In this economy, people are looking to save money any way they can. Sure, you could hold off buying a new game system or downloading those new songs that you so much want, but we have other problems in the 21st Century, like global warming and smog in the air. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just cut costs and show everyone that you are doing more to protect the environment?

It is obvious, solar and wind energy are the way to go. They are the cleanest and most efficient forms of energy. Don’t you think it would be great if you had a chance to produce all energy you need yourself without a meter running. A lot of people think that solar panels are really costly to install. And you are right, solar panels can cost a lot of money. However,what would you say if I told you that you can get solar panels for under $200?

Your dream can become reality! To be more precise: on the web you will find manuals that will show you how to build solar panels or make windmills using items you find around the house or at a local hardware store. A solar panel will not cost more than $200 and you can make your own windmill for under $100. Now take into consideration that you pay $50 a month for electricity. Do the math! You will save money after only 4 months. Wouldn’t that be cool?

Believe me! You can build solar panels on your own and it is not difficult or costly at all. On the internet there are numerous websites offering manuals that will show you step by step how to build solar panels on your own. Thes manuals will show you how to build solar panels or windmills using items you find around the house or at a store near you. And the cost? The cost for all materials needed will be under $200. If your current electricity bill is $50 you will save money after only 4 months. You are even show how to build your own windmill for under $100.

There is nothing you have to lose! By making your own solar panels and producing energy yourself, you are not only doing something against global warming, you will also save a lot of cash. Just imagine what you can do with all of the money saved by producing energy on your own! Go on your dream vacation, get a new flat TV, send your kids to college. You can do it!

What have you got to lose? You can be 10 years ahead technologically of your neighbors and the envy of your friends when, by saving over $1,000 a year, you can start getting rid of those credit cards, take a vacation, buy yourself a new entertainment system, take that vacation or save up to send your kids to college — it’s very possible with the money you will be saving on energy costs!

We flick a switch and the lights, television and microwave come on. But did you ever stop to think about where the energy to power these appliances comes from? Since you probably have never given it a thought, you are unaware that today’s energy is being supplied by fossil fuels and coal, two sources of energy responsible for sending huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Scientists are becoming more and more alarmed with the impact these poisons are having on our environment and are beginning to make their growing concern known.

Because the rate at which we are using our current energy sources will see them depleted before too long, we must find clean, renewable, sustainable sources of energy to replace them. Of course the all-important reason for being in pursuit of these alternatives is because what we currently are using is harming our climate. People need to become more aware of how their normal everyday usage of electric is causing this harm and become motivated to look for alternatives.

Right now energy companies have been exploring the options for using solar and wind energy on a wider basis than is currently being used. Dams are also a great source for hydro power but are only good in areas with lakes and rivers that can be confined and used as a source of energy. Likewise, wind energy can only be harnessed in areas where there are consistently moderate wind gusts, so a lot of areas which do not fall into this category might not have access to enough wind energy to sustain their power needs.

Today researchers all over the world are searching for sources of alternative forms of energy. The most controversial available source is nuclear power which is clean, not releasing carbon dioxide into the air, but has its highly concerning downsides. The dangers from melt down and contamination are a concern along with questions over where to store the harmful nuclear waste that takes millions of years to break down has kept nuclear power from large scale development. We have a finite amount of land for storage and nuclear byproducts could also leach into the environment over time if stored in this way.

Until such time as a discovery is made that can help reduce our current energy problems, what we can all do to lend a helping hand, is to consistently cut back on our energy usage. Studies have shown that if we take the time to turn off the lights we are not using, it would reduce by up to 25%, the total amount of energy being consumed.

For several decades various solar oven designs have typically been used in third world regions where electricity or other fuel sources are hard to find. Solar cookers have been used effectively in sunny African countries like Sudan to not only cook food, but also for water purification and pasteurization.

And like other solar technologies, there’s no reason first world countries should not promote solar cooking at home to help save energy. Although cooking may take four times longer than conventional ovens, no electricity or fuel is used – just the power of the sun.

