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Solar Power Solar Projects

Energy Saving Tips: How to Conserve Energy at Home

Conservation of energy is an essential and ideal thing to do if you want to get the best out of your utility bills most especially if you use a prepaid meter.

To conserve energy, you need to cut down the amount of energy consumed in your home. While this may sound like hard stuff to do, it is quite simple and easy to do if you follow the tips outlined and explained below 

 

Keep in mind that these tips will work for your home, office, and any other place where you need to conserve energy. So, let’s dive in.

 

9 sure-fire energy saving tips

1. Use LED bulbs

One way to conserve energy and get the best out of your payment is to replace all standard bulbs with energy-efficient light bulbs.

Standard bulbs consume a whole lot of electric current than the LED bulbs. Although quite expensive when compared to standard bulbs, LED bulbs are energy-efficient are a better choice in the long run.

2. Use a fan when possible

Continuous use of air conditioners also contributes to the high electricity bills you pay. Air conditioners consume a lot of energy and therefore are not ideal to use always.

A fan always comes as a perfect substitute for the use of an air conditioner. The fan helps conserve energy which is just what you want to do.

3. Purchase energy-efficient appliances

As with the bulbs, it is of high importance that you purchase only energy-efficient appliances. When purchasing appliances such as iron-dishwasher er, washing machine,e, and other appliances, ensure you go for energy-conserving ones.

They are proven to be energy efficient although they are quite expensive when compared to others and they are a good return on investment for you since they conserve energy and save you the stress of high electricity bills.

 

4. Poor connection/electrical issues

The poor connection could be one reason for energy loss in the home. To conserve more energy, you need to contact an electrician to run a check on all writing connections and repair all electrical issues.

 

5. Turn off all appliances when not in use bet you didn’t know how much energy has been consumed by the appliances you left, on the whole, going out. Or did you know?

Well, if you did Kudos to you and if you didn’t know, there’s how it works.

Leaving your appliance on when not in use contributes to the vast amount of energy consumed by you. So, the next time you aren’t making use of an appliance, do turn it off.

 

Even something as minor as your phone’s charger ought to be the end off when not in use as this enables you to conserve more energy.

6. Shut all windows and doors when using an air conditioner

When using an air conditioner, do ensure to shut all windows and doors to conserve energy and get the best out of the power consumed by the air conditioner.

7. Home audit

Once in a while, conduct an audit on your home energy. A home audit gives you insight into the best ways to improve the energy efficiency and quality of your home.

 

8. Watt rating

Perform an exact rating on all your appliances to ascertain which one consumes so much energy and map out strategies to replace high energy consuming appliances with low energy consuming ones.

9. Go solar

One way to reduce the amount you spend on electricity is to get the most out of the free energy made available by the sun.

Install a solar panel and save yourself the stress of high electricity bills. There are many benefits of installing a solar panel.

Installing a solar panel gives you an edge over others as you become independent of the utility company.

To find out more about solar panel installation, contact us here.

 

Final thought

Conserving energy is an ideal thing to do. As above, you can follow those tips to conserve energy.

I would love to hear from you, what other ways do you conserve energy at home.

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Solar Energy News

Benefits of buying a house with solar panels in Nigeria

Solar power has always been a good investment to make. Are you considering purchasing a new home and you are in between deciding on purchasing one with solar panels and one without solar panels?

 

A personal opinion would be to purchase that with solar panels. However, I wouldn’t want you to take my words for it. I would want you to explore further and acknowledge the benefit of having a home with solar panels.

Solar panels could save you the hefty bills you pay for electricity and apart from that, you get more and more out of the investment.

Over the last few years, solar panels have been installed in more houses than before. In U.S alone more than 12.3 million Americans installed solar panels in their home in 2018. That shows how beneficial solar-powered houses are. 

You may also read: Benefits of solar energy

Here are some reasons you should purchase a house with solar panels.

5 Solid Reasons You Should Purchase a House With Solar Panels

1. Generate your sustainable energy

Purchasing a house with already installed solar panels gives you the ability to generate sustainable energy. You become independent of a utility company and reduce your reliance on fossil fuels which is great for you.

In Nigeria, there is heavy dependence on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are used in powerhouses and they increase the carbon emission in the environment. If you purchase a house with solar panels, you are sure to be generating your sustainable energy which leaves no noise pollution or carbon emission on the environment.

