| In setting upon the task of building green homes, | | | | passive solar/geothermal for heating and |
| there are a few different technologies to utilize. You | | | | air-conditioning, or wind and solar for electricity |
| could employ solar power, whether in an active or | | | | generation. Setting up "teams" like this can create a |
| passive sense, or you could use wind generated | | | | sort of "beneficial redundancy" of sorts. After all, the |
| power, power generated by water, and then of | | | | whole of all of the energy one can grab from the |
| course there is also geothermal power. There are | | | | environment in these 3ways is totally free and |
| many environmentally provided means of renewable | | | | constantly renewable, so why not get all your bases |
| energy extraction to power an average home, but | | | | covered and grab what you can, right? Complete |
| one of the main questions that arises in the mind of | | | | efficiency is what is aimed for when building green |
| anyone building green homes is this; which is the | | | | homes, and having a few systems at a home's |
| most efficient to use? Well, let's take a look at the | | | | disposal will ensure a proper constant flow of energy |
| answer... | | | | as needed. |
| The answer to which of the green technologies | | | | But let's not forget other types of eco-friendly living... |
| available today is the most efficient for building green | | | | conserving the energy we have at hand energy is |
| homes is a bit of a no-brainer, and in fact, it was a | | | | also something to keep in the habit of doing. Building |
| bit of a trick question in the first place. The obvious | | | | green homes isn't enough after all, if we continue to |
| answer is all of them. That is to say, the best built | | | | be wasteful with our energy consumption habits. |
| green-powered homes today utilize a few or all of | | | | "Latent energy consumption" is one thing, for |
| the available ways to extract energy and generate | | | | example, that can account for up to 75% of most |
| power from the environment to power a home. | | | | average homes' utility bills. Appliances that use |
| However, some may prefer some systems over | | | | remote controls (TVs, VCRs, DVD players, etc.), |
| others, depending upon the task performed. For | | | | digital displays (microwave ovens, coffee makers, |
| instance, instead of using solar, geothermal energy | | | | etc.), LED indicators (battery and cell phone chargers, |
| may be preferred for things like heat and hot water, | | | | etc.) and such all continue to draw electricity while |
| while for generating electricity, solar power may be | | | | not in use, simply by being plugged into the wall. Have |
| the best and most efficient system to use. | | | | all of these things plugged into power strips so that |
| Even still, some systems may be used in tandem, as | | | | you can simply flip the switch on these to shut off all |
| one may help the other where each system's | | | | power use, and you'll save yourself a ton of utility |
| performable tasks tend to overlap - for instance, | | | | expenses. |