Browsing Tag Solar Water Heaters

In an effort to reduce energy usage across the country, the federal government has begun offering tax incentives for homeowners who purchase and put into use methods and means of creating and utilizing renewable energy.  The administration of President Barack Obama has expanded upon existing incentives and added new incentives in an effort to encourage home builders and existing homeowners to convert to renewable sources of energy rather than maintaining a dependence on fossil fuels.

Technologies that are eligible for the incentive include solar water heaters, photovoltaics, fuel cells, wind generators, geothermal heat pumps, and other technologies that employ the use of solar electricity.  Geothermal heat pumps are required to meet energy star certification requirements, while solar water heaters must be certified by the SRCC in the state in which they are installed.  Half of the energy or more used to heat the water within the home must be derived from solar sources.  It is also requires that fuel cells have an efficiency of electricity-only generation of thirty percent or more.

The standard allowance for renewable energy sources is thirty percent of the cost, though there is a cap on many of the incentives if they were installed before January 1, 2009.  Systems installed after this date have no maximum incentive.  The deduction caps on these systems vary and are as follows.  For solar-electric systems, solar water heaters, and geothermal heat pumps installed in 2008, the cap is set at two thousand dollars.  For wind turbines installed in 2008, the cap is set at four thousand dollars.  Fuel cells have an incentive cap of five hundred dollars per 0.5 kW.  It is also very important for homeowners and home builders to know that any excess credit gained from these incentives may be carried over into the succeeding tax year.

In order to claim these tax incentives, homeowners must file IRS Form 5695 with their Federal Income Tax Return or as part of an amended return.  This tax credit was initially established in 2005 as part of the Energy Policy Act, and was extended as part of the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008.  In February 2009, the credits were enhanced and the bill extended until 2016 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In all, there are a number of federal incentives to encourage the transition to renewable energy sources as well as to help offset the costs associated with doing so.  Homeowners should also look into the various grants available to consumers looking to build a home that utilizes renewable energy as a primary energy source.  Most states offer additional incentives from the use of these energy products, and homeowners are urged to look into both state and federal incentive programs any time they are considering the utilization of renewable energy sources.

Solar energy is one form of energy that is abundant all over the world today. It is also a source of energy that is least harnessed in the world and has some of the best potential. Benefits of solar energy and its move of implementation is examined below.

The simplest transfer of energy we use today is solar energy. Solar energy can be used to warm our pools or to dry our clothes.

The sun is a very powerful star. It supplies us with energy by means of a process known as nuclear fusion. It also sustains the life on our planet. Solar energy otherwise known as the energy from the sun has existed since time immemorial and even the prehistoric men used the power of the sun in order to start fires.

The sun is a valuable and essential resource which radiates enough energy on the U. S in one day to meet the needs of the nation for as much as one and a half years. It is a source of energy that is free, clean and renewable and it is an energy source that will play a substantial role in our future.

The use of solar energy seems like the easiest solution to having an eternal energy source. However the harnessing of this energy is where the problem starts from. The rays of the sun shine over the entire world and not in a single spot. It may take only 8 minutes for the rays of the sun to reach the earth but trying to catch these rays over a wide area can be a very tricky thing to do. Energy available given place will vary according to a number of different factors which include cloud cover and weather conditions.

The use of solar energy in the United States started in the 1890′s when solar water heaters were used. Solar water heating makes use of a storage collector and a storage tank. Flat plate solar collectors are kept of roofs and pipes that carry water are then pumped through these collectors. These tubes are also painted black because this way they tend to get hotter quicker, a storage tank will then hold the hot liquid and this will help with central heating and cutting down on fuel costs. Solar heaters were popular when natural gas was rather expensive and burning wood and coals was a rather bothersome task. The popularity of solar heaters reduced when abundant natural gas and oil deposits were discovered. These fuels are now returning to replace the depleting fossil fuels that had taken their place.

Solar energy is either in the form of heat or light energy. The technology of the photovoltaic converts the energy of the sun into electric currents with the use of solar cells. Electric currents are then used immediately or stored for future use. PV cells also consist of pieces of silicon which are placed under a piece of glass. These pieces have both a positive and negative charge. Certain examples of this are the solar powered calculators that are used almost everywhere these days. Much more complicated examples would be the use of solar panels on rooftops. This usually consists of thin film solar cells used as rooftop shingles, roof tiles or even glazing for sky lights. These solar cells only generate one sixth of the solar energy into power. Bigger arrays are then needed which usually means more costs.

Solar thermal plants make use of the power of the sun in order to heat fluid. This in turn is transferred to steam that is quite similar to what occurs in plants that burn fossil fuel. The steam can then be transformed into mechanical energy in a turbine as well as electrical energy in a generator. The bad thing about solar plants is that they are unable to produce energy on days that are cloudy.