2. Constant electricity

On a sunny day, you are sure to get the most out of the sun’s free energy which can also be stored for use on a cloudy day if you have solar panels already installed in your home. 

With good batteries added to the installation, you are sure to enjoy constant electricity which NEPA (or any other utility company) cannot give you. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and doing all you want to do with electricity all because you have a home that is powered by the sun.

That’s one advantage of buying a house with solar panels.

3. Save money

An average home in Nigeria spends nothing less than #10,000 on electricity bills per month and this doesn’t include the money spent on generator bills too.

Let’s do little calculations for the money spent on running a generator.

Taking that the price of petro is #150/liter and diesel is #190/liter. You use a generator which operates using petrol and you buy a minimum of 3 liters a day.

That alone sums up to #450/day, #3,150/week, #13,500/month and #164,250/year.

Looking at that of diesel using a minimum of 3liters daily gives #570/day, #3,990/week, #17,100/month, and #208,050 / year.

This a just a rough estimate of how much you spend in running a generator every day.

Investing in purchasing a house with solar panels is worth the money.

4. Little maintenance

Unlike the generator used in powering most homes in Nigeria, solar panels are easier to maintain. A typical generator will require monthly or bimonthly maintenance which could be expensive most times.

For solar panels, maintenance occurs 2-4 times a year and it is relatively cheap depending on the company.

5. Improved home value

If you are looking for a good investment to make, then you should purchase a house with solar panels. Homes with solar panels are valuable in the market right now. They are considered an asset that can be sold for a much higher price than was purchased at a much faster rate.

Final thoughts

Before purchasing a house with solar panels, you should find out about the size of the panels and how much electricity it generates. Smaller solar panels produce a small electric current which may not be enough to successfully power your home appliances.

 

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Solar Energy News

How To Maintain Your Solar Panels

A lot of questions have popped up in time past about the cleaning of solar panels. While that is something to address, others are quite skeptical about the frequency of cleaning solar panels.

A perfect scenario is this, do you purchase an appliance without properly and frequently caring for it or maintaining it? 

The answer is probably a “NO”.

You see, solar panels just like any other appliance purchased by you need to be cared for and maintained. Maintenance makes it last longer and makes it more efficient.

Why should I clean my solar panels?

Your solar panels need to be cleaned regularly at least 2 – 4 times a year. Dirty solar panels cause about a 20% decline in the performance of your panels.

Solar panels take energy from the sun and convert it into electricity. To get the optimal performance of your solar power system, your panel needs to be clean enough to trap energy from the sun.

Common Solar Blockers

While your solar panels may be kept on the rooftop or ground level, some elements can hinder the proper functioning of your solar panels.

These elements block sunlight from hitting your solar panels and the amount of solar energy trapped by the panels becomes insufficient to power your appliance. Solar blockers include dust, leaves, water, bird droppings, snow, and dirt in general.

How to Clean Your Solar Panels

There are two ways to clean your solar panels. A. Do it yourself. B.Contact your solar energy company

1. Do it yourself

To clean your solar panels yourself, you will need something to clean it and water. Here are the steps to take.

  • First, you need to get on the roof of your house.
  • Apply water to the dirty panels and use your mop to clean till it is neat.

While this may look easy, it is not always a safe step to take.

2. Contact your solar energy company

A safe measure to take in cleaning your solar panel is to contact your solar energy company.

One reason you should do this is that they are professional and they would know how to render professional and safe services.

If you contact your solar company and discover that they do not render panel cleaning services, request they recommend a professional to handle your cleaning job.

Solar Panel Maintenance Tips

1. Never use an abrasive sponge or soap on your solar panel.

Do not clean your solar panel with an abrasive sponge as this can lead to a scratch on the panel.

When cleaning your panel, use water and a non-abrasive sponge.

2. Do not use harsh materials such as sandpaper, hard brushes, etc to clean your panels. Harsh materials can leave a crack on your solar panel and it isn’t an ideal condition for your panel.

3. Be safe on the roof

If you attempt to do your solar panel cleaning yourself, always be careful to ensure you do not trip off, injure yourself or crack your roof.

4. Look out for dirt. Always look out for the common solar blockers as mentioned earlier.

5.Keep your solar panels out of the shade. This is to ensure you get sufficient energy from the sun.

6. Clean periodically.

You should clean your solar panels at least 2-4 times a year. This enables the smooth working of your solar power system.

7. If damaged, call your solar power company.