Author: Edward Owens

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Getting Rid of Expensive Energy Bills: How Solar Panels Can Save You Money

Figuring out how solar panels can save you money is not rocket science. After all, aside from being extremely good for the environment compared to other energy sources, solar energy is basically a free energy generation method, meaning you don’t need to create an energy exchange to get electricity, since there’s one already at hand – the sun bombarding the earth with solar rays.

But how is it that you can save money with solar power, when the installation itself can cost well over $10,000? Surprisingly, you’ll find you can get that whole amount back quite easily and gain the benefit of having a sustainable energy source for decades to come.

Save Money with Solar

One of the greatest things about solar panels is that they generate their own electricity without you having to buy any kinds of supplies or fuels that would cost additional money. In that respect, a solar array is much better than a backup generator, and modern day solar arrays even have highly efficient battery-based energy storage systems that can store power when you don’t use it and provide it even at night, when there is no sun.

Depending on the size of the solar installation you own and the amount of sun exposure it gets every day, you can be looking at thousands of dollars saved per year. In some cases, you can even get all your energy from solar power, so you no longer have to pay your electric bill at all.

Sun Exposure

While imagining how solar panels can save you money, it’s also clear that the amount of sun exposure you have in your area will play an important role. Depending on where you live, the sun will be out for a longer period of time on average each year. So, if you plan to move to a new area and install a solar panel array, make sure you check the average number of sunny days and precipitation days in that region.

Places like California, Arizona and Florida get the most amount of sunlight per year, while living somewhere in the north or where the weather can be unpredictable might not be the best option for installing solar panels.

solar panel incentives

Tax Benefits

The government loves it when people use solar energy. As a result, there are a lot of tax incentives involved that you can benefit from as soon as you decide to have your first solar array installed. Check on the cost of solar panels in Denver to see the savings benefits obtained.

A good example is the residential tax credit, which allows taxpayers to claim about 30% of the installation costs for solar array installations. That percentage will decrease to 26% by 2020, and is expected to decrease even more as the years go by. Additional tax benefits also apply depending on the region in which you live.

Give Back to the Grid

When it comes to saving money with solar installations, you can go one step further than you could with any other energy generation method. With solar arrays, the power generation process is continuous, meaning you get free electricity converted from the energy given by the sun on a regular basis.

If you go away for a while and don’t use that energy, what happens is that it feeds back into the grid, and the electric company will actually pay you for the extra energy you offer. So that is a potential source of money that you can tap into just by owning a solar panel array.

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Geothermal Unit Installations: Useful Insight from Denver Heating and Cooling Contractors

Installing your preferred heating system with the help of a Denver contractor can be more difficult than you expect. Since geothermal systems are much newer than most others, there aren’t as many experts who know all about their cost, installation and specific maintenance requirements. However, the efficiency and low long term cost of a geothermal heating pump is a definite asset.

So let’s take a closer look at what Denver HVAC contractors can tell you about these systems and how you should go about getting one for your own home.

 

An Overview of Geothermal Energy and Heat Pumps

The term “geothermal energy” literally means heat energy taken from the Earth, and this is precisely what it is. Hot lava and steam vents from beneath the earth can provide a constant source of heat that our technology can exploit on a practical basis.

With the temperature remaining constant underground all year round, contractors organize the installation of pipes that are buried more than four feet deep into the earth. By pumping a special liquid through the pipes they create what is called a “heat exchanger,” effectively transferring the heat from underground into your home. Working in reverse, geothermal heat pumps can also help keep your home cool in the summer by pumping heat from the air into the earth.

The greatest advantage of a geothermal system is that it uses very little energy to help heat your home – only as much as is required to keep the pump working. Since the actual heat comes from the earth instead of from heated or burnt materials such as methane gas, you neither need fuel nor the energy to burn it.

Although the complexity of these systems will definitely require the presence of an experienced and professional team of technicians, new tax incentives initiated in 2009 make their installation far more convenient than in the past. So if you are looking for the newest and best technology to ask Denver heating and cooling contractors to install on your residential property, geothermal is the way to go.

