I just got back from the Greenbuild conference in Phoenix, a convention devoted to showcasing the latest and greatest in green technology for builders and architects. Though many of the products were related to commercial construction, there was quite a bit to pique my interest. If you want to cut to the chase, visit my picks-of-the-show at the end of this blog entry. 

One of the best parts of going to shows for me is the chance to meet up with industry friends with whom I often speak on the radio show but with whom I may not often have face-time. One such buddy is Ed del Grande, whom I consider a dear friend (see photo). Ed has been an often-featured guest on my shows over the years, he wrote the intro for my book (If I Had a Hammer) and we have had wonderful long conversations about the changing green industry, water-saving topics, and just life in general. But Ed and I had never met until now. We finally got a chance to chat in person at the Kohler booth. But I made the mistake of getting Ed started about Kohler's water-saving innovations. He told me everything that I ever wanted to know about toilets (and then some). Gosh — you'd think the guy was a plumber or something! 

I was also able to visit with Lenore Campos, a longtime pal with Toto USA. Toto was in Phoenix too, showcasing gorgeous and functional faucets with low-lead in the manufacturing process and other eco features. Toto also makes toilets and supports the EPA's Water-Sense program, just like Kohler. What great companies we have to choose from! 

Another standout in potties was Caroma. Like Toto and Kohler, they are working with many cities to provide low-cost, low-use replacement toilets, but the unit that caught my eye was a unique toilet and sink combo. You've gotta see it. It looks like something that I would've invented. Perfect for that added half-bath under the stairs or in a workshop. 

But plumbing innovations weren't just showcased by the big boys. Some of the biggest surprises were from lesser-known manufacturers. One such example was the Tapmaster, which was represented by a Canadian firm. It's a multi-faceted hands-free faucet control for folks with limited mobility (or if you just hate to turn on the faucet when your hands are dirty).

Other Canuks were in Phoenix, too. They even invited me to their Green Building Technologies Symposium in Alberta on Dec. 8-9. Regrettably, I can't attend this year, but if you are so inclined, check it out at Greenbuildingtech.ca.

Lots of folks presented innovations in both solar and tankless hot water heaters. Industry leaders, Rheem and Noritz, were there with total-house solutions to replace conventional systems. Their designs continue to be more and more efficient, plus prices are starting to drop. Another nifty innovation in solar water-heating is the Greenward Roof Vent, a ridge-integrated product that hides beneath a standard roof ridge. And yet another company, Suncache, claims to have the least-expensive solar model on the market, with the tank being part of the roof collector itself. 

And speaking of solar and roofing, check out Sheffield Metal. They were displaying an integrated solar roofing panel for standing-seam roofs. Another standout was Sole' Power Tile with solar integrated into tile roofs.

Photovoltaic panels were at every turn but Sanyo's booth caused me to do a double-take with their two-side solar panel that increases efficiency by up to 30 percent. As the sunlight passes through each panel, it strikes the concrete or other hard surface underneath and bounces back to PV cells on the bottom side of the panel. How smart!

Some booths were so busy that I never even got a chance to speak to anyone in person. One such was an air-conditioning system called Coolerado. They claim to be the most efficient air conditioners made and were certainly drawing a crowd. I will have to follow up to find out more. Also in the HVAC realm was Ductsox, some funky-looking sock ductwork. They really caught my eye.  

Over the last year, I have been learning more and more about rainwater harvesting — and I was pleased to see many options at Greenbuild. A few of note were rainharvesting.com and rainwatermanagement.com. Several companies displayed huge collection tanks such as xerxes.com. Many of them were commercially oriented but would be useful on farms and ranches.

Green was the name of the game, but nowhere more than with the plant aficionados. Green Plants for Green Buildings is a consortium of companies who want us to welcome more plants into every aspects of our homes and businesses. Also, living green roofing and parking solutions abounded from folks like Greenwalls.com, Bioroof.com, Greenroofs.us and PorousParking.com . Even Firestone offers framework for growing foliage on buildings — and I thought they just sold tires. What a surprise!

