Looking to decrease my use of petro fuels. 2 thoughts – solar and biodiesel in my furnace.
Solar:
The questions with Solar are: do I get enough light and can I make enough, to supply ourselves, without spending a fortune. How much electricity do we use now is the question.
Clean Power Calculator: http://www.clean-power.com/nyserda/
Find Solar: http://www.findsolar.com/
Grosolar: http://www.grosolar.com/
Krystal: http://krystal-planet.com/
Brightpower: http://www.brightpower.biz/
Solarcity: http://www.solarcity.com/
CitizenRe: http://www.citizenre.com/web/index.php
Nanosolar: http://www.nanosolar.com/ – these guys claim to be able to print solar panels that cost less than coal. They are currently in production.
Biodiesel:
From the research I’ve done, putting biodiesel fuel into my tank to burn in my furnace shouldn’t be too much of an issue. I’ll need to upgrade the seals on my pump and any other rubber parts, but it should burn fine. Start with something simple like B10 (10% biodiesel) and move up from there.
DEP info: http://ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2708&q=323870&depNav_GID=1763
Biodiesel Distributors: http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/distributors/showstate.asp?st=NY
Bioheat Distributors: http://www.biodiesel.org/markets/hom/bioheat_list.asp
Heating with Biodiesel: http://www.harvestcleanenergy.org/enews/enews_0505/enews_0505_Biodiesel_Home_Heating.htm
Links: http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/biodiesel.htm