HOORAY FOR SOLAR POWER!

Welcome to the Ecofreak Eco Blog. A unique take on green goings on from around the world as well as snippets of Ecofreak news, information on eco products and anything else that catches Ecofreak's eye!

7th May 2008

It's May, my favourite month of the year, the sun is out, it's nice and warm and the countryside looks amazing!

I love the month of May. Spring has well and truly sprung, the April showers finally fade into the distance and the promise of summer is just around the corner.

The thing about this time of the year is that everything is so vibrant and full of life. The green colour of the leaves on trees and hedgerows is incredible. It's a lighter, brighter green than any other time of the year and it is incredibly beautiful. I am lucky enough to live and work in the countryside and watching the seasons come and go is a privelage that shouldn't be taken for granted.

And now the sun is shining as well - what more could we ask for?! The warmth from the sun is certainly a welcome tonic after the cold, dark winter months.

The sun is something else we tend to take for granted and I personally think it is source of power that we are vastly under utilising in the UK. If you don't believe me take a look at our guide to "Practical Ways of Using Solar Power", if there isn't some way that you could be using solar power, affordably in your every day life I would be very surprised.

Yesterday I charged my phone using my Freeloader Solar Charger. I had to as somehow I have managed to mislay my mains charger! The reduction in emissions as an alternative to mains power is, lets face it, virtully non existent, however I did feel that I was kind of getting something for nothing. And that felt good!

I do get a kick out of using solar power. I have a solar powered light in my greenhouse. Last night, when the kids were all safely tucked up in bed, my wife and I planted up a few hanging baskets. It got dark and we turned on the light, powered by batteries that had been charged by the sun.

Somehow it just seems to make sense when you actually start using solar power. It also makes you think more about how you use mains power and that can't be a bad thing either.

Go on have a go with solar power. You never know you might get a kick out of it as well!