Solar Panels and the Fibonacci Sequence

Thinking of putting in solar panels?

Before you install them flat on your roof, consider this cutting edge solar research by 13 yr old Aidan from New York... he studied the way trees use the Fibonacci sequence to arrange their branches.  Experimenting with his own models, he discovered that solar panels mounted in a ‘tree’ pattern set up collect 50% more electricity in the middle of winter than flat mounted panels.

Who knows whether this research, which won him a Young Naturalist Award,will take off, but it is great food for thought!

3 Simple Energy Saving Tips That Don’t Cost A Thing

© Frank Farrell | Dreamstime.com

With rising energy costs, it’s not just the green living devotees that are looking to save energy. When it makes a difference to your pocket it is worth doing, whether you care about the environment or  not ... ironic really that soaring energy prices may turn out to be a good thing for the planet after all!

Whatever your reasons for wanting to save energy, there are several ways you can do so quite easily without having to invest in installing solar panels (although if you can afford it that would be the way to go). A lot of energy saving is just a question of changing you daily habits. Maybe you are already doing these things, but if not try to adopt one a week, so that it’s not too painful, and see whether you can adapt to a more earth friendly lifestyle.

1.    Line dry your laundry
A tumble dryer uses a huge amount of energy per load, all of which can be saved in dry weather by hanging your laundry out on a good old fashioned clothes line. Not everybody has the space and climate to do this all the time, but you’d be surprised how well clothes will dry even on cooler blustery days in autumn and winter. In fact they often come up beautifully soft even without fabric conditioner when it’s windy, so that’s another thing you could save on.

2.  Switch off appliances
Most appliances use energy when on standby. It may only be a small amount, but over the year it all adds up. Make sure you switch TVs and computer right off when not in use, rather than just letting them go to sleep. Switch off all your other appliances when not in use or just at night, to prevent any passive electricity drain.

3. Switch off lights
Train your family to switch off lights when they leave a room. So often bathroom lights and bedroom lights get left on even when no-one is using them, all of which add up  in terms of wasted energy over time. Of course it also makes sense to invest in energy efficient light bulbs for lamps that do get left on for long periods of time, such as hall lights or kitchen lights, but as LED light bulbs are still fairly expensive this will cost you something initially even though it will save you in teh long run in saved energy costs.