Solar Island Fountain

Installing a nice, relaxing fountain in your garden or courtyard can add a nice touch of beauty and elegance, but some of these fountains use up a lot of energy.  While they’re a nice touch, are they worth it?  In the old days, the answer was pretty much no.  However, many of today’s fountains use solar power, including the Solar Island Fountain.  This little fountain provides everything that those old power-hogging fountains did but it does it all using a solar cell.

The Solar Island Fountain shoots water up to 17 inches above the sprayer when it has a full charge and is in direct sunlight.  The solar panel, which is fitted around the sprayer, provides all the energy this fountain needs.  As long as it’s in direct light, you’ll have a nice, relaxing fountain that also helps aerate your pond.  Once the sun has shifted, the fountain will still operate, but it may not have the power to shoot water quite as high.  Of course, once the sun has set for the day, the fountain will run down and turn off until morning.

The lily pad base sits low in the water, adding an extra dimension of aesthetics to the fountain.  It looks great in any pond, and its elegant look and sound are sure to get compliments from your guests.  There’s no pond too large or too small to make use of the Solar Island Fountain.  Also, since there’s no wiring or anything to install, you can easily set down two or three of these little fountains in a large pond to really make an interesting scene.

Solar Energy Catalogues

Making your home solar powered is a great way of saving money, but many people are hesitant to do this.  If you flip through solar energy catalogues, you’re going to see some large price tags.  There’s no getting around it—solar energy requires a pretty big up front investment on your part, especially if you have the goal of moving your home partially or entirely off the power grid.

If you want to start out small, there are several things you can do to reduce the amount of energy you use.  For starters, you don’t have to install those huge solar panels you see in many solar energy catalogues.  In fact, you can install a small 40 watt solar panel to power many different applications.  The 40 watt panel is a midsize solar panel, and it’s designed to provide solar power without straining your budget. Read more

Jade Mountain Solar

Living off the utility grid may seem like an impossibility, but while it is a lofty goal, it can be accomplished.  The way to do this is to utilize as many different solar products as you possibly can.  The Real Goods offered by Gaiam can allow you to start transferring your energy usage from your local power grid to various solar devices.  While it may not be quite enough to allow you to fully live off the grid, installing and using these devices can certainly help drop your utility cost and become less of a drain on the environment. Read more

Solar Gorilla Review

Don’t you hate it when you’re on a trip or out of the office and suddenly your cell phone goes dead?  Or you’re working on a very important presentation on your laptop when it suddenly runs out of power and you don’t have any place to plug it in?  This happens to everyone, but it doesn’t have to.  If you have the Solar Gorilla and Power Gorilla Solar Charger Kit, you can power up any of your devices just by placing the charger kit in the sun for a few hours.

The Solar Gorilla combines two other Gorilla products: the Solar Gorilla Laptop Charger and the Power Gorilla Battery Pack.  These two items combine to create and store hours of solar energy.  You can then use the variety of ports on the device to charge up your many different electronic devices.  A great feature of the combo unit is that it doesn’t just charge up your devices like some do; it will also store power so you can use it to supply power to your phone or laptop later or after the sun goes down.  You can even plug in the Power Gorilla and let it charge up from an outlet, then use it as a battery later.

The Solar Gorilla is compatible with many different cell phones, mp3 players, laptops, and other devices.  It’s even compatible with Apple notebooks if you have a specific adaptor.  The devices are very lightweight and compact, easily fitting inside a standard laptop bag or even a purse.

If there’s any downside to this device, it’s the price.  The Solar Gorilla will cost you $500 or more.  However, if you constantly need to power a device on the go, it can be an invaluable tool.  It can also be great if you want to stop using electricity to power your cell phone or mp3 player.

You can check out the Solar Gorilla's by clicking here

Household Solar

There are many different ways to make your household a bit more solar powered.  Solar energy is a great way of powering your home and dropping your electric bill a bit.  Some of these household solar methods are easy, but some are a bit more difficult and somewhat expensive.  For example, adding solar panels to your entire roof is not going to be easy or cheap, even though it would save on a good deal of power. Read more

Slate Solar Stepping Stone - (Solar Walkway Light)

I love solar powered items, especially ones that help me out in the dark. I don’t know how many times I’ve left home during the day and returned at night only to realize I didn’t leave the porch light on. It can be difficult to avoid stepping on things or following the walkway when it’s really pitch dark, as it is in parts of my yard. But now I’ve discovered the perfect solution: slate solar stepping stones.

These stepping stones look like normal stepping stones with one major exception: the middle of the stepping stone features an integrated solar cell that charges up during the day. At night, the cell lights up so you can see to walk down your garden path or up your walkway to your front door. The solar cells will provide a good eight hours of light provided they get a full day’s charge, which is enough to illuminate your paths from sunset to sunrise. Each of these stones measures eight inches on each side, and you get two in each pack. Read more

Portable Solar Battery Charger

You’ve probably had this happen to you: you’re out of the office or out running errands, and you suddenly realize that your cell phone is dead. Even worse, you’re out of town for a business conference and you forget to pack your cell charger. What happens if you’re out camping or hiking and need to charge your phone? When your battery runs dead in these cases, you can always turn to a universal solar charger to repower your phone (of course, this assumes you remember to pack it!).