 

Installing Your Own Geothermal Heating System

Right now geothermal technology is still in its beginning stages, but great progress has been made to simplify the installation process and allow for more affordable installation costs. Unfortunately, a geothermal heat pump is still far from becoming a simple DIY project.

Fortunately, the installation itself is not too complicated. A full evaluation of your home’s integrity and structure is required, and a home energy audit is also needed. Moreover, contractors will have to get informed about the precise location of any underground pipes that might run under your property before they begin work on digging.

While insulation and sealing protocol has to be observed, geothermal heat pumps can easily be integrated into your existing system of vents and pipes. Traditional forced air and radiant floor heating system can also be adapted through the use of the appropriate type of water-to-water or water-to-air heat pumps.

Once the process is completed, you can sit back and relax while your new geothermal system provides you with all the heating requirements you have for your home at a minimal long term expenditure.

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Finding an Electrician in Colorado – Not Easy, but Doable with the Right Approach

Working with an electrical contractor that you can trust and rely on is very important for the safety of your home or your company premises, so if you are currently in the process of finding an electrician, you are surely wondering what the best course of action to follow is. If you need some help, here are a few tips about where you can find electrical contractors and a few topics to talk about with the contractor you consider for hire.

Where to Look for Local Electricians

Word of mouth is an excellent source of information, so you should start by asking around friends, family members, co-workers, business partners, anyone you know well enough to recommend you electricians they have worked with. You can also use the internet to make finding an electrician easier – you will find lots of electrician websites, professional listings and review websites that you can use for information.

Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Electrician

Finding a Colorado electrician who is reputable, qualified and experienced can guarantee not only that your property is free from electrical faults (one of the major causes of fire in homes just as much as in corporate facilities), but also that you don’t get overcharged for the electrical repairs, installations or maintenance that you need. The following topics of discussion can help you find out if the electrician you are interviewing for your project carries the right qualifications and is suitable for the job:

  • Specialization – electricians usually specialize in certain area or areas of electrical works. Some work only on industrial projects, others specialize in old buildings or on the contrary, work only on new buildings. To be sure your project is in the right hands, you need a contractor who has experience in the type of work you need,
  • Licenses and insurances – most states require electricians to carry a license to be able to work as contractors and they are also supposed to have a liability insurance, so make sure your electrician meets these requirements,
  • References – evaluating the opinions of previous clients is very important in the process of finding an electrician, so do ask your prospective contractor to sow you some recommendations,
  • Entering and leaving the job site – you want the electrical repair or maintenance intervention to cause as little disruption to your daily life as possible, so make sure you find out about that aspect before hiring the contractor in front of you,
  • The estimate – quotes should be detailed and transparent, making the price break-down easy to interpret. Take your time to evaluate the quote you get from the contractor and ask for clarifications if you don’t understand something.

Finding an electrician Centennial CO has is a complex process – if your situation and your electrical project makes it possible, take your time to search for the right expert and then also take your time to interview the contractor or contractors, personal contact and first impressions are just as important as qualifications and portfolios.

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A Closer Look at the Main Types of Electrical Contractors and Their Work

An electrical contractor is a person who focuses primarily on the electrical cabling of structures, machines or related devices. Because electrical products are highly delicate and very risky, specialists are always needed for urgent situations and to solve electrical problems. They can work in commercial, residential or private electrical tasks.

Residential tasks may include jobs such as suiting a house for electrical cabling and analyzing and repairing various problems in your house. Commercial electric jobs consist of equipping structures for electrical cabling, doing numerous electrical tasks for companies and working onboard aircrafts or ships. A specialist may perform a wide series of electrical tasks or he can prefer to specialize in just a few areas of electrical jobs.

For instance, some electrical engineers work in the domain of setting up and fixing electrical systems such as utility lines and turbines. Other technicians are experts in the electrical cabling of ships, aircrafts, vehicles or other machines. Hiring an electrical contractor is essential part of modern day technology, as all businesses, homes and most of our activities are depend on electrical power.

