High Design With Solar Panels
Houzz.com
“Living off the grid may not be as easy as slapping some solar panels on a roof or side of a building, but it definitely helps reduce those electricity bills. But if one decides to add solar panels to a house, how to do it? While the panels have slimmed down in size and are making strides towards looking less solar-panel-like, most homeowners do not want to call attention to them. And integrating them into an existing house requires some consideration and skill. What follows are some examples of various ways solar panels are being integrated into home design.”

Six Sensational Seaside Bedrooms
Curbly.com
“From straight up modern to a little bit British Colonial, bedrooms by the sea rank up there with some of the most romantic imaginable. And, yes, sometimes it’s more about the view than the decor!”

Breaking design rules
Centsational Girl
“A reader recently wrote in and asked an important question when it comes to designing a space. Leah W. wondered whether some design rules were made to be broken and were there a few examples or illustrations for successfully breaking those rules?”

Builder Magazine Presents Universal Design Must-Haves
Charles and Hudson
“The great thing about Universal Design is that it’s smart, functional design that makes sense–whether you’re aging or not. We’ve talked about UD before here at C&H, and with the latest round-up of UD-friendly products released by Builder magazine, we thought it was prime time to revisit the subject. If you’re looking to incorporate UD into your home, this list provides an excellent starting point–and much of it is DIY-friendly, too.”

Today’s article is a guest post by Barbara Young, who writes on RV solar panels in her personal hobby site 12voltsolarpanels.net. Her work is devoted to helping people save energy using solar power to lower CO2 emissions and energy dependency.

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People have harnessed solar power for centuries. As early as the 7th century B.C., people used simple magnifying glasses to concentrate the light of the sun into beams so hot they’d cause wood to catch fire. More than a century ago in France, a scientist used heat from a solar collector to produce steam to drive a steam engine. In the beginning of this century, scientists and engineers began researching ways to use solar power in earnest. One important development was a remarkably efficient solar boiler introduced by Charles Greeley Abbott, an American astrophysicist, in 1936.

The solar water heater became popular at this time in Florida, California, and the Southwest. The industry started in the early 1920s and was in full swing just before The second World War. This growth lasted until before mid-1950s, when low-cost propane had become the primary fuel for heating American homes.

The public and world governments remained largely indifferent to the possibilities of solar energy until the oil shortages of the1970s. Today, people use solar power to heat buildings and water and to generate electricity.

How do we use solar energy today?

Solar energy is used in a number of different ways, of course. There are two standard kinds of solar power:

• Solar thermal energy collects the sun’s warmth through water or an anti-freeze (glycol) mixture
• Solar photovoltaic energy converts the sun’s radiation to usable electricity

Here are the five most practical and popular ways solar power is employed:

1. Small portable solar photovoltaic systems. We see these used everywhere, from calculators to solar garden tools. Portable units can be used for things like RV appliances, while single-panel systems can be used traffic signs and remote-monitoring stations.
2. Solar pool heating. Running water in direct-circulation systems through a solar collector is an extremely practical way to heat water for your pool or hot tub.
3. Thermal glycol energy to heat water. In this method (indirect circulation), glycol is heated by sunshine and the heat is then transferred to water in a warm water tank. This process of collecting the sun’s energy is more practical now than ever before. In areas as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, solar thermal to heat water is economically sound. It can pay for itself in 36 months or less.
4. Integrating solar photovoltaic energy into your home or office power. In lots of parts of the world, solar photovoltaics are an economically feasible approach to supplement the power of your property. In Japan, photovoltaics are competitive with other kinds of power. In the United States, new incentive programs make this form of solar power ever more viable in many states. A frequent and practical method of integrating solar energy into the power of your home or business is through the usage of building integrated solar photovoltaics.
5. Large independent photovoltaic systems. For those who have enough sun power at your site, you might be able to go off grid. You may also integrate or hybridize your solar power system with wind power or other kinds of sustainable energy to stay “off the grid.”

What are the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy?

In favor of solar energy:

• Heating our homes with oil or propane or using electricity from power plants running with fossil fuels is a reason for climate change and climate disruption. Solar power, on the contrary, is clean and environmentally-friendly.
• Solar hot-water heaters require little maintenance, and their initial investment could be recovered within a relatively small amount of time.
• Solar hot-water heaters can work in almost any climate, even very cold ones. Simply choose the right system for your climate: drainback, thermosyphon, batch-ICS, etc.
• Maintenance costs of solar powered systems are minimal and also the warranties large.
• Financial incentives (United States, Canada, European states…) can help to eliminate the cost of the first investment in solar technologies. The U.S. government, as an example, offers tax credits for solar systems certified by by the SRCC (Solar Rating and Certification Corporation), which amount to 30 percent of the investment (2009-2016 period).

On the other hand:

• The first investment in solar water heaters or in photovoltaic electric systems is greater than that required by conventional electric and gas heaters systems.
• The payback period of solar PV-electric systems is high, as well as those of solar space heating or solar cooling (only the solar domestic hot-water heating payback is short or relatively short).
• Solar water heating does not support a direct combination with radiators (including baseboard ones).
• Some air cooling (solar space heating and the solar cooling systems) are very pricey and rather untested technologies: Solar AC hasn’t been a truly economical option, though it’s changing.
• The efficiency of solar powered systems is rather influenced by sunlight resources. It’s in colder climates, where heating or electricity needs are higher, that the efficiency is smaller.

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ZipToGreen: How To Reduce Your Home Energy Use
Re-Nest
How’d you like a planning tool lets you create a personal action plan for reducing home energy, thereby saving money and doing a little to help save the planet? For free. Sounds nice, eh? Well, we might have just that with ZipToGreen, a new site that offers greening recommendations, including costs, incentives and a personal calendar to schedule it all out.

Before & Afters of 2009
Centsational Girl
A quick, photo-heavy recap of 30 of this wonderful blogger’s favorite around-the-house upgrade and overhaul projects from 2009. A salvaged dresser, some thrift-store chairs, a bathtub update, a fireplace makeover and more. You’re sure to get some inspiration from this one.

Taking Design to Bed: 6 Beds that Will Rock Your World
CalFinder
These beds will almost certainly change the way you think about the piece of furniture on which you sleep. A couple of these beds are a bit on the wild side, but many are certainly reasonable to put in a bedroom near you.

Solar Energy at Home
HomeIntel
If you like the idea of solar energy but don’t know where to start, this article has some good suggestions. Try an electronic book reader that runs on solar energy, or perhaps some outdoor lawn lamps. Every little bit counts, after all.

Photo courtesy of Centsational Girl