Solar Lights For Your Yard and Garden

The improvement being made in photovoltaic cells is bringing solar lighting for the outdoors into greater demand. In the past when you wanted to provide light in your landscape it meant burying wires and installing a transformer to convert household current to the low voltage desired for landscape lighting. It also meant that a complete plan be laid out because of the need to determine the exact amount of current the transformer would supply. This meant that making changes after the system was installed was difficult.

With the new solar lighting wonderful flexibility is available. Outdoor solar lights are evolving from the package of 6, 8, maybe 10 little lights to put along a path or driveway to lamps with multiple LEDs which provide much brighter light. The photovoltaic cells (rechargeable batteries) which power these lights are also much improved. A day’s charge from the sun will power a solar light for 8 to 15 hours. Of course, this varies with the amount of sun available.

• Solar spotlights are bright lights to mount near a doorway, or to spotlight a flag. They also work well to brighten dark corners to discourage unwanted lurkers.

• Pole lamps are mounted on taller poles and cast a wider circle of light. They work well as a curb light or near steps to provide safe footing.

• Accent lights can be shorter versions of the pole lamps and they can be mounted on a stake which makes it easy to move them around if you want to do so since the stake is simply pushed into the ground.

• Step lights and in-ground lights and can be attached to the risers to provide light for each step or pushed into the ground for ground level lights that won’t be in the way for mowing and trimming.

• Low profile accent lights can be mounted on walls or deck rails to light your deck or patio with a soft glow. They are great installed around a pool area.

Most solar lights are equipped with 4 to 6 LEDs. Some throw light in a full circular pattern and some in only a half-circle. Many of them come in colors such as blue, red, green, and amber as well as white.

There are solar lights that can be mounted on a wall beside a door to serve as an entry light and solar lights that can be placed to shine on a special piece of statuary or interesting tree or bush. Sometimes lights can be hung in a tree to provide down-lighting in special situations.

And a special treat are the new atmosphere lights in vases and bowls which can change colors in a pattern or can be set to one color. These are especially wonderful on the deck or patio for that evening party or neighborhood get-together. They can be used for flowers and to serve food as well as provide a beautiful display of color.

Solar lights come on automatically as it gets dark. The most important point to remember though, when you are looking at solar lighting for outdoors is that the rechargeable battery (photovoltaic cell) has to be in the sun for as many hours as possible. They are easy care. Just wipe the photovoltaic cell to keep it free of dust and debris. The LEDs never need replacing and the rechargeable batteries are usually double “A’s” that are available almost anywhere.

And now have some fun picking your first solar light, but, be careful, you just may get hooked. http://www.lightedlandscapes.com/solarspecialties.html

Plants In Your Home

Do you have plants in your home? I hope so. They provide beauty, soothing surroundings, serenity, and cleaner air.

With all the plants, both flowering and green, living in my yard and on my patio all summer and I must bring them indoors or they will freeze. I am fortunate to have some wonderful south facing windows where my flowering plants thrive and bloom most of the winter. It is cool and the sun shines brightly. They need both to continue to blossom.

On the other hand, my green plants like English Ivy, Dracaena, Aloe, Fichus, and my Date Palms like the darker corners of my living room and bedroom. They thrive best in filtered or indirect light and lighter watering. In return they perform a really great service in my home. It has been proven that indoor plants remove noxious gases, airborne molds, and other contaminates from the air.

It’s not always easy to find appropriate places for plants indoors, but it is well worth the effort to try. Often you will have to give up and discard something that just can’t grow in your indoor climate, but I always give it a chance. The very dry air in our northern homes in the winter makes it difficult to grow tropical type plants, but if you can provide a micro-climate for them you may be successful. Artificial lighting is also a great boon indoors. Some flowering plants are especially beautiful under artificial lights – African Violets is my particular favorite.

I hope you, too, can find a place for at least a few living plants in your home. They will reward you with beauty and fresher air.

