How to use solar power without really buying anything

Interested in harnessing the power of the sun? Well, you don't have to buy expensive solar cells to use the sun's energy in everyday life.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Clothesline or rope.
• Some soil and seeds.
• Windows and drapes.
• Pizza Box
• Aluminum Foil
• Tape
• Jar and tea

1. Solar energy is free, and its supply is unlimited for the next few billion years. Virtually all energy on earth comes from the sun, even our fossil fuels come from solar energy stored via plants.

2. Dry your clothes
   
   Drying your clothes outside used to be commonplace in the days before electric and gas driers were in most homes. With natural gas and electricity prices on the rise, using the sun to dry your clothes makes more sense than ever.
   Do you washing as early in the day as possible, to allow clothing more time to dry. Use the clothesline for towels, jeans, bedpsreads especially, as those generally require more time in the drier. Even in the winter, you can hang a line in the washroom (just make sure it can support the weight of wet laundry) to dry heavier items.
   If you don't have a clothesline, it's easy to make one simply by tying a rope between two trees: or anything you can tie a rope to. Just make sure all is strong enough to support wet clothes.

3. Heat your home:
   In the winter, keep your drapes open on the south side of your home (north side for Southern Hemisphere readers) to allow the sun's rays to enter and help heat the home. Likewise, keep those drapes closed in the summer to keep solar heat outside.

4. 
   Lewis Grizzard

   Grow your food
   
   Lewis Grizzard said there are two things money can't buy, true love and home-grown tomatoes. Perhaps the best thing about home-grown food is it's free.
   You don't have to have a large yard or a tilled garden to grow your own food. In the spring, you can plant tomatoes beside the house or along a fence. You can grow many crops, including beans in a flowerbox on your porch.
   Even small gardens can have sizeable yields, especially if you maximize your growing season. Plants that yield early, such as lettuce, can be removed or tilled under in late summer and turnips, parsnips, or other fall crops planted in their place.

5. Make Tea
   On a hot, sunny day, place around five tea bags in a half-gallon glass container. Fill with water and put the lid on. Place outside in direct sunlight. If necessary, move the container to keep it in the sun.
   On a hot day, it will take about four hours to make tea this way. Once it reaches the desired strength, remove the tea bags and place the tea in the fridge. This is mostly something people do for a fun project or make great-tasting tea, but if you really want to save energy, once the tea has reached the desired strength, move it to a shaded area to cool before you put it in the fridge.

6. 
   Pizza Box solar oven

   Fun project: Build a Solar Oven
   
   The German propaganda machine of World War II got plenty of PR mileage from photos and film of Afrika Corps soldiers frying eggs on the panzers.
   On a hot, sunny day, you can try cooking with the sun's energy as well. The sun's rays are hot enough to cook many foods.
   Cut the three sides of the lid of the pizza box along the top, about an inch from the edge, to make a large flap that resembles an oven door. Line the insides of the pizza box (you will need to use tape) with aluminum foil. Line the inside of the flap (which will work as a reflector) as well.
   Open the flap and tape some plastic wrap over the opening in the box to make a window.
   You can make cookies, as well as other foods on hot days, by propping the flap up with a stick so that the sun's rays will reflect off the flap and into the oven.
   When removing the food, use a potholder. Remember, it's hot!

[LilacGirl]

on 10/16/2008 I love this article! These are all great suggestions. I think we'll all be doing a lot more solar everything in the near future. I love solar cookers too.