If only we lived in BF

I have always been interested in alternative energy as my bid to help the planet (and my wallet) but the technology pricing has always made it prohibitive to the common household. Thankfully, as more and more builders are starting to jump on board and various governments are giving incentives, it is making more sense that if you have the space, the time, and the conviction, you can save a bundle by tapping those sources freely available to you.

Everyone basically knows about renewable resources, but we also know about the drawbacks in using them. Solar panels would be great in a desert; not as efficient in London or Vancouver. A windmill is great in the prairies, not so much so on Bay St. or any other downtown area. Water is everywhere, but few places have a strong enough flow (on private land) to make it viable. So, the ideal thing is to combine the ones you can to supplement your existing supply.

Personally, after seeing an Extreme Makeover show where they built this huge house for something like thirteen people (two families combined by the tragic deaths of one set of parents). In order to make it possible for the modest income coming into the house to be able to support everyone in this new tech tricked out home, they installed these special solar panel roof tiles. They no longer have to stand out like an oddity in the neighbourhood and you no longer need an office building to house the batteries and conversion circuitry; truly amazing advances.

Anyhow, try this article from Canoe for starters. I will try to post some other stuff soon so that maybe you too can help the environment while helping yourself to some cleaner living.

Ciao.

Canadian Homes and Cottages Magazine - Homeowners, Trades :: Toronto, Ontario, Canada