Another surprise — did you know that LG, the electronics folks, are making flooring? I was quite impressed with LG Hausys floors with styles that reminded me of vintage linoleum. 

Also in decor were Eco countertops from my friends at Consetino, made from recycled porcelain and glass with corn-oil resin. Another countertop that I liked was from Renewed Materials. Squak Mountain was another countertop that drew my attention — made from concrete and recycled materials. Aimee Quiriconi is the creator of this unique material with a rustic appearance that reminded me of Vermont soapstone. She was exhibiting with her cohorts from Kirei — who are also worth checking out.

I also met the folks from AFM Coatings and learned quite a bit about environmentally safe paints. They have been making them for over 25 years — way before much of anyone was thinking about indoor air quality. They began with coatings for folks with allergies — but now everyone seems to want them. I flipped for their color range — some fantastic warm hues that just knocked me out! I came home with pockets stuffed with color chips.

As the show neared its close, I stumbled upon a nice fellow, Douglas Green (yes, that's really his name) with Green Design Furniture. His unique work is more like art than furniture, with no nails or screws, no glue, indeed no fastenings of any kind in any of it. Each chair, table, bookshelf, and even dresser is held together by the assembly process itself — as one piece slides over another, much like the Japanese "magic" boxes of my youth. Visit his website to watch a video.

After touring the show floor, our buddies from Sylvania, a division of Siemens, invited the whole MOTHER EARTH NEWS gang to a press party to showcase their involvement in Orange County Choppers. The company had commissioned a bike to be built by Paul Sr. and his OC crew utilizing their LED lighting. The chopper is the first of its kind to be totally electric powered (see photo). The MOTHER EARTH NEWS crew each took turns for photos ops. Here is a shot of Barrett Cline-Coke, one of our producers, looking mean and green! 

Picks of the Show

OK, I promised my picks-of-the-show. Let me first say that I am a nut for wind power. So I thoroughly enjoyed visiting our buddies at Skystream, who have made wind solutions accessible for everyone. Swift Wind Turbines presented a unique round design that looks nifty. And last but not least was the Windspire, a new vertical turbine (see photo).

I was thoroughly excited to see so much that's new in green tech. Just a few years ago, home windmills were an oxymoron. Now we have several companies to choose from. Solar panels are popping up all over the country — and the world. And nearly every company across the US is adding sustainable products. Don't ya' just love it — I can't wait for Greenbuild next year!

Photos by Andrea Ridout

On the morning of Oct. 1, 2009, 20 student teams from universities across the United States and around the world will crowd onto the lawn of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. They will work around the clock for seven days, compete in 10 contests, and, on the ninth day, guide curious tourists and locals through the results of an endeavor the students have been living for the past two years.

It is the fourth, biyearly Solar Decathlon, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy. Student teams apply and prepare at least two years in advance, meticulously constructing their solar-powered homes at their sponsoring universities, then disassembling them, transporting them to D.C. and reassembling them on the National Mall, where they will be judged in the following 10 categories: 

1. Architecture
2. Market Viability
3. Engineering
4. Lighting Design
5. Communications
6. Comfort Zone
7. Hot Water
8. Appliances
9. Home Entertainment
10. Net Metering 

In a recent webinar providing information about the upcoming event and requesting volunteers, Director Richard King shared his enthusiasm about the decathlon, and pointed out that the original motivation for the project was a need to integrate aesthetics with reliable technology. The DOE reached out to architectural universities to develop this possibility. The result is a temporary village consisting of beautiful, structurally sound, energy-efficient homes.  

But the vision doesn’t dim when the houses are disassembled on Oct. 21. King noted that the buildings are always placed in a permanent location after the competition, with many being housed on their sponsoring campuses as educational facilities. 

