Whether you're a farmer or a gardener who enjoys growing fruits and vegetables, you have one thing in common - pests. Unfortunately, bugs and insects are hungry and will gladly eat through crops if left to their devices. As a result, people tend to turn to pesticides to ensure their plants grow unperturbed.
Read MoreAs a homeowner, you do your best to prepare for emergencies and disasters. Few incidents can be more destructive and costly than a flood. Whether it’s from Mother Nature, a sewer backup, or a broken pipe, water can damage building materials, flooring, and personal belongings. Fortunately, there are ways you can reduce the risk of flooding at home. A sump pump is a vital tool to keep unwanted water away. You should know how this device works and when it might make sense to purchase one.
Read MorePlanting in your farm or garden can provide many benefits. These activities can improve your mood, keep stress at bay, and keep your bones healthy. When done with family, gardening can also become an effective platform to bond and tighten the relationship. However, you won’t be able to enjoy all of these things if your farm or garden is full of weeds.
Weeds, regardless of the type, can adversely affect the health of your plants. Weeds compete with your plants for sunlight and water, and can attract pests to feast on your farm or garden. When left unaddressed, the roots of the weeds can prevent your plants from growing fast.
If you want your plants to grow healthy and fast, get rid of weeds by following these tips.
Read MoreStarting your own farm can be a great way to overhaul your life and launch your own business. Of course, there is lots to learn before you can get started, particularly if you don’t have much experience. Despite this, working the land, growing crops, and raising animals can be a fun and exciting way to earn a living. For inspiration, take a look at these four rules for starting your own farm now:
Read MoreWhen it comes to growing of any kind, then there’s no getting around the fact that we need water to do so. However, you may not need quite as much water as you might think. In fact, a lot of water gets wasted when farming, even on small plots. For that reason, let’s take a look at what you can do to live a more sustainable lifestyle and ensure you’re not over-reliant on water.
Read MoreEvery farm has its unique water and energy needs. Therefore, whenever people talk about using the sun as the primary power source, it’s essential to put a fine line between the needs of farms, commercial businesses, and residences.
There’s a great diversity of farm types available, and you need to break it further to know which solar panel solution would be the best fit. A livestock ranch or farm doesn’t require the same amount of water and energy as a poultry farm. It’s also important to distinguish if it’s a smaller local farm or a huge commercial one.
Consider all these things before deciding to make your farm a solar-powered one:
Read MoreIn a traditional face-to-face classroom setup, there's bound to be an uninvolved student sitting at the back. This lack of engagement causes problems such as alienation and low performance. It may even contribute to dropout rates in the long run.
Maintaining student engagement may become more challenging now that the global COVID-19 pandemic has pushed schools to revert to digital means of teaching. Teachers won't be physically around to keep students in check.You can take a couple approaches to ensure that no student is left behind in your virtual classes. These approaches are also helpful for teachers who have been teaching online even before the pandemic.
We'll show you some game-changing tricks and tools you can use today.
Read MoreYou likely have a lot of questions when you’re first starting out in farming. You might know it’s what you want to be doing with your life but aren’t quite sure what’s going to ensure that you can run a successful farm.
The following tips will help you focus on the right areas so you can get and stay ahead. Go easy on yourself in the beginning and give yourself time to adjust and learn. View it as a challenge you can overcome if you concentrate and are dedicated to finding success. Most importantly, enjoy yourself and your days and look forward to the near future when you can call yourself a true farmer.
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Homeowners and landlords are always looking for ways to save on utility bills, particularly when it comes to energy consumption. Thus, building a solar panel system can help bring the cost of running a home to manageable levels. Additionally, the system utilizes natural light from the sun, thus protecting the environment by reducing the demand for other sources of power that harm nature.
For various reasons, not all homes or buildings are ideal for a solar panel system. For it to produce sufficient power, it requires maximum exposure to sunlight. Homes or buildings located in places where sunlight is obstructed may not be the best candidates for a solar panel system as it may not generate enough power to justify the investment.
That said, below are some of the things to consider when you want to build your solar panel system.
1. Insolation Rating
Insolation rating pertains to the amount of solar power that a given area receives. Factors like latitude, altitude, and distance to the sea affect the amount of solar power or radiation to a given location.
Insolation is measured in KWh/M2/day. The higher the rate, the better. If your area has a high insulation rating, solar panels can generate more power. For the power to be sufficient, a building will require a few solar panels installed.