There have been a variety of unique solar oven designs thought up, but they can be categorized in three shapes: parabolic, panel, and box cookers.

Parabolic Shape:

As the name suggests, a parabolic cooker is made from reflective material that is molded into bowl. This helps it concentrate the sunlight in one area and effectively cook your food. However, this design typically costs more and it’s rigid structure makes it less practical for traveling.

Panel Cooker:

A panel cooker is any cooker made with a series of flat, reflective panels arranged to direct sunlight to a focal point.

The panel shape is not as efficient as the parabolic shape, but it has the advantage of being foldaway, portable, and rather simple to make. These cookers can be found in a number of interesting deigns, but the simplest is by far the one made by folding one of those reflective windscreen blinds.

Box Design:

The third type, a box cooker, operates rather differently to the parabolic and panel cookers. Instead of reflecting light to a central point, it absorbs, traps and intensifies the light to create heat.

This results in the entire area of the box to get hot and be able to cook larger portions of food at a time. This design is by far the simplest to put together – all you need is a black cardboard box with one side covered in tin foil and a sheet of clear perspex or glass on top to hold in the heat.

What I like most about solar oven designs is that they can be put together with simple materials found at home in the course of an afternoon. It’s a fun project to do with your kids, and the shapes you come up with are really limited to your imagination. And do not just think your solar cooker is only good for boiling water or steaming vegetables. People have successfully roasted meat in them and even baked bread. Another pro is that your solar cooker will be outside when used, so it will not cause your whole kitchen to heat up and put strain on your indoor cooling system – another way it helps you to conserve energy.

And if you think that over 75% of American households use their oven or stove on a daily basis – a tremendous amount of energy could be conserved if more of us used solar oven designs during summer.

There really is no excuse for not looking more into solar cooking. With a number of affordable solar cookers and free instructions available on the internet, you owe it to yourself, your kids and the environment to try one out for yourself.

Wind can be an awesome force of nature, just ask anyone who has been in a tornado or powerful hurricane. We can harness this wind for the use of generating electricity for our world. When the sun shines it heats the earth, but since the earth is made of different materials and is of differing heights and valleys it heats unevenly, especially over land and water.

Daytime is when the air above the land heats up more quickly, and it heats the air over water more slowly. Warm air that is above the land expands and rises, and cooler air quickly comes in to fill the gaps, and this creates wind. In the evening, the winds reverse, because air cools more quickly over land than over water. This is why you have the differing temperatures of land near bodies of water.

Nowadays, we use the wind to create energy to produce electricity for homes, businesses or communities. Wind is an earth friendly renewable energy source; we know that as long as the sun shines on the earth the winds will continue to blow.

Just like the windmills, turbines also use blades to capture the wind and turn it into energy. If there is no wind, then the turbines will not turn, this means that you must have a back up source of energy. Turbines are more sophisticated than windmills and they can use even the slightest breeze to turn the blades.

The turbines used today are based on the direction of the rotating shaft for example; one type is a horizontal axis wind machine, and the other is a vertical axis wind machine. Wind machines (turbines) come in different sizes depending on the amount of electricity that they need to generate. There are small turbines used for homes and businesses, and they will have a capacity of less than 100 kilowatts. The larger sized turbines have a capacity of 5 million watts, or even as high as 5 megawatts these are used for commercial purposes. The large turbines can be used to make up wind farms that provide power to a large electrical grid.

The blades on turbines typically are about 200 feet across, but can be as wide as a football field. These blades are made much like an airplane propeller, and can be made of fiberglass, or a lightweight metal or plastic. The towers or bases have to be wide and tall in order to efficiently harness the wind. This is a great power source for the world of today.

One major drawback of electric wind power is that the windmills used to generate power are massive and make a lot of noise. It can be used in remote places of the countryside as space and higher terrain is needed for it. Due to this reason it has a limited scope of use and not practical to install in densely populated areas.