The University of Darmstadt, Germany took first place in 2007, with a deceptively box-like structure discovered to be enclosed with tri-fold, floor-to-ceiling doors. It was followed by the University of Maryland in second place, and Santa Clara University in third. 

This year, eight teams will return from 2007 and one from 2005. They will be joined by 11 new teams. We’ll be keeping you updated as the teams reach D.C., begin assembly and are judged on the overall quality of their solar-powered homes.

Pictured above: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2007 Solar Decathlon house. Photo by DOE/NREL/JIM TETRO

Having a “green home” can mean all sorts of things. To some people, it means living in a home that’s free of chemicals or materials that produce any sort of toxic fumes (formaldehyde from furniture or volatile organic compounds from paint, for example).

To others, a green home must be extremely energy-efficient: superinsulated, energy-efficient appliances, and with minimal space. It may even include living off the electrical grid.

If a home isn’t built of natural, local materials (such as stone, logs, cordwood or adobe), some people will say it’s not green.

So, with all these variables in mind, what would be your fantasy green home? Tell us what it would be made of, what types of energy-conserving features it would have or about the design. You can write all about it in the comments section below.

Have you considered installing renewable energy systems at your home? For example would you be most likely to have a wind turbine, or solar electric panels? Have you thought about a solar water heater, a solar space heater or solar-powered outdoor lights?

Tell us what you’ve considered and why; whether you’re dreaming big or starting small; and how far in the future you hope to be able to make it happen.

If you’re looking for more information on your options, this article, All Kinds of Solar, is a quick list of the many different ways people use solar energy. Another good introduction to home-scale renewable article is the article Choosing Renewable Energy, which discusses one couple’s efforts to get off the grid with wind power, solar power and wood heat.

Are you trying to learn more about renewable energy and green building? If you are looking for related conferences or workshops, and especially if you are looking for professional training as a solar installer or dealer, be sure to check out the schedule for the Solar 2009 conference, an annual event held by the American Solar Energy Society. Here’s a description of the conference which will be held May 11-16, 2009 in Buffalo, N.Y.  Be sure to check out the opportunities for professional training provided by the Solar Success Training Event.

If you’re interested in the big picture of what’s happening in renewable energy, you’ll find a lot of interesting stuff at RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Check out their about us page for a quick list of links to more info on green jobs, breaking news and product descriptions.

Some of the information is very technical, but you can find basics too. Take a look at the Renewable Energy Technology Overview for background on solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable technologies. I also enjoy listening to the weekly podcast, Inside Renewable Energy.

Finally, there’s some interesting material from the Renewable Energy World Conference and Expo that took place in Las Vegas earlier this week. You can find video from the event here, or click here to go to the event’s blog.

PHOTO BY WARREN GRETZ/DOE/NREL

I have a couple of renewable energy calendars, and when you flip through them, you can’t help but notice a recurring theme. There are photos of wind turbines with photogenic cattle (or goats, or sheep) and glossy pictures of solar panels mounted on barns. All this is enough to start you thinking about renewable energy on the farm.

If you’ve ever wondered how farmers can benefit from renewable energy, check out this terrific page on farm energy from the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (otherwise known as ATTRA). The ATTRA site is full of practical information on sustainable agriculture, and they have a great collection of resources on renewable energy, including solar energy, wind energy, energy efficiency and biofuels.

What kind of information is covered? Well, you can read all about generating your own electricity with solar panels or wind turbines, the best solar greenhouse design, and methane recovery from animal manure (a subject which, understandably enough, I've never seen pictured on a calendar). Check it out!

PHOTO BY ISTOCKPHOTO/OLAF LOOSE

Sure, most people know that you can produce electricity with photovoltaic (PV) panels. But have you ever wondered exactly how solar cells generate electricity?

There’s a great, very detailed explanation of the whole process on the How Stuff Works website.