A universal solar charger, or portable solar battery charger, is basically a solar panel on the go. It’s small and light, and you can easily fold it up and stash it in your backpack, briefcase, or even your purse. Whenever your phone has gone dead, you just pull out the universal solar charger, connect the necessary adapter to the mini-USB cord, plug that into your phone, and set the solar panel in the sun. After two to three hours, you’ll have a fully charged cell phone! There’s no need for electrical outlets at all, and you can charge your phone anywhere.

The universal solar charger comes with a number of different adapters so you can use it with almost any phone, including those made by Motorola, Nokia, Siemens, Ericsson, Samsung, and Sony. The charger even works with most BlackBerry models and iPods, too, so you can charge up your smartphone and keep your music playing.

While it is another piece of equipment you have to carry around (and, let’s face it, if you forget your phone charger, you may forget the portable solar battery charger as well), it’s one that can actually replace several different chargers. If you travel with your spouse, for example, and you both have cell phones, you can take the universal solar charger instead of both chargers. You can also leave the iPod charger at home so you have less stuff to keep up with.

Sanyo Solar Module

Many people are interested in adding solar paneling to their home because they believe it will save them money.  However, when they see just how much solar panels cost, they realize they won’t actually make back their investment for years.  Fortunately, solar panels are becoming cheaper and cheaper.  The Sanyo Solar Module is an example of a cheaper solar panel that generates a good amount of energy and pays for itself fairly quickly.

This solar module can produce around 16.2 watts of power per square foot of solar panel.  When everything is added up, that means that each Sanyo Solar Module will provide 195 watts of energy per hour, which isn’t bad at all.  This allows you to get as much power as you possibly can with a small number of solar panels.  The Sanyo Solar Modules also need fewer attachments and materials, so you save there as well.

There are some solar panels that claim to provide a certain amount of energy, but the actual amount of power is much lower.  Sanyo’s panels, however, provide you with all of the power they say they do; in fact, in some situations, the panels may even generate more power (such as during an incredibly sunny day).

In addition to these many benefits, the Sanyo Solar Module is also one of the lightest solar panel.  In addition to providing solar power and helping drop your use of traditionally-created electricity, the modules are also packaged in eco-friendly packaging that uses a minimal amount of cardboard.  This also reduces the amount of fuel necessary to transport the modules, plus it means more modules can be transported in the same vehicle.

Each panel costs $1,245.  While that is a lot, the amount generated from the panel will pay for itself fairly quickly.

Solar Hot Water Panel

Many people are looking for ways of cutting costs, and while installing solar paneling on their homes may not be the best cost-cutting method, adding a Solar Hot Water Panel can considerably help. In addition to cutting your electric bill down, a solar hot water panel is also a great way of becoming a little more ecologically friendly.

One of the top solar hot water panels was created by Heliodyne. The Heliodyne Cool Climate Packaged System is a hot water panel system that has been designed to work in all weather regions and with all types of water. It works with hard water, in areas that often have freezing water, and even in areas where there is little sunshine. The system is available in two mounting options: rack or flush. The Heliodyne is a closed loop system, which means that the heat transfer fluid actually moves through the collectors, not through the water. This results in fewer problems with the system and causes less wear on the parts.

How does the Heliodyne Cool Climate Packaged System work? Well, when the system has enough heat stored in the collectors, the system automatically turns on your water pumps. The solar fluid starts moving from the collectors into the heat exchanger. There, the heat is transferred from the fluid to the water in the tank. The solar fluid is them pumped back to the collectors, where it gets heated before going through the cycle again. As long as the collectors have heat stored in them, the cycle will continue. If it’s cloudy for several days and the collectors don’t store up heat, a backup system will come on that heats water using standard methods.

In addition to the standard system, a premium package is also available. It features upgraded heat transfer capability that will monitor how well the Heliodyne system is working and allow you to fine-tune how it works. It also comes with a Wi-Fi hub that gives you the option of accessing the system from any computer.

Swimming Pool Solar Heaters

Keeping your pool nice and warm during the cooler months can mean all the difference between swimming in it and letting it sit there. After all, who wants to go swimming in a cold pool? Some old style pool heaters had to be plugged in or ran off of gas. However, there are two issues here: one, you never really want to have any electrical cables around your swimming pool, do you? And two, if you’ve got an indoor pool, it’s not a good idea to have anything that creates gas fumes unless you’ve got a door or window open. It can also be a pain to have to purchase fuel all the time.

However, there is one solution to keeping your pool warm and avoiding both electrical cables and gas. The answer: Swimming Pool Solar Heaters. By making use of solar heating, you can make your swimming area much safer. You can also reduce the amount of CO2 emissions you create since you won’t be using fossil fuels to heat your pool. You also don’t run the risk of any sort of accidental electrocution since you won’t have any power cords running to your electric pool heater.

Most kits that provide solar heating for pools include several commercial-grade solar panels. These panels can easily be installed near your pool or on the roof of your pool house, and they feature UV inhibitors and are reinforced to withstand storms. There’s nothing really complicated about installing them, and most people can have their solar heating solutions up and running within an afternoon. The instructions provided with each solar heating kit for pools make it very easy to install the system. These solar panels will even work with most other heating systems so you don’t have to install a new pool heater of any sort. If your pool requires a powerful heater or you don’t get that much sunlight, you can easily extend the solar cell grid with additional solar panels to increase the amount of energy you harvest. The basic set up costs around $370 at Real Good Solar.

Next Page »