Areas with low insolation ratings would require far more solar panels to generate enough power. The insolation rating is, therefore, one of the key factors to determine whether investing in a solar panel system is economically feasible.
2. The Surroundings
A solar panel's efficiency depends on the total surface area exposed to the sun and the environmental temperature. For the panel to generate sufficient power, maximum exposure between 10 am and 2 pm is preferable. The whole day is even better.
A home situated near tall trees or towering buildings can be obscured by shade during the day. Depending on the type of the panel you’ve installed, shade can affect the solar panel system’s optimal performance or result in complete dysfunction. A homeowner may opt to cut down an obstructing tree to manage shade, though it would be difficult to deal with shade caused by tall buildings. Take these factors into account before deciding to install a solar panel system.
3. The Roofing Used
The roof system in the building is also a factor that can determine the level of effort needed and difficulty during installation. A slanting roof will require additional labor and equipment, making it more expensive. Some roofing systems may require additional attachments to fasten the solar panels.
Homes or buildings with standing seam roofs have allowances to clamp the panel system without penetrating it. The cost of installing a shed solar system on metal shingle or slate roof types are relatively expensive due to additional costs to install the attachments.
Additionally, the lifespan of the roof system should match with that of the solar system. Typically, a quality solar panel may last up to 30 years, while some roof systems only last up to 20 years. It's wise to plan with that in mind to avoid the associated reinstallation costs.
4. The Cost Of Building The Solar Panel System
A solar panel is an alternative energy source to the main grid system, and it should at least make some financial sense to plan before the installation. Factors like eventual savings, the national grid's reliability, or high monthly power bills can sway your decision.
Below are some of the factors that determine the total cost of a solar panel system:
Building Watt Requirement: The energy needs of the home determine the size of the system. Unlike in the early '50s, when the cost per watt was constraining, the cost per watt is now USD 10 or below. This element correspondingly rises with huge power demand.
Installation Cost: The installation cost will be determined by the total panels, distance to the home, roofing system, and discounts associated with the firm.
Solar Panel Rebate: The federal solar tax credit allows you to deduct 26% of the total installation cost. The tax credit works for people with sufficient tax liability, although you roll-it over into future years. You must also purchase the system and a lease agreement to be eligible for the rebate.
Electricity Connection Point: The solar system has to be eventually connected to the home or building electricity circuit. A long distance means extra cables and insulation, which all add up to the total cost.
The cost of installing the solar system is a big investment, though its eventual benefits or savings are recovered over a long period. Some firms allow clients to lease a solar system, which allows users to pay a monthly fee. This has made owning the system more affordable.
Conclusion
Building a solar panel system helps homeowners tap energy from natural light and reduce their carbon footprint. However, they must consider factors like installation cost, physical obstacles, the type of roofing the building has, and the insolation rating of the area.
The success of installing a solar panel system is based on its financial feasibility and the system’s ability to produce sufficient power in the home.
You took a leap of faith and chose to launch your very own agricultural business - whether it’s a farm or a smallholding you chose to do something that you loved. Until recently, everything had most probably been going really well, and you had loved every single second of the work that you needed to put into your business to make it a success. However, you were recently involved in a rather serious accident, and you’ve now been left in a place of worry, stress, and concern about how you will manage your business while you heal and recover from the accident.
Read MoreTrees play a key role in our landscape’s aesthetic. They not only add beauty and shade to our homes, but they also help cut energy costs, reduce air pollution, reduce soil erosion, and helps add value to your property. However, to enjoy all these, you need to properly maintain your trees.
Since trees don’t need regular maintenance, it’s easy for you to forget that they need your care to properly develop. But to enjoy all the benefits brought by trees, we need to take proper care of them.
Here are tips you can use to maintain your trees.
Read MoreMore young people are getting into farming, and many do not come from farming families. Family farms make up a large percentage of farms in the United States, but most are concentrated in the realm of commodity crop production, or dairy and livestock. New and beginning farmers tend to embrace farming on a smaller scale, and many seek to support a more sustainable type of agriculture.
Because most individuals do not inherit land or the basic knowledge of how to run a farm, many new farmers face overwhelming challenges in their first year of farming. Here are some ways new farmers can prepare for and overcome these challenges.
Read MoreHave you ever considered running your own farm? It might be that you have, because why else would you read this article? Farming can be a very rewarding career, despite the hard work involved. We have lots of blog posts on our website that can guide you, and most farmers will offer you advice if you are keen to get started.
But if you're in need of that extra motivation to set out on a farming career, consider the following. These are the reasons why many people decide to follow the farming path.
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