renewable energy systems

Put your home on an energy diet that will save you money and help the environment.

RODALE NEWS, KEMPTON, PA—Even if you can't afford to slap a full set of solar panels on your roof this year, you can still put a dent in your energy consumption. Last weekend's fifth annual Pennsylvania Renewable Energy & Sustainable Living Festival in Kempton, PA, displayed such big ticket renewable energy systems like solar panels and wind turbines, but also provided more affordable ideas to save energy—and therefore save money. The festival featured more than 100 lectures, 170 vendors, plus workshops and hands-on demonstrations focusing on wind power, vegetable oil for fuel, organic farming techniques, solar site selection and solar panel installation, biofuel auto conversions, green building and renovation, alternative heat sources, and many other topics.

This week we'll bring you plenty of pictures, video, and stories from the festival. To start, here are five key concepts we encountered again and again.

#1: A Prius is cool, but......so was the electric motorcycle that (silently) breezed by us at the festival. EnerTrac Corporation makes a conversion kit that can help you turn certain motorcycles into electric models that go about 40 miles (and reach speeds of 80 mph) on a single charge—and all you do is swap out a wheel! Moral of the story: There are multiple solutions for almost every energy need, though you may need to do some research to find them.