Home Improvement 101 – The DIY Guide

There are lots of reasons that you might be interested in improving your home. Perhaps you are interested in improving the quality of the home for resale, or perhaps you are simply interested in improving it or enlarging it to provide for the comfort of your family. Take some time to really consider what your options are going to be when you are thinking about moving forward with your home improvement projects, there are lots of great ways for you to move forward.

Some people find they need an extra bathroom, so they start there and install a new bathroom. This adds value and is much simpler than you may have thought. With a bit of do-it-yourself skills you can install one yourself and save some money. Think for a bit how this may help you or your family.

For one thing, the new bathroom guarantees less waiting time on taking baths or showers; also less time getting ready for work in the Ams. It may have been fine to have the number of bathrooms you had back before the kids came along, now it is a nightmare trying to find a free bathroom to use! Think about the amount of time that can be saved by having an extra bathroom, it only has to have a sink and a toilet.

When you are thinking about where you can put your new bathroom, you will find that there are a number of great options. In the first place, you can always build a new addition on to the house. This may be a lot less expensive than you are afraid it will. On the other hand, lots of people choose to install a new bathroom into the basement, where you can access to easy drainage, without enlarging the house's footprint.

There are also lots of other home improvements projects that you may want to undertake. For instance, a lot of people find that just a new paint job can really open things up for them. Take a long look at the walls in your home. Do they look dingy or tired? It might be time to freshen them up with a new coat of paint, and you will be surprised at what this can do.

Carpeting is another great option for sprucing up your house. As you are tearing up the carpet you may just find hardwood flooring down. Also for basements or workshop the self-adhering tiles are great to add a finished look.

If you are thinking about home improvement, you need to keep and few things in mind. First think of the budget you have for it. Then add up the time you need to put your energy into it. If this is a job you have not performed before you may have to consult an expert for advice or for them to do it for you. You will need to analyze the cost of the materials for this project so you know if you can proceed according to your budget.

There are many projects for home improvements that you are capable of handling for yourself! Make improvements on you house all by yourself!

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March 11 2009 | Home Improvement | No Comments »

Energy Conservation Tips: The Elements of a Homemade Solar Panel

Why solar panels? With the ever-present threat of Global Warming looming over our heads, clean and renewable energy is an appealing alternative to electricity generated from fossil fuels. Solar energy can reduce the monthly cost of electricity. It is a technology amenable to DIY projects.

Solar panels harness the power of sunlight to generate electricity through the use of photovoltaic (PV) cells. If money is no object, a contractor can be hired to obtain and install a solar system for you. For those of us in the "other" category, there are other less expensive options. These include purchasing solar panel kits, refurbishing used solar panels, and the ultimate DIY of making panels from component parts. Solar panels can create a more self-sufficient household in which they meet your all or most of household electrical energy needs. The ideal scenario would have the electricity generated will exceed the needs permitting electricity to be sold back to the Grid.

Although the there are other component required for more complex systems, the basic elements of a homemade solar panel system include four items: Solar panel(s); Charge controller; Battery; and Inverter.

The solar panel: While we see the system as a solar panel, the total voltage is the sum of the voltage of all the photovoltaic cells in the system. To determine how many panels are needed we need to look at and average out the energy usage that appears on our bills.

The charge controller / regulator: The charge controller helps to maximize the life of the battery by the prevention of overcharging. It also follows the discharge status of the battery day and night.

Battery: The electricity not immediately used is stored by a battery or series of batteries. Deep-cycle or marine batteries are preferable to automobile batteries because they are capable of storing all or virtually all of the electricity generated by the solar panels, thus minimizing waste.

Inverter: Solar panels generate and store electricity as DC or Direct Current, whereas our appliances utilize AC or Alternating Current. The job of the inverter is to convert DC to AC to meet our household needs.

If a solar panel system is designed with the intent of generating enough electricity to "sell back" to the Grid, then the components will include the AC Breaker Panel, and the Kilowatt-per-Hour Indicator are required. The KW per Hour indicator, for example is necessary to track how much current is provided to and from the grid to determine the charge or credit that appears on your monthly electric bill.

We should also not forget the obvious energy saving tips including the shutting off of lights in unused rooms and the use of Energy-saver fluorescent bulbs.

To summarize, homemade solar panels can provide a great opportunity for a DIY project. They are also only one of several great energy conservation tips.

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March 08 2009 | Home Improvement | No Comments »