Or, here’s another idea. You can skip the article and jump straight to this solar cell quiz (also from How Stuff Works). You can learn a lot just by guessing, because the quiz format explains the answer right after each question.

If you're brave enough to share your quiz score (and whether or not you read the article) post it in the comments section below. My quiz score was 7/10 after reading the article. Think you can beat that? Go ahead, give it your best shot!

Thanks to constant 2008 election coverage, many Americans missed important news stories this fall. ForeignPolicy.com came up with a list of 10 articles people may have missed, one of which found that one type of solar panels might actually be harmful to the environment.

A research study by Scripps Institute of Oceanography based out of the University of California, San Diego was the first to measure the amount of nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) in the Earth’s atmosphere. NF3 is used for cleaning microcircuits in flat-screen televisions, iPhones and thin-film solar panels.

NF3 is a gas 17,000 times worse for the environment than carbon dioxide (CO2) in causing global warming, and it stays in the atmosphere about five times longer. But NF3 was thought to be a better alternative to CO2 because, according to industry estimates, only 2 percent of NF3 ever makes it to the atmosphere. This encouraged companies to use NF3, as did the fact that it wasn’t considered dangerous enough to be covered by the Kyoto Protocol — the 1997 agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions signed by more than 150 countries.

The study, funded by NASA, was the first to test the amount of NF3 in the atmosphere, and it found that it is more prominent than previously thought. It had been estimated that less than 1,200 metric tons of NF3 was in the atmosphere in 2006. The new research by Scripps shows the actual amount was 4,200 metric tons. In 2008, about 5,400 metric tons of the gas was in the atmosphere, a quantity that has increased at a rate of 11 percent a year.

“This is a significantly higher percentage than has been estimated by industry, and thus strengthens the case for inventorying NF3 production and for regulating its emissions,” the published research said.

But not all solar panels are made with NF3; the problem only applies to thin-film solar panels. According to the Energy Information Administration, in 2006 thin-film solar panel represented 30 percent of photovoltaic cells made by the U.S. solar industry.

However, thin-film solar panels have recently gained popularity though because they are generally cheaper to produce.

It looks like we need to take another look at the manufacturing process for thin-film solar since it isn’t quite perfect, darn it.

A couple weeks ago, we told you about a new, funky kind of solar panel that’s about to hit the market (Solar Panels Get a Make-over). A few months ago, we told you about a completely different kind of solar energy with gobs and gobs of potential — utility scale CSP, or concentrating solar power (Solar Thermal Power Coming to a Boil). We’ve also recently sung the praises of solar power potential in Solar Power Could Provide 10 Percent of U.S. Electricity by 2025. Clearly, we’re crazy for solar around here!

But can you handle even more good solar news?

A team of researchers at MIT has invented an award-winning solar electric system that is vastly more efficient than typical solar panels. And believe it or not, it should be vastly more affordable, too. Props go to associate professor of electrical engineering Marc A. Baldo, graduate students in electrical engineering Michael Currie, Jon Mapel and Timothy Heidel, and postdoctoral associate in the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT, Shalom Goffri. (Mad props also to the National Science Foundation, for supporting the research!)

The team’s “solar concentrator” collects the sun’s energy over a large dye-coated glass or plastic surface, such as a window, and gathers it at the edges. Therefore, expensive photovoltaic cells are only necessary around the glass panel’s edges. And the concentrated light actually multiplies the electrical output of each cell by up to 40 times. The best news may be for homeowners who already operate a solar electric system, because they’ll be able to boost their system efficiency significantly with even an inexpensive retrofit. Covalent Solar, the company founded by Currie, Mapel and Goffri, expects to be able to bring this technology to market within three years.

Watch professor Marc Baldo explain how these solar concentrators work:

New whiz-bang technologies are always cool, but the best news behind this development is about affordability. Says the research team: “Unsubsidized solar electricity is over three times as expensive as the average grid prices for electricity derived from conventional energy sources, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Dramatic cost reductions are needed. Clean, renewable electricity at affordable prices would be an attractive alternative to conventional electricity and the related fossil-fuel dependence, greenhouse-gas emissions and peak-time grid constraints.”