The most common categories of electrical specialists are commercial and residential engineers. Some specialists prefer the expertise in only one of these domains, even if many of them are qualified to solve a number of problems in both residential and commercial places. Residential electrical technicians must get training and personal certification before they are allowed to operate on private projects by themselves.

The responsibilities of residential contractors are varied, since people can call them for any type of job, from the repairing of outlets in their house to fully rewiring their rooms. The tasks of residential electrical contractors can be split up into operations of setting up systems, improvements and maintenance.

Upgrading is a major component of hiring an electrical contractor, and working in a private setting typically includes replacing the electrical facilities in the house, in order to accommodate the owner’s necessities. This can mean setting up new outlets and cabling electrical sites so one can move large equipment, or running cables behind the surfaces for the installment of domestic devices.

The third principal element of a residential Denver electrician  is maintenance. Some electrical engineers work mainly in maintenance, although every specialist should possess at least a basic idea of problem solving. Maintenance in residential places typically involves broken outlets, fixing electronics and possible defective cabling. Residential electrical technicians should be ready to respond as fast as possible and reduce the hassle of the property owner, and then evaluate any potential dangerous issues.

Many newly certified residential electricians choose to work on the installation requirements of new houses. This involves setting up the cabling, systems, outlets, sites or any other devices in a private area for domestic use. Because these tasks can be quite complicated, a residential contractor must know how to assess the structure of a house and then how to set up electrical equipment and the additional cabling.

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Cheap vs. Reliable Denver HVAC Providers – Who Should You Opt for?

Everyone wants to save money when installing a new HVAC system. However, it’s not always a good idea to sacrifice installation quality for a more expensive unit, just like buying the cheapest unit on the market will likely leave you having to pay for expensive repairs within a few months.

 

If you want to opt for the most reliable Denver HVAC providers, it is essential that you do your homework, and look beyond the price – all while staying as close as possible to the general range of your budget.

 

Important Red Flags to Look Out for

 

To find the best Denver HVAC providers it can be much easier when you first have a better idea about what to avoid. For example, knowing that the cheapest contractors are usually not reliable enough will save you from a lot of strife and unnecessary work in researching affordable installation companies.

 

There is good reason why cheap contractors shouldn’t be relied upon. Usually they have trouble hiring the best workers, so in many cases they will outsource work to technicians of questionable skill and character. Others might do a good job overall, but in the event that a mistake is made, they can’t afford to fix them.

 

Another rule to abide by is that something that sounds too good to be true always has a catch. Beware of companies that advertise their services as being “outstanding” but can’t back up their claims with evidence of a license, past track record or genuine reviews and testimonials from faithful clients.

 

Qualities to Look for in a Denver HVAC Provider

 

Most Denver HVAC providers are reliable and hardworking. However, there are several other aspects you need to stay aware of when hunting for a good offer and a good team of HVAC installation technicians. Here are the major aspects you should be focusing on:

 

  • Experience is highly essential to even the most expensive system lasting long enough. Without the help of an experienced team of HVAC installation professionals your system will break down in just a few months, and you’ll need to pay a lot more for repairs and maintenance due to the faulty ducts or improperly installed venting system.
  • Don’t assume that just because a company you want to hire has a marginally good reputation they are true professionals. A basic contractor license is worth much less than a specialization license that proves the contractor knows all about HVAC installation.
  • Make sure the company will provide you with adequate post-installation support. Your HVAC is expected to run without any major hitches for at least 10-15 years, but that requires proper maintenance and occasional small repairs geared toward prolonging your unit’s life. Make sure the contractor has a valid plan in place for ensuring this level of support.
  • Finally, a reputation for fast and dependable support, friendly service and good turnaround times is essential. Make sure you read all the online reviews and complaints about the contractors you want to hire, and that you are comfortable with what you see.

 

As you will see, most local providers will display all these qualities in full. You can rest assured that, as long as you avoid companies that visibly show some of the issues that we have evaluated as red flags above, you should be fine in deciding upon most of the other Denver companies you come across.