4 Tips to Make the Most of Your Home’s Solar
Installing a solar energy system in your home can help reduce your carbon footprint and cut down on your energy costs. Believe it or not, you might not be getting the most optimal results out of your solar system though.
Whether you have installed solar panels for financial benefits or environmental reasons, the following tips will help you make the most of your home’s solar energy system. Check them out!
Install LED Lighting
Older light bulbs such as incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs only use a small percentage of the electricity that they take in to make the light, while the rest of that precious energy is lost as heat. On the other hand, modern LED bulbs use almost all of the electricity that they take in to make light.
A good LED bulb only needs about a tenth of the electricity that a traditional bulb needs. By installing LED lighting in your home, you won’t be pulling as much energy from your solar energy system to light your home.
LEDs are also much more efficient than traditional bulbs, and they last much longer. Replacing the lights in your home with LEDs makes sense, especially if you are using solar power in your home.
Install Smart Thermostats
Smart thermostats allow you to remotely control the temperature in your house via your smartphone or other devices. Many smart thermostats allow you to program the temperature based on the time of day and weather, and some can even learn your heating and cooling habits and create an energy-efficient schedule based on how to typically adjust your thermostat day in and day out.
Installing smart thermostats will allow you to keep track of how much energy you are pulling from your solar power system for heating and cooling, so you can make any necessary adjustments to maximize your energy usage and conserve energy.
Use Ceiling Fans
Using ceiling fans may seem way too simple, but heating and cooling can take up on average, 48 percent of your home’s energy budget. This means that using your HVAC system can easily use up most, if not all, of the energy produced by your solar panels. Yikes!
While using ceiling fans won’t heat or cool your home, they can help circulate the air throughout your home making it more comfortable, and in turn, using less solar energy.
To make the most of your ceiling fans, set them to rotate counterclockwise in the summertime to distribute cool air around the room. Switch the fans to rotate clockwise in winter which will help push the warm air down from the ceiling to the room.
Be Conscious of Energy Use
When you are using solar power, be conscious of your energy use and consumption. When you leave a room, turn out the lights. Turn off or unplug appliances after you use them. If leaving for the day, turn the temperature up a few degrees. There are many small easy adjustments that you can make that will make a BIG impact on your energy consumption.
By making minor adjustments to the way you use energy, you can be sure that the energy produced by your solar energy system is being used efficiently and effectively.
Save Energy and Protect the Environment with Solar Bear
Solar energy is the ultimate renewable energy source and will help you save BIG on energy costs. Solar Bear offers expert solar energy contracting services to help Florida homeowners in Tampa, Orlando, and Sarasota make their homes more efficient.
We specialize in solar panel installation and attic insulation to make your home as efficient as possible. Harness the power of the sun with Solar Bear today! Contact us for a solar power quote at 727-471-7442.
