reduce and then produce clean energy
I talk to many consumers looking to go solar everyday and most consumers shopping for solar energy are concerned about the large upfront costs associated with producing clean green energy. Although what most consumers don’t think about is the underlying cause of why a solar power system costs so much. What consumers don’t realize is they have the ability to lower the final price by thousands of dollars on a sales quote for a solar power system just by reducing their energy consumption.
How do you reduce your energy consumption? A good start (and cheapest) is to change all your light bulbs to CFLs or LEDs, insulation can help reduce your energy by keeping the house cool during summer and warm in the winter, thus significantly reducing your yearly energy usage.
Get rid of old appliances which hog and waste energy. Unplug unused items (they draw energy even if they are plugged in, but not in use), set your computers to automatically hibernate (power saving mode) when they are idle for more than 5 minutes. Purchase energy star appliances and most importantly turn off the lights when you leave a room.
Changing the way you consume energy can have a significant impact on the overall price of a solar energy system, practicing reducing energy consumption can shave off thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars off the final cost of a system. The great clean energy system installers will always recommend reducing consumption. If you can’t figure out how to reduce your energy usage, some system installers will even perform an energy audit for you.
