Switching to an alternative power source is the number one way to reduce your carbon emissions and to help your finances at the same time. This way you will be able to stop relying on energy companies to supply your energy and you’ll thus be able to drastically reduce your energy bills as a result. In a perfect world if you could get all your energy from entirely renewable sources then you would of course be able to completely forget about energy bills and live in a world of free energy.

Unfortunately this isn’t something that most of us will ever be able to experience – we are simply too reliant on large amounts of energy for daily living and we lack the space and funds that would be necessary in order to install roofs full of solar panels.

That said though there are still ways that we can enjoy switching to alternative power sources without spending a fortune or destroying our homes and though some of these require barely any real work on our part or any expense they can still make a difference for the planet while at the same time saving us a lot of money. Here are some suggestions.

Solar Panels

Switching entirely to solar power might be a big undertaking but this doesn’t have to be an all or nothing approach. Even if you can’t go entirely solar powered, there is no reason you can’t install just a few solar panels on your roof and still cut your emissions in half.

Geothermal Heat Pumps

This takes a lot of work to install in that you need to dig up a large portion of your garden, but it’s still more attainable for many of us that switching completely to solar power. Here you have pipes added underneath your property so that the warmth of the ground around them heats up the water flowing through. This then will be enough to warm a swimming pool for instance, or perhaps even your radiators and so your home without costing you anything each time.

Solar Thermal Panels

Solar panels in the sense that you put on your roof are actually called ‘solar voltaic’ panels. Meanwhile solar thermal panels exist to heat water in a similar way to geothermal pumps just on a smaller scale. For heating a pool or something this is a great option.

Solar Power Lights

While you might not have the funds to install solar panels on your roof, smaller solar panels come in all kinds of household items and appliances. For instance why not switch to solar power calculators rather than using batteries? Or use solar powered garden lights to light up your garden?

Solar Powered Phone Chargers

You might not think that using solar powered lights will make much difference particularly when you could just forego garden lighting altogether. A more effective way you can switch to solar power in this case then is to use it for powering your phone and other devices. Solar powered chargers allow you to do this which means you can take less of a toll on your monthly electricity bill.

Hybrid Cars

If you can’t afford to go full electric or don’t think there’s currently enough of an infrastructure there to warrant the purchase of a Roadster or a S Model, then why not compromise with a hybrid car that will help you to use a lot less fuel without affecting the experience of driving for you.

Thomas Stew often writes informative posts on green living and environment. According to him, solar power is capable enough to overcome the existing energy crises.