Heating water is one of the most energy-consuming and costly household tasks. According to the Department of Energy, it makes up roughly 18% of a standard home's monthly energy budget. And if you use ...

Jeff Somers is a freelancer who has been writing about writing, books, personal finance, and home maintenance since 2012. When not writing, Jeff spends his free time fixing up his old house. He has ...

Solar energy has been around for a long time now, which means it's become much more accessible to normal homeowners. With solar panels or collectors installed on your roof, you can take advantage of ...

In the U.S., energy consumption for water heating is 19% of residential, 23% of lodging, and 11% of health care energy use (EIA, 2018). Despite this high consumption, the total energy provided by ...

Solar water heaters work by absorbing sunlight in solar collectors and saving the heated water in a storage tank. Both active and passive solar water heaters are available. Active systems are ...

Installing solar power at a home is a great way to reduce electricity bills, especially as the cost of solar panels and their associated electronics continue to plummet. Not every utility allows ...

As a former realtor, general contractor and greenhouse operator, Kristi has touched nearly all aspects of homeownership, from the foundation up. Today, Kristi is a full-time investing and real estate ...

As the co-owner of a California property that has never been tied to the electric grid, I can attest to the warm feeling of self-sufficiency that comes with a functioning solar power system. We’ve ...

From a distance, the energy system on top of a college residence hall in Omaha, Nebraska looks like photovoltaic panels. But as you get closer, it becomes clear that this is something different, with ...

The author uses a pump with a garden hose outlet to supply water to a mounted showerhead. Construct a simple, inexpensive rainwater shower system heated with an off-grid solar water heater. If you ...