By: Debby Banning

Air Filter: Change your air filter every 30 days. The more expensive filters say to change it every 90 days but during the summer change it every 30 days.

Thermostat: Turn your thermostat up while you are at work all day. I set mine at 78 when I leave in the morning and turn it down when I return.
A programmable thermostat can save you money as well. It helps if you forget to turn the air conditioner up before you leave in the morning.

Grill: Summer time is a nice time to get out of the pool and throw dinner on the grill. Instead of heating up the house with your stove cook, grill dinner outside. Running your oven cost approx. .25 cents an hour.

Clothesline: It may sound old fashioned but the dryer is expensive to run. When ever possible hang your clothes out to dry. It makes whites whiter.
You can throw your clothes in the dryer for 10 minutes and then hang them up in your laundry room to finish drying the rest of the way on hangers. Estimated cost of running the dryer is .30 cents a load.

Caulk: Your windows may need a fresh bead of caulk around the edge to help prevent your air from escaping.

Drapes: Install energy efficient drapes, blinds, etc. on the east and west side of your house.

Water Heater: Your water heater is a main source of your electric bill. Shower in cooler water, take a shorter shower, and wash your clothes in cold water instead of hot.

Light Bulbs: Replace your light bulbs with energy efficient ones and remember to turn the lights out when you leave the room. There is energy efficient halogen bulbs for your motion detector.

Fans: Fans cool people not rooms. If you leave a room, turn off the ceiling fan. If you are watching television, you can turn your thermostat up a couple of degrees and turn the fan on.

Refrigerator: Don't stand with the refrigerator door open while you are deciding what to eat. You know what is in there already.

Television: If you like to watch television while you are falling asleep, nearly every t.v. has a sleep button. Set it for a certain amount of time and the t.v. will turn off.

Computers: You are still paying for your computer to run even when it is on standby. If you are going to sleep or leaving for the day, shut down your computer.

Dishwasher: Only run your dishwasher when it is completely full. It will cost an average of .30 cents a load to run.

Article Source: http://www.articlesinsight.com

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By: Melissa Rice


Home theater system may be best for you if you want entertainment and relaxation after a long day of work. If you are one of those busy executives who want to relax after a long day of work by watching movies but hate traffic jams, setting up a home theater may be what is best for you. Home theater is a luxury for some. This is because not many people can afford it however, knowing the basic components of a home theater may help you enjoy this modern entertainment. Know the basic components you need for your home theater system including home theater furniture to acquire the theatrical experience right in your own living room.

Basic home theater furniture such as home theater chairs and television cabinet may be good for your home theater set up. Other furniture that will enhance the home theater set up may be necessary but the home theater chairs and television cabinet are two of the basic home theater furniture that you may need. Other home theater furniture may be added dependent on the size of your living room. Apart from the home theater furniture required, the most important component of the home theater system, after considering the size of the room, are the three basic gadgets.

The three basic components of the home theater system like the television set, the speakers and the DVD player. Even for a small living room, the size of the television set should not be less than 27 inches. You may not want to watch a movie in a very small screen. Twenty-seven inches and above is necessary to acquire the big screen experience for a small room. Concerning the speakers, you may need at least three speakers for a small size living room. If you have a bigger room for the home theater set up, you may add up to six speakers. For extremely big room, a subwoofer may need to compliment the six speakers to arrive at the surround sound for your home theater. The DVD player is also important aspect to consider. A DVD Player with progressive scan will prove to be beneficial because of its sharp images and flicker-free performance. You may consider adding other equipments like home theater projectors, and for bigger rooms, you may add home theater projector screen. For the home theater furniture, the seating is a major consideration. The television cabinet is a secondary consideration of a home theater furniture. Adding other home theater furniture will give more life to your home theater system. However, we leave the recommendation to home theater experts especially concerning home theater furniture.

You may consider acquiring their services if you have bigger room for your home theater system. They will be able to advice you more particularly to the power rating requirements and speaker requirements like if you need an amplifier or other home theater furniture. Hiring the services of a home theater designer will add to the possibility of acquiring the most entertaining home theater system with complete home theater furniture.

