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The whole Earth depends on the sun’s energy. Trees do not grow without it and people will not be able to eat without the sun because crops will not grow and it would be impossible to raise livestock. But even with this information only a small percentage of the sun’s energy is used in homes and in our transportation systems. The good news is solar energy has been used by industrial companies for years now especially those operating in remote areas.

Installing sun-powered panels in your home is one great way to save on your energy bill and do your part in helping the environment at the same time. Make your home into a solar home and gain more energy than your house will ever need. The energy you can get from the sun can vary. If you live in a sunny place, you are likely to get a greater amount of energy compared to colder places. This type of energy is dependent on the weather so getting enough energy during those long, winter months can be a bit difficult.

Installing these panels is one good way to have a “green” house but getting solar panels can be a bit expensive because the competition is minimal and government regulations do not allow homeowners to install their own solar panels.  This is one of the major problems in the US today that is why not many people can have access to a solar home. In Europe this is not the case; many modern homes now have solar panels and no longer use up much electricity to maintain the heating system.

Apart from installing solar panels at home, you also need to make sure that you doors, windows and even your wall panels are energy efficient and do not have leaks. Preventing air coming from your cooling or heating system to leak to the outside is a good start for those who want to save on their energy bill. Before installing panels you may need to install insulation to parts of your home.

If you live in the midwestern or eastern parts of the United States, you’ve just come through an incredibly tough winter.  Snow, ice, and most of all bitter cold winter enveloped your home for at least 5 months.  If you are like me, you probably had to visit your attic space at least once this winter because you use it for extra storage space in your home.  I remember particularly this winter how I got a cold blast of air in my face as I pulled the loft ladder down and poked my head into my attic.  It was time to consider adding more insulation to my attic for sure.  Many of us who own homes already are aware that attics can leak energy quite easily.  This means that as more heat goes out, more money is going out also.  In the winter…heat equals money!  Adding blown or rolled attic insulation is a great way to stem the leakage, preserve your home’s warmth and save money all at the same time.

Knowing the details of how to insulate your attic is important for  homeowners.  For those of us who are used to living in these harsh cold climates, doing your own insulating saves heat in in the winter, and eliminates air drafts, especially those that blow through joints, cracks, outlets, and door jambs.  In more moderate climates, believe it or not, the insulation actually helps keep the warm air outside the home, and keeps the air conditioning focused on cooling the living space of your home. Fortunately either climate is right for the type of insulation we are discussing.

Generally speaking, there are two types of insulaton that can be used in attics: rolled batting and loose-fill insulation. A third type of insulation is spray foam insulation and it is very good in sealing cracks and joints that traditional fiberglass or cellulose insulation can’t get to.  Though installation costs can differ, loose-filled insulation is usually cheaper to install, and if done correctly will provide better insulation for the home.  There are 3 types of  this type of attic insulation:rock wool, cellulose, and fiberglass.  Each type has advantages and disasadvantages but the net result is that basically they all provide similar insulating ability. The difference is in actually how easy or difficult it is to do it yourself.

Most home improvement retailers in your area will have knowledgeable sales people who can assist you in picking out the right types and amounts of attic insulation that you will need for your home.  Also, there are specialty online websites that give many consumer details on the best choices to save energy and money.

Everyone wants to save money and one of the best ways to do that is by making some simple changes around the home that will cut down in energy usage. We have all seen the big push to “go green”, which does not relate to your home decor but is more about changing over to more environmentally friendly forms of energy. If your home is not energy proofed though, none of this will matter. Something as simple as a door draught excluder can make a huge difference.

Everyone has a home or has been in a home where a draft comes ripping through from underneath the door. Regardless of how high the heat is, the home never seems to get warm. Heating bills are double what the neighbors are paying and yet everyone in the house is still walking around with a sweatshirt on, feeling the cold.

While going green is great, home energy saving starts by making sure that needless energy, and your cash, is not literally going out the front door. That gap under the door can cost a homeowner hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in wasted energy bills over the course of the year. And to think that this problem can be solved with a home accessory that costs less than a hundred dollars.

A real draft stopper for doors is a more refined version of stuffing a towel underneath a door. I can hear the giggling now, because we have all done it. While something like that might help a bit, it is far from the best solution that is available. Draught excluders can be made if there is some needle and thread talent, but why waste the time when a high-quality item can be purchased for very little money? Most people hardly have the time to sit there and put in the time for the quality craftsmanship that will be needed to make sure that their door draft stopper works properly.

So how do they work? Whether the decision is made to go with a high end draught excluder that has fancy needlepoint (you really are only paying for the detail to the design) or a plain excluder that will do the job (and only cost about $10), they work by blocking the airway that many people have under their doors. They merely slide under the door and will have a cushion on either side of the door that prevents air from coming into the home and the heat or air conditioning from leaving the home.

As we said, you can go green all you want, but if the right measures are not being taken to properly insulate the home, energy is still going to be wasted. It is important to make sure that every crack and crevice is sealed so that the cold air is staying outside where it belongs and the heat that is being paid for can actually keep the home warm. A simple draught excluder may finally have people in the house able to leave the heavy fleece in the closet until they actually go outdoors.