Are you interested in adding solar energy to your home? You can spend thousands of dollars on solar panels, thin film, inverters, batteries, water heaters, etc.

But solar doesn’t have to be expensive.

If you’re building a new home, or remodeling an existing one, you needn’t spend a great deal of extra money to take advantage of the power of the sun. Incorporating the principles of passive solar design will make your home easier to heat and cool, and keep you more in touch with the natural cycles of the day and year.

Passive solar heating is older than humanity. Just watch your dog or cat seek out the sunniest spot in the room – or a shady place under the fence when the day gets hot. He knows instinctively how to keep himself comfortable using the sun.

A passive solar home uses smart design rather than mechanics to stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. If you’d like to incorporate passive solar into your home, keep in mind the five elements of passive solar design:

1. Orientation – In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun tracks from east to west across the southern part of the sky in the winter. Position the house so the longest side faces the sun to take full advantage of passive solar heat.

2. Windows – Large windows on the southern side of your home allow sunlight in to help warm the building. When you’re aiming for passive solar heat, keep north windows to a minimum. They don’t let in much direct sunlight anyway, and that way you’ll also be avoiding drafts from the coldest winds. In very hot climates you might want to keep sun-side windows small and open up the shady side to keep the building cooler. Many passive solar homes feature angled glass on the sunny side to capture a greater portion of the sun’s heat.

3. Shading – Even in cool climates you’ll have some hot days. And you’d be surprised how warm a passive solar living room can get on a bright sub-zero day. Window shades, curtains and awnings keep the sunlight from overheating your passive solar home on sunny days. With the sun higher in the sky in the summer, awnings and roof over-hangs alone can often effectively cut the solar heat in the summer.

4. Insulation – In passive solar design, you want to let the sun’s heat in through windows, and then keep it from escaping. It’s essential to have plenty of insulation wherever you don’t have windows – especially in the roof. It’s also a good idea to have insulated shades or curtains to help prevent heat loss at night.

5. Thermal mass – the biggest problem with passive solar heat is that you only get it when the sun is shining. It’s important to include heat-retaining material in your home’s passive solar design. Materials like stone or concrete soak up the heat when it’s plentiful and help keep the home from overheating when it’s warm. They also act as a heat “battery,” slowly releasing heat as the building cools. It’s especially good to locate these materials where the sun will hit them, like in the floor.

Cultures around the world have used passive solar design for thousands of years to keep their buildings warmer in winter and cooler in summer. You can, too! It’s a smart way to build energy-efficiency right into the structure of your home.

Caring for the environment doesn’t always cost money. Your concern for the environment can actually bring you cash. There are ways to earn money by going green without leaving your home.

Going green can refer to engaging in any activity that helps protect the environment. By engaging in green activities, you will not only be able to reduce pollution and the pressure on Mother Earth, but you will also be able to save up on your monthly bills and earn money as well.

You could start by carpooling. This will not only reduce your energy consumption, but will also help you save on gas. If you take the public transportation instead of driving your own car, you can save on maintenance and fuel costs while reducing the carbon dioxide being emitted in the atmosphere (your carbon footprint).

Here are some additional ways you can help the environment and earn money in the process.

Opt for green energy

Instead of relying on the non-sustainable energy from the power company, why not make use of wind or solar energy to power your household? There are people who save up to 80% on their energy bill by using green energy. Some even sell back the excess electricity and earn income in the process. Consult with your local power company to see which renewable energy source you can opt for.

Segregate your garbage

Don’t put all your garbage in one bin. Put your vegetable peels and other waste that can be composted into a different bin, so you can create compost for a natural soil conditioner and fertilizer. Recyclable waste like bottles and plastics should be placed in different bins to be sold to recycling companies later on. In addition to your county recycking program, there are small businesses that buy different types of waste for recycling purposes. Check them out if you want to earn and turn green at the same time.

Sell your old batteries

Some batteries are very toxic. You should never throw them into the trash. If you no longer have a use for them, look for shops that buy old batteries. If your car batteries are no longer working, there are recycling stores that buy old batteries or get them in exchange for a rebate for new batteries.

Energy Rebates

The government often has rebate programs that will pay you to add insulation to your house or convert to wind or solar energy. These programs allow you to earn money over and above the energy savings you will earn in future months.

These are only a few of the many ways you can help protect the environment by reducing waste and consumption and earn some income or benefit in the process. You can be creative and think of other ways you can be green and enterprising. The next time you start making important decision that will require you to use energy or consumer products, ask yourself if there is a way to do this without harming the environment.

Being a Redneck is more a matter of where your heart lies than where you happen to be at the moment – as you well know if you’re still dreaming of your little piece of heaven.

Many of us have had to scrimp and save before we could afford to buy us a piece of land. If you’re still aspiring to the country life, here’s a savings plan that could help you get your homestead a little faster – and cut your carbon footprint, too.

You know all those little things you could – and should – be doing to save energy?

Well, get up off your donkey’s rear end and start doing them! But don’t just do it to feel superior. Actually track (as best you can) how much you save, and put that money in your homestead savings piggy bank. (Or put it on your mortgage payment – you’d be surprised how much faster you can pay off your loan by adding just a few extra dollars a month.)