A well-designed home theater system will be beneficial for the busy executive who needs to relax after a long day of work. If the home theater is not properly set up, the home theater experience will not be relaxing and entertaining. The surround sound will help you forget you are inside your own living room and not in a movie theater, but if the speakers are not of high quality, the sound may be irritating in the ears. Avoid having to suffer this, and enhance the possibility of a real-life movie theater experience with your home theater and the inclusion of home theater furniture by ensuring that a home theater designer will design it for your enjoyment.

Article Source: http://www.articlesinsight.com


Ann Hughes writes for Local Furniture Stores - A comprehensive directory of furniture stores all across the United States.

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By: dror klar


The one thing that most wives want in their home is a bathroom and kitchen customized to their tastes. Since we will spend a large amount of time in these rooms before we die (especially wives), these need to be the most pleasant and comfortable rooms in the house to be in. You should be able to spend a lot of time in this room without wanting to leave, but if you have just moved into a house where these rooms need a little TLC, then you have the perfect opportunity to make sure you have the ability to do just that.

One of the first things that shows the age of the house is the flooring in the kitchen and the bathroom. Water damaged or molded flooring shows the most age, but old linoleum and cracked tiles can show it just about as much, depending on the extent of the damage. You should choose the new flooring of your choice according to what you can afford and make sure that the materials that you build the kitchen out of are of consistent quality, but these days it is best not to go with a linoleum floor. Travertine stone floors are in style and are expensive, but are easy to take care of and will last a long time. It will be harder for water and mold to get underneath this than linoleum, as well.

While the kitchen floor is at risk for water damage and mold, the bathroom floor is even more in danger. This is because a much larger amount of water goes through the bathroom every day than in the kitchen, so making sure that this floor is very water tight is essential if you want the floor joists underneath to maintain their integrity over the years.

You also need to consider the fact that the kitchen and the bathroom are the two rooms in the house that are the most humid. You should have a range hood installed over the stove which will serve as a vent to draw the steam out of the kitchen and stop the ceiling from absorbing water and thus becoming molded over time. Mold is an extremely unsanitary and unsightly thing to have in the kitchen, so making sure the steam has a place to go is a good idea. An exhaust vent should also be installed in the bathroom above the tub or the shower and depending on your budget, the light in the room can also be included along with the vent.

Article Source: http://www.articlesinsight.com


Dror Klar is an advocate and writer about senion citizen safety. learn more about his new walk in tubs and learn how walk in bath tubs may save a senior from being crippled or even death.

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By: Gregg Hall


One of the most important rooms in a home is the bathroom. Ask any real estate agent, and they will let you know that a clean, well-decorated bathroom, with a peaceful atmosphere and bright cheerful colors will add thousands of dollars to the value of the home. The bathroom is, according to the real estate pros, of particular interest to the lady of the house. The bathroom is second in importance only to the kitchen when it comes to the homes value in the real-estate market. One of the easiest and most efficient ways to create a bathroom with the appropriate atmosphere and style is the appropriate use of bathroom accessories.

Your first and most important task in changing the look of your bathroom and increasing your homes value is choosing the right color scheme. The color of your walls sets the mood and can create the appearance of more space when you choose light colors. You will also want your bathroom accessories to compliment the wall color, so choose with care. These days a bathroom design can be done in almost any color theme and should compliment the other styles and colors in the home. With the advent of modern technology and the internet, you can shop from the comfort of your own home saving time and gas while viewing the offerings of a variety of retailers at the same time.

By far the most important of the bathroom accessories you will need to buy is the bathroom suite itself (this would encompass the sink, toilet, bathtub and possibly a bidet). You will want to choose a color that compliments the decor of the room, especially the walls and the bathroom tiles. There are many colors to choose from including the traditional white or ivory as well as many pastel shades of pinks, yellows, blues and greens. If you like to change the look of the bathroom frequently, you may want to stick with the traditional colors. You will find many various types of integrated bathroom suites available in either traditional or contemporary designs. The traditional choices range from designs of previous centuries, such as the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Modern designs might include different shower options such as waterfall, multiple heads and ionic technology.