Complete Guide to Houseplant

Great New Tool That Makes Exercising Easier

Today I want to tell you about a product I’ve found that is getting me in better shape than I’ve been in for a long time.

I’m always looking for ways to make routine exercise easier and more palatable.  In August I ran across a product called Bodylastics.  Now, I already have a tread mill and elliptical machine that I use only occasionally so, while this looked interesting I was still hesitant.  It wasn’t expensive and it was small. Ok, so maybe it was worth a try.

To make a long story shorter, I ordered it. It consists of several elastic tubes of varying thickness to provide different levels of tension. The tubes can be used singly or in multiples by simply snapping them onto the comfortable padded handles. This way you can create a wide variety of tensions as your strength increases.

I love them! The DVD that comes with them shows dozens of ways to use them to exercise every muscle in your body.  I just got the standard set, but they also have a little more expensive set that is designed for guys who are into serious body building.  If you’re a football fan you’ll know who Terrell Owens is — he has endorsed them.

They are advertised as a complete home gym and really do fill the bill. I’ve have been traveling more than usual these last few weeks and I’ve been able to take my gym along.  Everything fits in a bag that goes in the suitcase.

Think the elliptical at least is going to go — I can retrieve a small area of my family room. Guess a tread mill is good for cardio,though so will keep it.

If you want to check out Bodylastics go to the web page below.

http://www.solutions4healthyliving.com/besthomegym.php

Environmentally Friendly Renewable Energy

Renewable energy and environmentally friendly are increasingly being linked together as we all become more sensitive to the connection between our need (desire?) for energy and the effect our activities have on the environment. The so called renewable energy sources are those that don’t disappear with use like fossil fuels are doing.

Renewable technologies take advantage of natural cycles and systems, turning ever-present energy around us into usable forms. Water, wind, the heat and light of the sun, geothermal energy from the earth, biomass, hydro, wind, ocean thermal, wave and tidal action all are sources of natural energy that can help supply our needs in a sustainable way. All these sources of natural energy can be converted into heat, electricity, mechanical energy and vehicle fuel over and over.

Renewable energy technologies utilize the largest untapped energy resources in the world. These resources are not susceptible to sharp price changes because they come from resources that are always going to be there. Unlike fossil fuels wind and sun, running water and biological waste will never be depleted. They are also safe for our environment because they produce energy without the harmful pollutants and emissions associated with fossil fuels.

These safe, clean energy sources provide a plausible solution to our need to diversify energy supplies. Their growing use will result in numerous benefits to millions of consumers around the world.

Our growing awareness of the limited availability of fossil fuels is driving research and development of these alternatives. Solar and wind power are perhaps the most obvious and advances as their technology is moving forward by leaps and bounds and is quite visible in solar panels and windmills we see popping up in many parts of our country.

May special interest for now is solar power. The articles and products on my website reflect this interest. If you would like to learn more about how solar power can be used by almost anyone anywhere please visit Solutions 4 Healthy Living.

Please leave a comment, share an idea – how are you using solar power already – or how will you use it in the future. I look forward to hearing from you.

The Search For Affordable Solar Energy

The demand for new sources of energy is driving researchers to find ways to make solar power less expensive. New designs for solar panels and new materials for the photovoltaic cells which convert the sun’s light energy into electricity are being developed. Universities across the country are challenging their professors and students to develop ideas and test them in a variety of ways.

In the following article you can read about a Durham University project involving new materials that may make solar panels more affordable.

The experts at Durham University are developing light-absorbing materials for use in the production of thin-layer solar photovoltaic (PV) cells which are used to convert light energy into electricity.

The four-year project involves experiments on a range of different materials that would be less expensive and more sustainable to use in the manufacturing of solar panels.

Thicker silicon-based cells and compounds containing indium, a rare and expensive metal, are more commonly used to make solar panels today.

The research, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) SUPERGEN Initiative, focuses on developing thin-layer PV cells using materials such as copper indium diselenide and cadmium telluride.

