Converting your dwelling to a solar home in effect gives you the ability to become your own power company. And through the ?net-metering? program operating in over 30 states today, any excess power your home generates can be sold back to your local utility at the retail rate. This, along with the tax incentives offered by the US Government for investing in alternative energy, make it economically feasible for the first time in history to convert your home to solar power home. The process, of course, differs from state to state and may be subject to change at any time so it is important to get the details from your local utility.

Owning a solar home and being self sufficient can give you a great feeling of accomplishment knowing that you are contributing to a Greener Planet. Not only are you lessening the countries dependence on limited foreign fossil fuels, but you no longer have to worry about ?power outages? on the grid ? whether from storms or system outages. With your new solar powered home comes a new awareness of just how much electricity you are consuming and now much you have wasted in the past. You will never again turn on a light switch without giving it a second thought. In other words ? you will become a more responsible user of energy.

Having a solar home today and getting your electricity from the sun is a more logical and natural thing to do. A great advantage to a solar power home is that it is environmentally clean, minimizing the electromagnetic fields that surround you every day. When you do not use any electricity, nothing is switched on and buzzing inside your walls at 60 cycles per minute, creating harmful electromagnetic fields.

With the increased efficiency in solar technologies, the move to a reliance on solar power and alternative energy is gaining mass appeal. More money is being poured into Research and Development on photovoltaic cells, inverters and solar power plants around the world than ever before. Japan, for example, has committed as a nation to generating 50% of its total energy requirements from solar power by 2050. The world's largest solar power plant was completed in France last year and a larger one is now in the planning stages in Australia.

The initial cost of installing a solar power system in your home may be the same as many years of outrageous electrical bills. Take the time to figure out what's really happening in the world of solar energy so you can make some informed choices in making your home a cleaner and safer environment to live in. We can look to alternative energy sources, especially those like solar power that will not only minimize long-term electric bills, but will give you the pride in knowing that you are part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Here are just some of the ways we can harness the sun's energy in our homes:

Light rooms with sunlight.

Preheat water for showers, baths and laundry.

Preheat air to maintain comfortable room temperatures.

Provide electricity to power appliances.

The limitless, clean energy supply offered by the sun is one of the keys to solving the emission of greenhouse gases. You will be using a natural resource available in abundance. What we use today in no-way diminishes what we can use tomorrow, next year or next century.