save on your energy bills by draught proofing your sash windows.

If you are going to save on your energy bills by Sash window draught proofing, you may want to spend some extra time taking care of all of the draughts in your home in the form of sash window repairs London and decrease your general energy cost.

Emmy Homes is proud to deliver energy-efficient homes to Long Island. Our designs leverage Energy Star guidelines, qualifying for Energy Star certification to help ensure the efficiency of your house. This not only cuts your utility bills but also increases the resale value of the house.

In conjunction with Home Energy New York, Emmy now delivers homes with eco friendly technology built-in. With choices ranging from solar panels, wind turbines and solar heating tubes, Emmy Homes in Commack New York can build and deliver an energy efficient house to you.

The wind turbine systems that will be used in Commack New York are the Energy Ball v100 and Energy Ball v200. These systems have been designed to generate 500W and 2500W of electricity respectively. These wind turbines, which closely resemble a weather vane and not a traditional windmill, are very compact. The v100, for example, is only 3 feet tall. When mounted on a pole on top of your home, is able to use the power of the wind, night and day, generating electricity for you. Any surplus electricity is fed back into the power grid and sold back to the power company.

The solar heating tubes are a different approach to heating the water used throughout your home. A fully enclosed system, it makes use of vacuum tubes containing thin metal blades. As sunlight hits these blades, they heat water in tubes running through a seam in the blades. This water circulates back to your heating system through coils and radiates heat into the usable water in your tank. The water in the solar heating tubes is not the water that you drink; rather, this water travels through coils that carry the heat energy to the water that you drink.

Solar heating tubes, such as those in the green energy systems in Commack, work in both the summer and winter – powered by the sun. These shatter resistant glass tubes contain the blades in a sealed environment. The ambient temperature has no effect on the blade. Even in the cold of winter, solar heating systems collect sunlight and create heat that heats the water passing through the central tube, as high as 190F. Finally, solar electric panels installed on the roof of your new home can produce year-round electricity. While solar panels are only effective during daylight hours, the amount of power they produce can be significant. Surplus electricity is automatically routed back to the utility company, who buys it back from you at the same rate that they charge you for power. If you are careful and shut off lights and appliances in your home that you are not using, your electric requirements will drop, allowing even more electricity can flow back to the power company. Go on vacation and have your house act as a mini power station, generating electricity and selling it back to the power grid day in and day out!

Remember, as you look at houses with green energy solutions in Commack, keep in mind the massive value of having green energy in your home. A home with wind power, solar electric and other solar energy on Long Island gives you advantages over the rest. It is good for the environment, and lowers your bills and increases the resale value of your house.

Craig Axelrod, a partner of Emmy Homes pens frequently about Long Island Real Estate and Commack New Construction

categories: real estate,green energy,solar energy,solar power,energy

Oil costs are rising again, and electricity prices will surely follow. Over the last 25 years, the solar energy industry has made great strides in producing solar energy.

With the cost of electricity rising and the cost for solar energy systems coming down, now is the time to learn the facts about solar power.

Is Solar Energy Truly Affordable?

Yes, because of government incentives. The state, federal and local governments are now giving large incentives to house owners. Depending upon where you live, you may be rebated 35% – 65% of the price of your solar energy system. With financing available through many solar energy resellers (as well as house equity loans) you may be able to reduce monthly electric bills by more than the system costs.

Will the Power Companies Buy Surplus Electricity from Me?

Yes, the power companies will “buy” your excess electricity as it is produced. If your solar power system produces more electricity than your home is using at that moment, the extra electric feeds back into the power grid, and your power meter will actually rotate backwards! If you are away from your home, and leave as many electric items turned off as possible, the extra electricity can automatically flow back earning you money.

Are Professional Installers Available for Solar Energy Systems?

Absolutely. In fact, because you are interfacing with the electric system of your house, it is highly recommended that an experienced solar installer install the system for you. Most solar power installation companies have their own electricians to handle this.

What is Required to Get a Solar Power System?

Generally, you should have a home with exposure to the south, southeast or southwest. You will want it as unobstructed as possible. Having your home in the southern US has advantages, but home owners in the north also do extremely well with solar energy. Before you buy, most reputable solar energy companies send an experienced technician to inspect your site, property and landscape to determine whether solar energy will work and what sort of savings you can see.

Is Solar Energy Really Good for the Environment?

Yes. While power is clean, the oil required to generate the electricity is not. By using the energy of the sun, you are truly able to produce your own electricity with no negative impact on the environment. This reduces pollutants in the air, decreases our demand on foreign oil, and helps to lower the overall cost structure of power in this country.

Does the Government Really Support Solar Energy?

Yes. There are local, state and federal programs specifically designed to encourage house owners to switch to solar energy (as well as other green energies). Our government is aware that our dependency on foreign oil cannot continue, and our dependency on them is bad for our nation as well as our ecology. By offering financial assistance for people to convert to solar power, the government is making an investment in you, to help sole the energy crisis. In the coming years, millions can switch to solar power, significantly reducing tax our dependency on foreign oil.

What Does a Typical Solar Power System Cost?

This depends on the amount of energy you need to produce. Clearly the bigger the system, the greater amount of electricity you can produce. Solar Energy Systems can range from $10,000-$30,000 or more depending upon your needs. If a solar energy system costs $20,000 and the subsidies are 65%, the cost to you is $7,000. depending on how you finance it, this may cost you approximately $50-$75 per month. Many will save more than this in their first month on their electric bill. The exact savings will vary based upon the price of the system you choose, any tax incentives, and the amount you pay today for electricity.

For more information, we encourage you to visit our website at http://WWW.SaveWithSolar.org

By Chris Ulrich. SaveWithSolar.org offers great tips about solar energy and ways to save with solar power. Get free information, including information on the solar power incentives available in your county!

categories: solar power,solar energy,solar energy system,save electricity,home improvement