Right now the project is entering a new phase for the development of cheaper and more sustainable variants of these materials.

The Durham team is also working on manipulating the growth of the materials so they form a continuous structure which is essential for conducting the energy trapped by solar panels before it is turned into usable electricity. This will help improve the efficiency of the thin-layer PV cells.

It’s hoped that the development of more affordable thin-film PV cells could lead to a reduction in the cost of solar panels for the domestic market and an increase in the use of solar power.

Solar power currently provides less than one hundredth of one percent of the UK’s home energy needs.

The thin-layer PV cells would be used to make solar panels that could be fitted to roofs to help power homes with any surplus electricity being fed back to The National Grid.

This could lead to cheaper fuel bills and less reliance on burning fossil fuels as a way of helping to generate electricity.

Professor Ken Durose, Director of the Durham Centre for Renewable Energy, who is leading the research, said: “One of the main issues in solar energy is the cost of materials and we recognise that the cost of solar cells is slowing down their uptake.

“If solar panels were cheap enough so you could buy a system off the shelf that provided even a fraction of your power needs you would do it, but that product isn’t there at the moment.

“The key indicator of cost effectiveness is how many pounds do you have to spend to get a watt of power out?

“If you can make solar panels more cheaply then you will have a winning product.”

To aid its research the university has taken delivery of a £1.7 million suite of high powered electron microscopes, funded by the Science Research Investment Fund, which have nano-scale resolution allowing scientists to see the effects that currently limit the performance of solar cells.

One of the microscopes is the first of its kind in the UK and Professor Durose said: “This instrument will put the North East right out in front.

“We are working on new ideas in renewable energy and this opens up tremendous opportunities in research.”

APA Citation: Durham University (2007, August 24). Thin-layer Solar Cells May Bring Cheaper Green Power. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 29, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2007/08/070823100023.htm

For more articles on renewable energy visit Solutions 4 Healthy Living

Cut The Gadget Cord

From computers to MP3′s, iPods, cell phones and PDA’s ! We need electric power to run our ‘gadgets’. Many of these portable devices can be recharged using an automobile cigarette lighter (perhaps the name should be changed to gadget charger — would that discourage smoking?? hmmmm). To get back on track, what happens when you absolutely HAVE to make that phone call or send a text message, your battery is dead and you aren’t near an electric outlet or a car?

To the rescue comes the portable solar charger. The military has been using this type of charger for years. It is now readily available for many of our other portable devices. Not many of us are interested in ‘roughing it’ even when we go camping, hiking, and other pursuits that are meant to get us away from civilization. We’re often willing to do without indoor plumbing and cook over a campfire, but it is becoming more and more necessary to stay in touch by phone, email or other communication, if for no other reason than the safety factor.

Solar power is coming into its own as we become more aware of the need to protect planet Earth from man’s potentially destructive activities. Portable solar power units can be very easy to carry on most hikes into the wilderness or your favorite camp site. Even take on it board your boat when you head out for a day of fishing. All you need is the sun to collect energy for your portable unit.

Visit Solutions4HealthyLiving/ to learn more about portable solar power.

Going Green!

Going Green, living green, save the environment, global warming………

These watch words of our society are becoming ever more popular in our newspapers and magazines,on TV, and in our businesses and homes as we become aware that the problems human beings have caused for hundreds of years may be catching up with us. Scientists are crying “danger” because of the possible threat of global warming and all the horrors that implies. Cities are running out of places to dump the huge piles of garbage we humans make every day. The threat of toxic chemicals being deposited in food we heat in plastic containers in our microwaves is changing the way we do things at home and in the office.

Going green means discovering what we are doing or using that contributes to the problem and finding alternatives. Whether it’s learning to recycle, discovering what cleaners are not eco-friendly and switching to those that are, planting a tree, driving your car less and using cleaner fuel when you do, paying attention to where and how the products we buy are manufactured, it is certainly time to realize we alone are responsible for the future of Planet Earth.

