Tornado Alley (PROG)

[arizona1]

This is very cool.

Man Invents A Way To Heat A House Using 240 Recycled Aluminum Cans

Americans recycle around 61 billion soda cans every year. With this man’s invention, that could heat almost 250 million homes. No expense. No maintenance.

Using regular recycled aluminum cans, a Newfoundland man has converted them into a powerful solar heating panel. According to his tests, the solar panels are able to generate around 10,000 BTUs – enough to heat a small home.

Jim Meaney, owner of Cansolair Inc., explains the simple yet effective product:

By using recycled soda cans and other cheap parts, Cansolair avoids one of the biggest reasons people don’t want to bother with solar energy: the prohibitive costs. Even better, as Meaney points out in the video, because the government offers tax credits for using solar and other renewable energy, installing one could save you money or even make you money depending on how much energy you use.

This is the perfect time for a product like this to come along because America seems primed for a solar energy frenzy. There are signs America is embracing green technology.

For the first time in 15 years, America might be on the cusp of surpassing current world leader Germany in total solar panels installed in the country.

More American homes installed solar panels in the third quarter of this year than ever before, with 52 percent more going on line than in the same period last year, according to a new report.

The report, from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association, finds that 31,000 American homes installed solar panels in the third quarter.

Overall, the U.S. installed 930 megawatts worth of solar panels, up 35 percent from the same time last year. The U.S. is expected to install more solar panels than world leader Germany for the first time in 15 years, the report finds.

“Solar is the second-largest source of new electricity capacity in the U.S. this year, trailing only natural gas,” said Shayle Kann, vice president of research for GTM Research, one of the authors of the report. “Already the groundwork has been laid for a mainstream solar future.” [source]

The rise in solar has been so quick that some American communities are producing too much power.

Hawaii, for example, has seen its solar power so successful that it’s been halted.

Hawaiian Electric Co., or HECO, in September told solar contractors on Oahu that the island’s solar boom is creating problems. On many circuits, the utility said, there’s so much solar energy that it poses a threat to the system and a safety issue. Studies are needed on whether grid upgrades are necessary. If they are, residents adding solar must foot the bill. And starting immediately, contractors and residents would need permission to connect most small rooftop systems to the grid. [source]

The rise in a viably renewable, environmentally-friendly, self-sufficient – and most importantly – free energy has the old guards, fossil fuel and coal producers, feeling worried and defensive. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group of conservative activists and corporations, has been working tirelessly recently to pass legislation that penalizes homeowners who use their own power instead of buying from the power companies – calling these people “free riders.”

What oil companies and lobbyists consider “free riders” are people who are now, for the first time since the Age of Oil, finding the benefits of renewable energy in its impact on the environment and on their bank accounts. As solar continues to grow, watch for innovators like Cansolair to continue to make solar power more and more efficient and cost-effective. As our world warms, and smog settles on our major cities, a little sunlight power doesn’t sound like such a bad idea – in fact, it seems crucial.
http://iacknowledge.net/man-invents-a-way-to-heat-a-house-using-240-recycled-aluminum-cans/