Further Resources:

* You can read the full report about the team's solar concentrator technology in the July 2008 issue of Science magazine: High-Efficiency Organic Solar Concentrators for Photovoltaics.

* Wish you were smarter? Catch more cool videos at MIT TechTV or participate in MIT classes through their free service, MITOpenCourseWare.

* Check out the January/February 2009 issue of our sister magazine, Natural Home, for more about solar concentrators.

It’s easy to get excited about the potential of solar and wind power. For one thing, generating electricity from the sun and wind is a great alternative to burning fossil fuels because it does not produce carbon dioxide emissions or other air pollutants. But did you know these renewable technologies can help fight poverty, too?

That’s because solar panels and wind turbines can bring power to parts of the world where people don’t have electricity. In fact, an estimated 1.6 billion people — a quarter of the world’s population — do not have electricity at home, according to the Energy for Development report from REN21 (the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21^st Century). Installing small-scale solar panels and wind turbines can be an especially effective way to bring electricity to these areas, because it doesn’t require the enormous investment of, say, building a coal-fired electric plant and transmission lines.

The REN21 report mentioned above was published by the Worldwatch Institute, and it’s full of good information on renewable energy and poverty. You also can find more information on this subject on the Worldwatch Web site. For example, here’s one interesting article about a successful pilot project in rural India. The project brought solar power to 100,000 people who previously did not have reliable electricity. By providing electricity for lighting it reduced local reliance on kerosene, a fuel that was often unavailable or unaffordable — and that can cause serious problems with indoor air pollution.

Do you know of other projects where renewable energy is being used to alleviate poverty? You can share your thoughts by posting them in the comments field below.

Curious about whether your home is a good candidate for solar power? Check out Roofray, a handy tool that takes advantage of Google’s complex map data to project your home’s solar power potential. Roofray also makes educated guesses about energy bill savings and installation costs for your location.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all the energy we used could come from local, renewable resources? Here’s a great article from the San Francisco Chronicle about people who are trying to make that idea a reality. (You can also read the article here on Common Dreams.)

It explains that just as a “locavore” is someone who eats locally grown food, a “locavolt” is someone who seeks energy created from local, renewable resources. One “locavolt” idea mentioned in this article is a concept Mother Earth News readers may already be familiar with, community supported wind.

If this gets you started thinking about producing energy locally, here are a few other resources you might want to check out.

* Do you live in a good location for producing solar or wind power? Here’s an article with more information on evaluating your home’s renewable energy potential.

 * To learn more about community supported wind power, a great resource is the non-profit organization Windustry and their Community Wind Toolbox.

 * The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has state and country energy profiles with good background information on energy issues in different areas. For example, here’s the profile for my home state of Kansas. Not surprisingly, it shows that we burn a lot of coal from Wyoming, but don’t yet have a lot of wind turbines.

What are some of the energy issues where you live? You can share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

Wouldn’t it be great if more of our electricity came from wind and solar power? There are a lot of good reasons the United States should start generating more electricity from renewable sources. But what will it take to make that happen?

One thing we are likely to need is an upgraded, expanded electric grid with more transmission lines extending to the sunniest and windiest parts of the country. Today, there’s a great article in the New York Times that does a good job of explaining the connections between transmission upgrades and developing renewable energy.

You can find another good discussion of the need for grid improvements here in this recent article from Renewable Energy World. It was originally published by the American Wind Energy Association, and includes many details about how upgrades to the grid could help speed up the development of wind energy.

 It’s also worth mentioning that some individual states are already leading the way with transmission upgrades — notably Texas.

