Tips for Building a Solar-Powered Home

If you’ve recently put solar modules on your roof, garage or carport in Santa Fe, NM, you’re probably looking for more ways you can get the most efficiency possible out of this investment. Solar power will allow you to use less electricity that comes from the municipal power grid, so long as you know what you’re doing.

Here are a few tips for getting the best usage out of solar electricity so you can build a truly solar-powered home environment:

• Cut your electricity consumption: Whether or not you’ve installed solar power, one of the best things you can do to increase your home’s energy efficiency is to cut electricity consumption as much as possible. This means eliminating appliances or devices that use too much electricity, and either not replacing them or replacing them with much more energy-efficient devices.
• Use LED bulbs: Speaking of replacing energy-sucking devices with energy-efficient alternatives, there’s no better time than the present to switch to LEDs instead of standard incandescent light bulbs. Most of today’s LEDs use almost all of the electricity they get to create light. Incandescent bulbs only use about 10 percent of the electricity to make light, while the remaining 90 percent gets lost as produced heat. The price of LEDs has fallen quite a bit over the last few years, so it no longer takes nearly as much time for an investment in them to pay for itself.
• Convert hot water systems to electric: If you already have solar systems installed, it’s a good idea to convert to electric boilers for hot water systems. This allows water to be heated closer to the tap as an under-sink unit, which means you don’t lose nearly as much heat while the water is being transported to the tap. It makes for a much more efficient means of getting hot water for your home.
• Solar gardening: Solar electricity yields are, of course, at their highest rates between spring and fall. Considering this is also the prime gardening season, it only makes sense for you to use solar electricity to power your landscaping tools, such as hedge trimmers, lawn mowers, garden and path lights and more.
• Know when to run high-consuming devices: There are appliances in your house that have a lot higher electrical demand than others, such as dish washers, washing machines, dryers and ovens/stoves. If you want to cut down on the electricity you use, you can equip these devices with timer switches so they only run during the day, when you’re getting a lot of electrical output from the solar generator on your roof.
• Turn off standby mode: There are lots of devices that consume electricity even when they’re not actually “on” and are instead in “standby mode.” Examples include TVs, game systems, computers and audio systems. Turn off standby mode—separate them from power entirely to avoid consuming more energy than you need.

For more information on the steps you can take to get the most efficiency out of your solar-powered home in Santa Fe, NM, we encourage you to contact Apple Construction LLC today.

Categorised in: Custom Homes