Now that the future of fossils is coming to an end and the renewables are cheaper, it is just the choices you have to make about lowering your energy consumption – or, even generate energy! The inventions are plenty, and these lead to plenty solutions.
Here is a short summary what you could do. There are options to save heat, and/or get heat, and/or save electricity, and/or generate electricity, and/or getting more comfort in the meanwhile.
Cracks
Closing a c rack is the only no-brainer in the next options. Stop the wind from freely blow into your home. It saves heat and you get comfort.
Wall insulation
You can choose from a variation of options to insulate your walls
- spray insulation in the cavity. This is the fastest and cheaper solution with a serious effect on your energy use.
- if you have an old house (propably before 1950) with no cavity, or, if you want to insulate more, you have two next options
- facade cladding with insulation. Then your windows will become deeper and it costs some sun along the sides (see next paragraph Windows)
- insulation on the inside with a wall or cladding.
- A facade cladding with solar panels. So you get energy from your walls, instead of losing it. Effective especially in the higher latitudes of the world, where the sun rays have a flat angle.
On the office building and on your house, solar panels can be put on everywhere.
Please write an email if you want to learn how to calculate it all
Windows: multiple glazing and/or with solar
Changing you windows to any sort of energy saving glass, is always good. But, what glass?
Historically, it started with double glazing, and then triple glazing. In between is dry air, so there is no condense possible.
- The double glazing starts nowadays with the HR+. The glazings have a special coating that insulates well, and there is noble gas between it, which is less conducting then dry air, so also contributing to the insulation.
- The HR++ glazing has coating that insulates better.
- If you take triple in stead of double glazing, you have even better insulation. But, 150% extra layers, doesnot mean you save 150% better. Because the double glazing can hold already that well, that a third laying could not be very effective anymore. So first make some calculations. Unless you want to insulate a sauna on the North Pole, then the triple glazing HR++ is obvious.
Windows with solar power
There are already windows with solar cells on it. The good thing is, that you still can look through it from the inside out. Other good thing is, that it doesnot get hot inside when the sun fully shines on it. So it tempers the heat when you don’t need it. And, last but not least, you can reduce about 5 to 10% of you energy use.
Now, the Dutch invented a glazing that delivers 25% more than the solar covered glazing. It consists of double-sided crystalline silicon solar cells on the first glazing. Behind the two glazes are built-in blinds. When the blinds are down, they reflect sunlight to the back of the solar cells, generating more energy. It offers three positions. The first is when the blinds are stored in the top box (no boost), the second with the blinds down and horizontal (partial boost), the third with the blinds down but then vertically so that all sunlight is blocked (max boost). Users can automatically adjust the blinds to generate more energy or to control the temperature and light in the room.
When the blinds between the glazings are up (1st picture) the sunrays shine on the single glaze solar cells. When the blinds are down (3th picture) they act as a reflector and the sunlight is redirected to the back of the double-sided cells. This generates 25% more, but there is hardly any sunlight coming through, into the builiding. So in between you can regulate a “partial boost” position (2nd picture), regulating the amount of light inside versus the solar energy yield.
Choices, choices
no, if you consider to re-energize your house, boat or company energy, you have plenty options. You could choos to just squeeze the engery bills a bit, or you can even make a small power plant from it. Choices, choices.