When many people see the term solar power home, they automatically think of a home where the owner has installed solar panels and produces their own electricity. While that is certainly a possibility, there are other ways to harness the power of the sun without the expense of solar cells.

One way that we often waste energy is in cleaning our clothing. Even if you have an energy star rated dryer, it is likely to be one of the largest energy consumers in the home. Even if you had solar cells, it is likely that you would not produce enough electricity to operate an electric dryer. You might get by with a natural gas or propane dryer since you only would have to produce enough energy to operate the motor that tumbles the clothing.

For a very small investment you can dry your laundry in such a way that you will not add to your energy consumption. This initial investment is much less than an electric clothes dryer and does not cost anything after the investment. You can start to line dry your clothing. If you purchase a compact clothes line, it will fit in almost any yard and can dry one or more loads of clothing at no cost. Consider installing a line in the garage for wintertime drying of your clothing.

Another way to take advantage of the natural energy from the sun is to open blinds and drapes on the southerly walls of your home when the sun is shining on winter days. This allows the warmth of the sun to come into your home and is an excellent way to use passive solar energy. If you have hard surfaced floors, they can absorb the heat to keep your home warm longer during after the sun goes down. Just be sure to close the curtains at night to help keep heat inside.

During the summer, you will want to keep curtains closed when the sun is shining against those southerly and westerly windows to prevent the heat from working against the air conditioning. At night, if you live in a low humidity area, you may be able to open the windows and bring in fresh cool air.

If at at a later time you convert to a solar power home using solar cells for electricity, these steps will help to lower the amount of energy you need to produce.

I suggest you check out my other guides on solar power home, solar energy home and home solar energy