Other important aspects of the bathroom are the faucets or taps. These basic and often overlooked, but completely essential bathroom accessories are available in numerous styles and colors. There are probably more than you can even imagine. Ranging from basic simple classic designs, to the elaborate or even more sleek modern designs, the choices available to the modern consumer is extensive. One important thing to determine is the finish you want. Most standard faucets come in a chrome or gold finish, and some of the more ornate ones have ceramic handles or even plastic characters or other themes.

Once you have decided on the overall decor and color scheme and found the bathroom suite, faucets and handles you can begin to think about other things such as lighting fixtures, mirrors and bathroom accessories. You might consider adding a bidet for increased hygiene. Bidets are very common in Europe and Latin American countries. Some bidet designs are now even integrated into the toilet, and they are increasing in popularity in the United States. Towel bars or racks and bathroom cabinets are the other indispensable elements of the finished bathroom design. You can create a bathroom that provides a haven of peace, tranquility and relaxation with a well chosen color scheme and some thoughtfully selected bathroom accessories.

Article Source: http://www.articlesinsight.com


Gregg Hall is an author living with his beautiful wife and family in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about bathroom products as well as bathroom accessories online at www.exclusivebathroomaccessories.com

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By: neil parnham


Home renovation is not all that daunting a task as some people think it to be. There is no doubt that you have to take a lot of decisions and deal with technical nomenclature that you might never have heard of. However, if you go through the following tips, you wont have any problems at all. Youll start enjoying the actual home renovation process and youll get the work done in just the manner you had dreamt of.

1) You need to get certain approvals from government departments before you can take up the home renovation work. You should not get frustrated at the delays that might take place in getting the approvals as these things take their own time. You should be prepared for such delays.

2) You should be able to express your taste and choice of various designs, objects and elements along with the color schemes that you like to the architect, so that he can incorporate the same in his proposal to you. Itll be easier and quicker for him as well as for you to give your approval. A useful suggestion to compile your own choices is to develop a scrapbook in which you can keep on incorporating various objects and designs that you might see in various magazines that conform to your taste.

3) Monitoring of the cost of home renovation at every stage of work is very important. Taking any decision of the choice of any item, however small, without considering the cost aspect can have disastrous consequences as even small things can add up to a lot in the long run. Its advisable to keep a spreadsheet in which you can keep on comparing the actual expenses at any stage with the budgeted expenses. If you find any variation, you can always find the reason and take corrective measures at the right time.

4) Cost saving should be your motto without, however, sacrificing on quality. An illustrative example is that you can buy readymade shelves instead of the costly made to order shelves and then ask the contractor to make proper allowance in the walls to accommodate these shelves.

5) You can do the work of home renovation either through the services of a general contractor or by hiring different contractors for each type of work such as plumbing, flooring, roofing, painting or electrical work. It will be ideal if you can hire a local contractor as he would be familiar with the place and would be of great help.

6) When you make your budget for home renovation work, you should always keep some margin for unforeseen expenses that are bound to crop up as work progresses.

If you properly plan out things and fix a suitable budget in tune with what you want to achieve, you will find that the home renovation work will proceed with very few hitches.

Article Source: http://www.articlesinsight.com


Written by DIY Conservatories

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By: Gregg Hall


Are you sick of looking at the same kitchen cabinets, every other day? Even though a lot of homeowners enjoy their kitchens, including their kitchen cabinets, there are many who are peeking for a change. If you are going to be one of those homeowners, the ones who are looking for a different kitchen, you might want to think about remodeling your kitchen, especially your kitchen cabinetry.

When time comes to kitchen remodeling, there is a common misunderstanding that is utterly heard by few. That problem is exactly what kitchen remodeling is. A lot of homeowners think that to remodel your kitchen you need to change everything, from the lights above, all the way down to the floors. While a good bit of homeowners do pick to remodel their whole kitchen, there are other homeowners who only want to remodel small areas of it. Whether you are wanting to remodel your whole kitchen, or you if are only looking to remodel an area of it, there might be a good possibility that you might be in the time for new kitchen cupboards; these are one of the most remodeled areas in a kitchen that a homeowner wants to remodel.