We, as the buying public, have tremendous influence on even huge companies–if we don’t buy their products they are out of business. Advertisers will respect our voices when we object to products they advertise. Businesses will listen when we let them know that the items they are selling are not safe. As the buying public, we don’t often flex our muscles, but we can and we should. It is our responsibility to become informed and to inform others about the dangers of not changing our habits. Global warming is very real! Toxic waste is real! Polute the ground water, the rivers, even the oceans and we risk destroying our planet.

The list of products that are ‘natural’, environmentally friendly, safe, non-toxic, grows daily,but how do you sort out what is and what isn’t????

Here is a beginning list of things you can do to begin living green:
Plant a tree. It takes four trees which act as natural filters to offset the 94 pounds of carbon dioxide the average person breathes into the air each month.

Turn the engine of your car off when you are waiting for someone.

Bring your own bag(s) when shopping.

Find cleaning products that are biodegradable and phosphate-free

Turn off and unplug small appliances when not in use. Even turned off, they continue to use tiny amounts of electricity. The bigger items – computers and TV;s use much more.

Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Not only will you be helping save energy, but it will cost less the next time you pay your electric utility bill and the bulbs last much longer-two great ways to save money, too.

This will give you a place to start, but don’t stop there. Come back again for more ways to go green.

Solutions 4 Healthy Living

You Can Reach Your Diet Goals!

Much more is needed for healthy dieting than a few quick tips, but the tips can serve as reminders of your goals and what is needed to accomplish those goals. Post the list on your refrigerator where you can use it as a reference when preparing meals or sneaking in for a snack. (There are healthy snacks and sometimes a little reminder will keep us on the healthy track.)

• Eat more often – that’s right! Your goal should be to eat smaller meals every two and a half to three hours which will keep your stomach feeling full. A special bonus is that your metabolism will continue to work at a higher level for a longer period of time thus burning more calories.

• Don’t skip breakfast. Your body has had no food for several hours and in order to get the metabolism going and burn that fat, you should not miss breakfast. Breakfast should really be your biggest meal of the day.

• Eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to let you know you’re full. If you don’t allow the time you are only going to overeat. Eating slower allows you to thoroughly enjoy every flavor that touches your tongue and will keep your cravings quiet.

• Eat some protein at every meal. Protein keeps you feeling full longer and is necessary for growth and repair of muscle.

• Don’t eat late in the evening.

• Bake, don’t fry.

• DON’T taste test when you cook. This is a biggy and tough for those of us who cook by adding a pinch of this and a sprinkle of that instead of measuring.

• DON’T eat what the kids leave behind. Shut your eyes if you must, but throw it out! The starving children in Asia aren’t going to benefit from you (or your children) getting fat because of the clean plate syndrome.

• Always try to eat at the table. When you eat while watching TV or reading, you don’t always savor the food and before you know it you’re looking for something to put in your mouth because your taste buds weren’t satisfied. That’s when those cravings take over and down the slippery slope we go!

• Drink at least eight 8oz. glasses of water daily. When you feel hungry drink a glass of water before you reach for food. Before you sit down to a meal, drink a glass of water. Water fills your stomach. It flushes toxins out of the body and even removes excess water from your tissues. Sound funny, but you can actually lose a few pounds just by increasing the amount of water you drink. One more fact about water, ice water may actually burn a few more calories because the body uses extra calories to warm the water!

• Keep a journal of your food intake—who really wants to know? YOU do! It’s easier to check caloric intake, but perhaps the more important reason for a food journal is that it keeps you totally honest about what you are actually putting into your mouth! One of your goals with your journal should be to note weekly what you weigh. Weigh yourself on the same day at the same time once a week. If you weigh more often, you may become discouraged by the daily fluctuations.

Remember, you want to learn some new eating habits – don’t try to eliminate favorite foods – cut the amount and enjoy them completely though less often. You will not be successful in the long term if you deprive yourself of the foods you love.

Set your goals, persevere and know that those goals are within reach.

Solutions 4 Healthy Living