Do you think the United States needs to upgrade its electrical grid? Tell us your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Photo by Tom Wald/Istockphoto

Every day, 970 trillion kilowatt hours of energy strikes the Earth in the form of sunlight. It's long past time we started using more of it. That's the message of "Hail: The Return of the Sun," the dramatic short movie you can watch below. The movie was produced by Solon, a German-based solar energy company with an edge (the company's slogan is "Don't leave the planet to the stupid").

For more information about the movie, and to see the longer version (with an introduction), click the link below.

Hail: The Return of the Sun

This week, there’s a nice article from Worldwatch with statistics on exactly how fast renewable energy is growing in the United States. The good news is, it’s growing rapidly — especially electricity from wind and geothermal.

But it made me wonder, exactly how much of our electricity already comes from renewable sources? Well, according to this fact sheet from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), it’s about 8.5 percent, and almost all of that is from hydropower — 6 percent.

Where are we going? One EIA projection says that we could be at 12.6 percent renewable electricity by 2030. Not very inspiring, is it? However, the U.S. Department of Energy also projects that we could produce 20 percent of our electricity from wind by 2030 if we address several challenges, including the need for additional transmission lines.

On the other hand, Al Gore recently challenged the country to set the audacious goal of getting 100 percent of our electricity from renewables within 10 years, so by 2018. It’s easy to see why he compared it to the challenge of putting a man on the moon: That would be a huge leap forward from where we are now. But it might be just the push we need to make the transition to renewable energy.

What about the presidential candidates? On his campaign Web site, Barack Obama specifically calls for 10 percent of our electricity to come from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025. (On his Web site, John McCain doesn’t suggest a specific goal for renewable electricity, but does say he favors support for renewables, including through tax credits.)

What kind of goals for renewable energy do you think the United States should aim for? Share your comments below.

It looks like a big step forward for clean energy. MIT researchers have announced that they’ve found a new, cheaper way to extract hydrogen from water. The new process should make it far easier to store solar energy. You can read all about it here:

Solar Energy Storage Made Cheap, Efficient, Science Daily

Solar Power Breakthrough, Technology Review 

Hydrogen Power on the Cheap — Or at Least, Cheaper, Scientific American

Cheap way to 'split water' could lead to abundant clean fuel, The Guardian

Extreme weather, including hurricanes and flooding, not only wreak havoc on landscapes and homes, but also on the water supply. Recent flooding in the Midwest and residual flooding effects of Hurricane Katrina left flood waters laden with sewage contamination.

The most obvious form of water disinfection is boiling, but solar water disinfection is a way to use renewable energy to clean drinking water without using energy from the stove. All you need is a clear glass or plastic bottle and a sunny day. The sunlight cleans the water with radiation via UVA rays and by increasing the water’s temperature.

To disinfect water, fill the clean bottle with contaminated water and close the lid. Place the bottles out in the sun for six hours, from morning until evening. Some recommend using corrugated iron sheets to keep the bottles from rolling, but placing them on your roof also works well. This Web site has illustrated instructions.

Can you afford solar-electric panels, or a backyard wind turbine? For a growing number of people, the answer is yes.

But how you answer that question depends a lot on your state's net metering laws, because this one policy makes it much easier to pay for home solar or wind-electric systems.

That’s because net metering policies allow you to sell any extra electricity you produce back to the utility at the retail rate. It’s a simplified billing process where when you’re drawing electricity from the grid, your electric meter spins forward; when you’re producing electricity that you’re not using, your meter spins backward.

If you don’t have net metering, the utility can charge you more for the electricity you buy than you get for the electricity you produce. For a grid-connected wind or solar system, that makes a huge difference in how quickly the system pays for itself in reduced electric bills.

Currently, most U.S. states have net metering laws, although they don't all make it equally easy to connect to the grid. For more specifics on state policies, check out this list from the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE). Only eight states don’t have net metering laws: Alaska, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina.

Fortunately, more states are passing net metering laws all the time. So if you want net metering and don’t have it, let your state legislators know!

