Solar Powered Housing Essays -- Energy Pollution Essays

Solar Powered Housing With the increasing energy consumption rates and increasing pollution rates as a result, it is important for our society to focus on cleaner, more renewable energy sources. Because households are a major consumer of energy throughout the world, families could contribute greatly to the use of renewable energy sources through the use of solar home systems. If more and more people agree to the use of solar home systems, our fossil fuel consumption rates will drop and we will notice profound improvements throughout our environment. This essay will discuss various topics that are necessary in order to understand the function of a solar home system. First, for a solar home system to function effectively, one must first reduce the amount of energy consumed within the house. This can either be achieved through efficient house design or through efficient energy consumption. Efficient design features include proper sealing of windows, doors, and cracks, proper insulation, proper window design for passive heating, proper air infiltration, and the use of proper materials for heat absorption. By designing your house efficiently, you greatly reduce the amount of energy consumed and therefore reduce the cost and size of your solar home system. Efficient energy consumption is also extremely important when using a solar home system. Energy consumption can be greatly reduced by such acts as buying efficient appliances, keeping doors and windows closed to reduce heat loss, turning off lights and appliances when they are not needed, and turning down A/C levels. These acts also contribute greatly to a reduction in the size and cost of your solar home system. The basic idea behind solar home systems is th... ...reducing the use of fossil fuels while still meeting their energy needs, should definitely consider the use of an SHS in their home. Works Cited About Photovoltaics. 25 October 2002. U.S. Department of Energy. . Advanced Energy Group. 1999-2002.