Here are a few places to start:

Air sealing – according to Energy Star, air leaks can account for 25-40% of your energy bill. That’s a lot – and a lot of money that could go towards saving for your homestead. So break out the caulk and the weatherstripping!

Your commute – How much do you spend a week on gas? Figure it out. Then, if you live 3 miles or less from work, start walking or riding your bike as often as you can. Ditto goes for those little trips to the store. Plunk the difference into your homestead savings account. (Bonus: all the extra exercise will help prepare your body for country life.)

Hang your clothes to dry either outside or on lines strung in your basement or attic. Figure about 30 cents a load. It may not seem like much, but every bit counts and a year’s worth of dryer loads could add up to more than you think!

Insulate your hot water pipes and storage tank. Pipe insulation and an insulating jacket for your water heater are inexpensive and easy to install, and can cut your heat loss by up to 75%. Just don’t start using more hot water because it’s costing you less – that won’t help you save for your homestead!

How about it? Or have you already started? What are some energy-saving tips you can pass along that save money, too?

Go ahead and post. Who knows, you might just be helping out your future neighbor!

Where were you for Earth Hour? I confess that I don’t remember. I was comfortably living my life while the skylines went dark all over 88 countries and over 4,000 cities worldwide on March 28, 2009. Thomas Edison’s laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, where the incandescent light bulb was invented, went dark. Most of us in the U.S. pretty much went on about our lives.

This year’s Earth Hour dwarfed the 2008 event when only 400 cities participated. Will it make a difference?  I can’t imagine that it will.  Maybe world leaders will listen and do a little more this December at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Even without U.S. support, Earth Hour has come a long way from its 2007 beginnings in Sydney Australia – when lights were voluntarily switched off by 2.2 million homes and business establishments for an hour. The light switch off in observance of Earth Hour has become a global symbolism of the people’s vote for the earth’s sustainability. Among the world’s landmarks that stood in darkness for an hour include San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Sydney’s Opera House, Rome’s Colosseum, New York’s Empire State Building and Chrysler Building, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey in London, Edinburgh Castle, and the UN Headquarters among others.

The World Wide Fund for nature or WWF, which organized the global event since its 2007 inception, will continue to hold Earth Hour annually during the last Saturday of March. Next year’s Earth Hour, which will be on March 27, 2010, will once again see the switching off not only of non-essential light bulbs but of other electrical appliances to raise awareness on climate change.

On top of the list of Earth Hour participants is the Philippines with 647 cities and towns and more than 15 million Filipinos switching off their lights for an hour. This was followed by Greece with 484 cities and towns and then Australia with 308 cities and towns. More than the number of cities and people participating in the Earth Hour is the amount of energy saved during that span of time.

Delhi, India was reportedly able to save as much as 1000MWh (Mega Watt Hours) during Earth Hour. At least 611 MWh of electricity, which was equivalent to the shutdown of about a dozen power plants fired by coal, was saved by the Philippines during the one hour period. South Africans were not only able to save 400 Mwh of electricity but they also managed to save 224 tons of coal, 400 tons of carbon dioxide and 576,000 liters of water during Earth hour.

Earth Hour also saw a decrease in power demand for an hour especially in Ontario and Toronto, Canada where demand for electricity went down by 6% and 15.1% respectively. Svenska Krafnat in Sweden reported a 2.1% decrease in power consumption which is equivalent to the power consumption of about half a million households.  What about the U.S.?  Figures are not easily available, and the U.S. did not participate as broadly as other countries.

Ireland’s power consumption went down by 2% or 70MWh which is translated to a savings of about 30 tons of CO2 emissions. Electricity demand in Vietnam went down by 140MWh as per reports from the Vietnam Electricity Company.

But more than the energy saved, the Earth Hour demonstrates what the human race can achieve if they only learn to cooperate with one another and unite as a people. I think we in the U.S. should join in next year.  (I hope I remember this next March.) While it is largely symbolic, Earth Hour does unite people of all ages, races, and nationalities toward a common goal of saving the earth. It was only a flop in the U.S.

Solar power and wind power are a lot sexier, but there are a number of small changes you can make in your home to save yourself money month after month.  By making your home more energy efficient you can save hundreds of dollars a year on utilities and related costs.

• Put a timer on your hot water heater. If you’re like most folks, chances are you’re only home using hot water in the mornings and evenings, so all you need are a couple hours of hot water at each end of the day to cover almost all of your hot water needs. Why waste all that extra gas or electricity – not to mention money – keeping that tank of water hot all the rest of the day and night?
• Buy Energy Star certified appliances, or similar energy efficient appliances – including dishwashers, washer/dryers, ranges, humidifiers/dehumidifiers, heating and air conditioning systems, and more. The cost savings you’ll get on monthly bills more than makes up for the purchase cost.
• Replace all your light bulbs with LEDs or compact florescents. They use less electricity for the same wattage of light, and they last longer than conventional bulbs.
• Look into financial incentives you may be eligible for through your local, state, or the federal government for making certain energy efficient improvements to your home. For example, some electric companies pay you to buy the surplus electricity you generate with your solar panels.

Lastly, an energy efficient home is also one that runs as an energy-efficient household. That means:

• turning off lights when you leave a room and turning off the television, computer, or other appliances and electronics when you’re not using them
• minimizing trips to town by bundling errands together and carpooling to save both on gas costs and wear and tear on your vehicle(s)