Photo by Michael Braun/Istockphoto

San Francisco is paying its way to become a more energy efficient place by helping its citizens afford solar panels. The city’s board of supervisors recently approved the Solar Energy Incentive Program, GoSolarSF, which is now the country’s largest municipal solar program. With an annual budget of $3 million for the next 10 years, the program offers up to $6,000 to residents and up to $10,000 for businesses in the form of tax incentives for private solar installations. It will give out even more than that to low-income San Franciscans and nonprofit, multi-family residences. The program’s goal is to eventually have 10,000 solar rooftops in the city compared to the 770 they have right now. The program started accepting applications on July 1, 2008. Once they begin building, other cities will hopefully start to spend a little also.

It's surprising how many different ways you can use solar power. People tap solar energy for heating, cooking and electricity, and for all those tasks there are both commercial products and DIY plans. Here's a quick overview of the many ways people choose to go solar.

Photovoltaics (PV). Put photovoltaic panels on your roof, and they can produce electricity for your home. Here's an article about a home-size PV system, a plan to use a smaller PV system for  DIY solar lighting, and information about how to calculate the costs and payback period of your own PV system.

Solar Hot Water. A solar water heating system can provide all the hot water your household needs. Learn about the benefits of purchasing a solar water heater, or how to build your own.

Solar Space Heating.  You can also use the sun for home heating. Learn more about the commercial options for solar heat collectors with this buyers' guide to solar heating, or find out how to build your own. (This simple DIY space heater heats the air directly, while this more complex solar heating plan heats water and warms the building with radiant floor heat.)

Passive Solar Design. Another strategy for heating your home with the sun's energy is to capture heat through the entire building's design, rather than through a single solar heat collector as described above. Here's an article with more about using the principles of passive solar design to take advantage of natural heating and cooling.

Concentrating Solar Power. When you buy electricity from your utility it usually comes from power plants that burn fossil fuels, but in a growing number of locations utility companies are offering clean renewable energy from sources such as hydropower, wind — and yes — solar. One of the most promising technologies for these large solar power plants is concentrating solar power.

Other Uses for Solar Power. There are many other ways people are harnessing the sun, including with solar cookers, solar food dryers, solar water distillers and solar tractors and mowers.

Do you use solar power in your home? Have you found other ways to tap solar energy? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.

Photo by istockphoto

While harnessing the sun's power is clearly a bright alternative energy solution, not all solar power technologies are created equal. While photovoltaic panels are great for meeting small-scale energy needs (like those of individual homes or businesses), perhaps a more viable large-scale option is concentrated solar power (CSP) technology. CSP uses the sun's heat—as opposed to PV technology, which uses its light—and is already in use in abundantly sunny areas of the United States (like the Southwest.)

One type of CSP called parabolic trough technology uses curved mirrors to reflect solar radiation onto collector tubes. This energy then creates steam which powers a turbine, generating electricity. This kind of system is in place at the Nevada Solar One project in Boulder City, Nevada.

Another kind of CSP aims grounded mirrors at the top of a tower where the energy is collected, and again creates steam to power a turbine. In March of 2007, Europe's first commercial CSP tower opened in Seville, Spain. The tower is part of a planned set that will eventually meet the needs of around 180,000 homes—or the entire city of Seville.

Many people using renewable energy at home will tell you that if you're interested in installing a solar or wind system to generate electricity, a good first step is to start cutting your electricity use. For example, you might want to start by installing compact fluorescent light bulbs, getting in the habit of turning off lights when you leave the room, plugging all your appliances into easy to shut off power strips, or any of dozens of other proven ways to cut your electricity use.

Why Energy Efficiency is Exciting To be honest, cutting your energy use doesn't have the romantic appeal of immediately installing solar panels or a wind turbine to generate all your electricity, but I think there are two good reasons to get excited about the idea.

1. You can start doing it today. Renewable energy systems are an investment, and financial or other personal circumstances may prevent you from purchasing one right now. But there are lots of simple, painless ways you can start cutting your electricity use around your home right now.