Perhaps looking for a new set of cupboards might seem like a fairly easy thing to accomplish, but it is one decision that you should make in an instant. After all you will be stuck with these new kitchen cabinets for awhile, or at least until you move or decide to replace again, so you will want to be sure that you get your first pick. There are many different ways that you can accomplish this. For the record, you might want to take a look around in your local home improvement store. When walking around in one of your local home improvement stores, you should look for a display of cabinetry; you will probably find a lot of different kinds on display. Looking at each and every one of these is a good way to choose which ones would look good while matching in your kitchen with everything else.

After visiting your local home improvement store, you might also want to look for cabinetry on the internet. Even though the shipping cost for cabinetry is always going to cost a fortune, you might be able to find exactly what you were wanting online. It is stated by some experts that you should either look for an online home improvement retailer or a person who specializes in crafting their own wood products. If you are wanting a unique look like a set that you cannot find anywhere else, you might be able to place an order to a custom set of cupboards. The cost might be higher than what you originally wanted to pay but, as previously stated, it is important to get what you want, especially when remodeling your kitchen.

Article Source: http://www.articlesinsight.com


Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about kitchen remodeling as well as kitchen cabinets at www.kitchenthingsplus.com

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By: Solargies

In 1931, Thomas Edison had a conversation with U.S. manufacturing giants. Edison said, “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a generator of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we accept renewable energy.”We have waited 76 years, but a green energy company has finally found a fresh idea. The sun supplies enough energy to earth in one hour to supply all of our power needs for 365 days and then some. But currently solar power generates less than one half of 1 percent of our residential electricity requirements. Why?In the past, solar energy has been too expensive and too complex. To switch to solar, U.S. residents had to save money for years.

The average homeowner pays $40,000 to switch their home to solar power; plus homeowner are responsible for the installation, maintaining the solar panels & related materials, managing permits. Who has the patients (or the money) for this?A fresh company has a creative idea to restrict all of the traditional barriers to solar energy. This solar energy equipment provider offers: No solar panels purchase. No installation investment. No maintenance expenses. No permit hassles. No operational problems. No rate increases. No way!When we first found out about this solar rental concept, we were so interested that we contacted this solar energy equipment provider. It seemed almost too good to be true. Like most new ideas, their strategy is so non-complicated it makes you question why no one thought of it before.You simply pay this green company the same rate per kilowatt for power that you used to send to your energy company, but it gets even better. This green company will lock-in that your rate per kilowatt for up to 25 yrs. With ever increasing energy rates, this gives homeowners comfort and can add up to significant savings. This green company even have a solar energy service on their corporate website that displays how much you may save over 1, 5, and 25 yrs. The author saved over $18,000 and by using green power; it is the just like taking 27 trucks off the road or planting four hundred trees. Nice!In the past, “going green” implied a lot of hassles. Now, you get to feel good about helping the planet but most “green” products are more expensive than their “dirty” counterparts. this solar rental company, utilizing renewable solar power can actually costs less money. This is all made possible by net-metering laws that require the power companies to allow solar generated electricity to flow into the grid and then enable the consumer to pull that same amount of energy off of the power system at no cost to the customer.

Basically, the grid becomes a energy container. The energy meter spins in the opposite direction during the day when the sun is out and in the positive direction at night when the customer draws that power back off the grid.These laws were passed because residential power production was the number one cause of pollution in the United States last year. There are still 9 states that have not joined the party.***** To find out more about Residential Solar Energy you may visit the website http://www.Solargies.com/Residential_Solar_Energy.htmPeople may be still a little skeptical about this new concept. We asked some hard questions.Detailed Customer Questions:Q. How can this green company afford to install this complete residential solar energy system with no investment by the homeowner?A. Because the company handles everything; from the solar grade silicon to the final installation, they squeeze costs at each stage of the value chain. Plus they are building the largest plant for solar energy in the world. When you combine their vertical integration with our economies of scale, they are able to produce the residential solar energy systems at half the cost of the competitors.Q. This sounds like this green company required a large amount of money to make all this happen?A. $650 million.Q. When does the homeowner pay the security deposit for the solar rental?A. They do not pay the security deposit until after the solar engineer comes to their house and designs the system. They will show you exactly what the system will look like and only after the customer agrees to the design does the customer pay the deposit. The deposit is 100% refundable at the end of the rental term. Q. How long of a contract does the homeowner have to sign?A. 1, 5, or 25 years. Over 80% of the residential solar energy customers sign the 25 year contract because that locks in the electricity rate for the entire term of the agreement. If the customer signs a shorter contract, the rate is recalculated according to current power rates at the end of the term.Q.

