Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is now at its most northern point in the sky and it’s officially summer. As the rays beam down from our closest star, thousands of people are choosing to harness this free source of renewable energy to power their appliances and lights, and heat their homes and water.

ThetaNoon is an online community of such solar-power using people. One of their latest tools for members is a solar energy calculator, which measures how much solar energy you use and carbon dioxide you don't emit based on what type of solar equipment you have and on your location.

They use the location information to calculate your Theta, or plane angle from the sun to your house, and employ ‘complex algorithms and real time weather data’ to create an estimate of your solar energy usage. From this calculation, ThetaNoon creates a score of statistics and charts to show you your energy savings in kilowatts per hour.

Solar Energy Usage Data From The Past 24 Hours by ThetaNoon members:

When you're done "oohing" and "ahhing" over your energy saving abilities, you can share your stats with the world by creating a widget for your personal or business website.

If you or your business uses solar power and you'd like to join the ThetaNoon community, visit their new Beta site here.

Tools like this one could be a great way to increase the popularity of solar power; perhaps knowing how much energy you are creating from the sun will motivate you to invest further in solar energy or encourage those around you to do so, too.

Plus the idea of a calculator that uses your personal Theta from the sun is just cool to think about. Know of any other fascinating eco-energy tools we should check out? Let us know.

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