Conserving electricty means shutting off the lights when leaving the room and changing all the lighting in your home to Compact Florescent, LED or other energy saving light bulbs. It means using (purchasing) Energy Star appliances or alternative fuel appliances. Conserving electricty means making coffee with a French press instead of an automatic electric coffee maker. It means using a battery or wind up alarm clock instead of an electric one. It means hanging out the clothes on a line instead of putting them in a dryer. (It is better for the material and extends the life of the outfits, too.) Conserving electricty means closing the curtains in the heat of a summer's day or cold of a winter's night instead of turning on the air conditioner or the furnace.

Does the thought of telling the teenage daughters that the hair dryer, straightening tool and curling iron as well as the TV, iPod, text messaging, and running the air conditioner at arctic levels has to be replaced by a more natural hairstyle plus cross ventilation intimidating? Is telling the mother-in-law that leaving the TV on all night needs to be replaced by listening to the crickets through the open windows. Conserving electricty means changing from the lights on in every room at night to using small LED .07w nightlights an unfavorable thought? It is all involved in conserving energy first before increasing the size of a Solar System.

Looking at lifestyles means being aware of where the power comes from and how much is used on a daily, weekly, monthly,and/or seasonal basis. Looking at lifestyles means incorporating passive solar designs into home design, either for new construction or retrofit. Looking at lifestyles means taking care of battery banks by monitoring the water level. Looking at lifestyles could also mean tilting the solar panels (if necessary) to the seasonal angle. Looking at lifestyles means watching the inverter and charge controller to monitor your power creation and usage (a fun and addicting habit of Solar homeowners).

Doing a bit of homework involves calculating how much electricity is currently being used from the grid? And how much can be eliminated by conservation of electricity? How much will be needed for the Solar System? Is that affordable and feasible? Where is the information located on the appliances that are expected to be used with the Solar System? Can applicance manufacturers' web sites help provide the watt usages needed for calculation of loads? Doing a bit of homework will help you plan your solar system.

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Am I willing to live a healthy, high quality, and independent life?  

Who could say no to this question? Perhaps Solar Power is in your future...?