What happens if the homeowner signs a 25 year agreement and they want to sell their house in ten years?A. The homeowner has three options. First, they can ask the company to move the system to their new house. The company will do this one time for free. Second, the homeowner can transfer the contract to the new owner. This can potentially add value to the existing house because if power rates keep going up and they are 40% higher in 10 years, then the buyer would get a 40% decrease on their energy bill because of the existing solar rental agreement. The final option is that the customer can contact the company, tell them that they want to end the contract. The company will remove the solar equipment. With this third option, the customer do lose their security deposit.Q. So is the customer’s security deposit the most they have at risk? Is that the only risk?A. Obviously if the customer does not pay their rental fees there will be late fees or if one of our franchisees comes out to their house to remove the unit and they refuse to allow them access, the company will have to take an alternate path to get back their residential solar energy sytem.Q. Okay. A customer wants a residential solar energy system on their house. How does it work? What is the process?A. The homeowner reserves their system online and one of the Associates will help them each step of the way. There are some simple questions to answer about the amount of shade, the direction of the roof line, the power consumption, etc. After the customer signs the contract, a solar engineer will come to the site to design the residential solar energy system. This last step will not happen until the company has the solar equipment ready to install.Q. What if the homeowner does not like the solar system design? Are they still obligated to the agreement?A. No.

They can back out of the solar rental service with no financial impact. As mentioned, the customer doesn’t pay the deposit until after you approve the residential solar energy system design.To learn more visit http://www.Solargies.com/Residential_Solar_Energy.htm.Q. Okay. The customer likes the design. They want the solar energy system. What's next?A. The installation usually takes about a day. The permit process can take as much as 90 days depending on how cooperative the local utility is, but they company handles the entire installation and the customer doesn’t pay anything until the residential solar energy unit is producing renewable, clean solar energy for their home.Q. What exactly does the homeowner pay? How is solar rental fee calculated?A. The customer pays a rental for the amount of solar generated electricity that their solar system produces. The customer is generating their own power from the sun. The solar technician will go through the resident’s past power bills. If the consumer is interested, the solar technician will walk through the house and show how to save power.

Taking all this into consideration, solar technician will calculate how much energy the homeowner’s personal residential solar energy system will need to produce in order to supply energy for all of the homeowner’s needs. They will then design the residential solar energy unit to supply that power. The consumer simply pays the rate per kilowatt hour that is on the solar rental agreement for all the clean, renewable solar power that the residential solar energy equipment produces.Q. Does the company have any hidden expenses or up-keep expenses?A. Nothing is added. The company has no grid-tied fees or any of those "hidden" charges that other companies like to add on. The government is not trying to charge for the sun’s energy - yet.Q. So, will the homeowner have two invoices; one from the solar rental company and one from the regular energy company?A. Yes. The consumer will pay the company a rental fee for the solar panels that will produce the energy and the homeowner will pay the electricity company the same connection fees that they pay now, plus the customer will pay the utility company for any excess energy the customer uses that exceeds the rental agreement.Q.