2. It can save you a bundle of cash down the road. The size of a renewable energy system to meet all your electric needs varies a lot, depending on how much electricity you use. If you cut your use of electricity first, you can buy a smaller, less expensive system that still meets your needs.

No, Seriously... It Saves Thousands of Dollars I've written before about how useful the Find Solar Web site is for getting rough estimates of the cost of a solar-electric system. You don't even have to have exact numbers from your electric bill to get an idea of how much a PV system for your home might cost.

On the other hand, if you do have the exact numbers from your electric bill, you can enter them into the site's solar calculator to get a better estimate. You can also tweak those numbers to get a rough idea of how much it would cost to install bigger or smaller PV systems. (Because if you use more electricity, it will likely take a bigger and more expensive electric system to meet your needs.)

Crunching the Numbers It's easy to find out how much electricity you use each month. You can request these figures from your utility, or, if you pay your bills online, you can probably get them just by logging into your account. Then plug those numbers into the Find Solar calculator in the spot for average monthly electricity use.

I found the estimate for a PV system based on my average electricity use, and it was $16,000. Yikes. But that's the average. If I plugged in the number from the month I used the least electricity, the estimate goes down to $8,000. If I use the number from the month I used the most electricity last year, the estimate goes up to $34,000. Yep, that's a breathtaking difference in price.

(Don't panic when you look at the largest number. Remember that for a grid-tied system you don't have to generate all your own electricity. You could buy the smallest system, it just might not meet all your needs for electricity. You'd have to buy the rest from your electric utility at the usual price.)

How to Start Saving Electricity The cost difference between a small PV system and a larger one is even more thought provoking when you consider that many steps to use less electricity at home are surprisingly easy and inexpensive.

Ready to go home and look for more ways to save electricity? Check out a few ideas for places to start here!

When I first heard about the Find Solar Web site, I was skeptical. (Oh sure, it provides everything you need to know to buy solar panels in one place. What are the odds of that?)  But I was pleasantly surprised: This Web site is remarkably thorough and easy to use. In fact, if you're in the market for a solar energy system, you might as well skip the rest of what I have to say, and go straight to the Find Solar site.

On the other hand, if you're as skeptical as I was, keep reading and let me try to convince you that Find Solar is a wonderful source of information. Here are some of the Web site's best points:

  1. It's not a corporate site. When I first glanced at the Find Solar site, I was afraid it might all be the work of one company that sells solar panels, but that's not the case at all. According to their 'About us' page, Find Solar is a partnership between the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), U.S. Department of Energy, and on the software side of things Energy Matters LLC.

2. It covers all forms of solar power. Not only is there information on photovoltaic systems, there's also info on solar space heating and water heating. (There are also listings for companies that sell wind turbines, but the site is definitely geared toward people interested in solar.)

3. It has all the local information you need. Just fill in your state and county and you can get all the relevant details about incentives available in your area, and info on local retailers and installers. The information is detailed but easy to follow.

For example, I was in the section that helps you find local solar professionals. I did a quick search and found that there's one solar retailer in my town, and there are four others within a 100 mile radius. For each company, the site lists not only contact information, but also customer reviews, associations the business is a member of, and the number and types of solar systems they've installed. It's all very handy.

4. Getting an estimate is remarkably painless. I hate filling out online forms, but this one's easy. To get an estimate on a PV system, all you have to know is what county you live in, what utility company you use and about how much you pay each month for electricity. Then you click a button and it gives you an estimate that takes into account any local incentives.

5. There's good, general background information. If you're in the market for a renewable energy system, chances are you have a few questions about how it works. I was happy to see that Find Solar answers many of those questions with an extensive list of FAQ, which you can search by keyword.

Yes, it's that good! Whether you're actively looking for a solar energy system, or just exploring your options, I definitely recommend this site as a starting place.