Green technology is used to reverse the effect of human activity on the environment. Green products are environmentally friendly and create room for an energy-efficient home. The following are put into consideration when making green product or technology:
- ● Energy efficiency
- ● Recycling
- ● Renewable resources
- ● Health and safety concerns.
The cost of heating and cooling the house is one of the most significant expenses we make in the course of a month, but with the help of energy-saving technology, we decrease the energy cost. If you find yourself in desperate need to reduce cost, then it is advisable to invest in major energy-saving innovations that not only reduces cost but also have lowest possible ecological impact.
Some green technology examples are:
Solar Panels
They are the best way to decrease pollution and also offer you energy efficiency. It is comprised of photovoltaic cells that absorb sunlight and use it as a source of energy to generate electricity. Solar energy is known as one of the most abundant and renewable energy sources.
How does it work?
- ● They are installed on the rooftop to absorb the sunlight.
- ● With the help of the silicon and conductors in the solar panel, the sunlight is converted into direct current/electricity which in turn flows into an inverter. It converts DC to AC.
- ● The excess electricity that is not utilized is sent back.
- ● But in a situation whereby your solar panel produces less power than what you require, you can always purchase additional electricity from the utility.
The solar panel is one of the best energy-saving technology.
Solar Hot Water Heater
The difference between a regular water heater and a solar hot water heater is; a regular water heater uses electricity or natural gas power to heat up the water that is used in the home for a variety of things like showering, washing clothes, washing utensils, etc. while a solar hot water heater utilizes solar energy to heat up the water used in the home.
How does it work?
- ● It uses sunlight
- ● The heated water is stored in an insulated tank similar to that of the conventional water heater.
- ● Sometimes the amount of water heated up might not be sufficient enough to last the whole day, so you should always have a backup system of either electricity or gas.
This energy-saving technology may be costly to install but you could save up to 50 percent on your water heating bills.
Geothermal Heat Pump
It helps you save your heating and cooling bills. It works the same way your HVAC unit works but in this case the heat exchange apparatus is buried underground where there is more temperature stability. Although the installation costs a lot it has added advantage of energy efficiency and conservation.
It also has a couple of advantages over HVAC such as:
- ● Being quieter
- ● Lasting for a long time
- ● Less possibility of damage from the weather since the most part is buried
- ● Little or no maintenance required.
Wind Generator
With consideration of where you live a backyard wind turbine is a good energy-saving device. It uses wind energy to generate electricity needed to power home.
The requirement is a wind speed of about 8km per hour or more to generate a reasonable amount of wind power. As it is with solar energy, wind energy does not provide all the electricity you need, you will need a backup. But it helps to reduce your energy bills.
Install Smart Power Strips
Smart power strips are energy-saving devices that help in energy conservation. Do you know what vampire devices are? They are all those devices that stay plugged into the wall even when not in use e.g. TV, DVD and PlayStation. These devices keep using electricity even when they are not in use.
Before the invention of smart power strips, we controlled this by unplugging these vampire devices when not in use, this could be stressful but with its invention we don’t need to stress so much.
How does it work?
It senses energy demand and cuts off the power supply of fully charged up devices or devices that are not in use hereby, helping you to conserve energy.
Energy Monitor
Household energy monitors are easy to use and are cheap to acquire. They work by clipping onto the power cable entering the house and sending a wireless signal to show the amount of power consumed in the house, in which room and at what time of the day. Some of these devices can send the information directly into your smartphone and help you in energy conservation.
Programmable Thermostat
This helps you to control your HVAC system without you having to stress yourself. There are different types and they work in the same way:
- ● 7-day – allows you to have different schedules for different days of the week
- ● 5+2-day – allows you to have 2 different schedules (1 for the weekday 1 for the weekend)
- ● 5-1-1-day – allows you to have 3 schedules (1 for weekday 1 for Saturday 1 for Sunday)
Buy Energy Star Appliances
Energy star is an environmental protection agency and a program of the US Department of Energy that helps in rating appliances for use. An energy star appliance saves about 20 percent less energy than a normal appliance this can help you in electrical energy conservation.
Hope this information was helpful to you in search of electricity-saving technologies.