What does that mean; exceeds the rental agreement?A. At the end of the year, the customer used more energy than what was contracted for and the residential solar energy system produced for them, then the customer would need to pay the electricity company for the excess power that was used and not generated by the solar system.Q. And what rate would the customer pay for that power?A. The consumer would pay the electricity company’s current rates. Sorry, this green company cannot do anything about the utility company’s rates. But look at it this way, the consumer will be using a lot less of that environmentally damaging power and the solar system the customer rents will always self-produce the homeowner’s power at the same guaranteed low rate. No worries. If a consumer reads about rising power prices, they can smile knowing that their solar energy costs are guaranteed for the length of your rental agreement.To learn more visit http://www.Solargies.com/Residential_Solar_Energy.htm.Q. In the first year, the homeowner is just paying the same rate that they were paying before, right?A. Often rate is actually less. The company bases the rental fee on the yearly average for the rate charged by their energy provider. So, the company bases their rental fees on the prior year averaged charged by the utility. Since power rates tend to go up each year, many consumer will save money on their first bill. This will only increase as the years pass. The company provides a calculator on their website that will tell specifically what they will save with their particular utility and their monthly usage. Many customers save over $10,000 just by switching to solar. See http://www.Solargies.com/Solar_Savings.htm for more details. The company’s idea is to help people switch to solar power and stop being a producer of CO2.Q. What would a customer’s monthly bill look like?A. Let's say the consumer contracted for the company installing a system to self-produce 12,000 kilowatt hours of energy for the year. The customer’s contract rate is 10 cents a kilowatt hour. The total bill for the year would be $1,200 for the rental of the solar system. With most electricity companies, the homeowner has some months that are higher and some lower. It is hard to understand your expenses. This green company has a system called "Even Pay" where the customer simply pays a given dollar amount each a month every month.Q.

What happens if the customer contracts for a certain amount of kilowatt hours and then their kids go off to school?A. The residential solar energy system is remotely monitored automatically every day. If the solar engineer notices a consumption drop, they will contact the customer to see if this is a permanent situation or just a short-term fluctuation. If this will be a permanent decrease in energy usage, the solar installer will come out and remove the proper number of panels and readjust the contract.Q. And how much will maintenance cost me?A. Nothing. This green company makes solar hassle free.Q. What happens if something breaks?A. The company has a complete system support guarantee. If the residential solar energy unit ever stops working, it will be fixed for free. The customer has no additional costs until the solar power system is working again.

This makes the company motivated to get it up and running fast. Q. What if my neighbor drops a tree on one of the solar panels?A. It is just like renting a jet sky. The customer is responsible for returning the residential solar energy system in working order. The company recommends that customers contact their insurance company to make sure that the solar system is covered under their policy.To learn more visit http://www.Solargies.com/Residential_Solar_Energy.htm.Q. Would the customer save money in the long run if they just bought a residential solar energy unit?A. It’s doubtful. Renting solar equipment can save a significant amount of money, and it protects the homeowner from the large investment risk. If the customer buys solar panels and invest $40,000, they are tied into that technology for a long time. If something new and better comes along, the homeowner can't switch because their $40,000 would be wasted.If the customer breaks their rental agreement with the solar rental company, they will give up their security deposit, usually $500. The customer can simply contact the company and tell then that they want to cancel the rental agreement. The customer would lose the security deposit. But that is a lot better than losing $40,000. Q. Is the residential solar energy manufacturing plant completed yet?A. No. The first solar units will be ready to install in the middle of 2008.Q. So why would a person reserve a solar unit now?A. First – the customer lock in the even pay rate as soon as they sign up. With the way power rates are increasing, this could save the homeowner a significant amount of money.

Second – the customer reserves their installation position. This means they can get their residential solar energy system sooner once the plant is producing. Third - it also helps the company show the government how many customers will upgrade to solar if an offer that makes sense on every level is presented.Q. What happens if the customers accepts the agreement and the manufacturing plant is never completed?A. The contract would be void and canceled. This green company understands that this is a new concept. The utility companies have been saying for a long time that solar power has no market. They have a vested interest in making that statement. This company is proving them wrong. They have a solar vision. The risks are too big if we don’t change our course.The only way that change is going to happen is if we create a better vision. For that vision to be sustainable, it needs to make monetary sense for all consumers involved. Energy production is the biggest source of pollution in America. This green company is not asking anyone to sacrifice anything. In fact, customers can save a boat loads of money by switching their homes to solar power. When was the last time a citizen could save money and do the right thing?*****

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RESIDENTIAL SOLAR ENERGY ****You can visit http://www.Solargies.com/Residential_Solar_Energy.htm.
Article Source: http://www.articlesinsight.com
Daniel Stouffer is Independent Ecopreneur and advocate of green energy. At Solargies (Solar Energies), Daniel’s objective is to spread the use of renewable solar energy as simply and as rapidly as possible. He is an Ecopreneur investing time and energies educating Global citizens about renewable energy, most specifically, solar generated (PV) electricity. Learn more about Daniel at www.Solargies.com.

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