Posts Tagged ‘Renewable Energy Resources’

Energy Issues: Solar Cells

Friday, December 18th, 2009

As it is known, the progress in material goods production is uniquely linked to the success of the energy base. By the middle of the 21st century, when the population of the globe apparently stabilize on a point of approximately 10 billion people, energy demand per capita will reach about 105 kW • h per year, and the power of the world’s energy supply - 1010 kW. Today, world energy system is mainly based on non-renewable energy resources such as coal, oil, gas, peat or uranium. However, it is clear that we will not be able to achieve a substantial increase in energy consumption based on these resources as their stocks are limited, and because of the adverse effects of these fuels on the environment. So scientists have turned their gazes to solar energy long time ago. Some projects involve different methods of solar energy transformation into electricity in space, distribution and delivery of it on Earth.

The efficiency of terrestrial solar energy conversion to electricity depends on their efficiency and the annual number of sunny days. 20 years ago the efficiency of silicon solar cells was equal to 15%. The efficiency of today’s GaAs element with three transitions is 34%, while promising devices with four conversions will probably be of 42% (theoretical value of the efficiency of four-element reaches approximately 50%). Today, 1 kg of solar panels provides 300 Watts. Capital cost for the panels of solar cells production has decreased from $ 50 to $ 5 / W in comparison to 80s, and the cost of energy consumption dropped from 0.9 to 0.2 $ / kW • h.

To overcome the dependence on weather conditions the project of creation of space solar plant located on the HIS, was advanced in the late 70’s, with the transfer of power to Earth using microwave radiation to Rectenna (that is antenna with built-in rectifier). The project was being elaborated on all components of the system, but has remained as just an interesting suggestion: although the station would be able to transfer 10 GW, which is equivalent to the output power of 10 nuclear power stations, the cost of the components raising on the satellite would have been $ 22 / g, and the mass of the satellite would have been 90 tons. Today, the picture changed. U.S. experts proposed major developments of such plants in the 35th Conference on Energy Conversion (IECEC) in July 2000.

According to these experts, new technology involving the use of high-performance solar cells, high-power semiconductor converters and magnetron generators, is capable to reduce the mass of the station significantly. Reusable transport aircraft invented by NASA, will reduce the cost of the components lifting into low Earth orbit to $2,2 / g (that is to say, in future it can reach 88 cents / g). Satellite solar power can be raised from low Earth orbit to geostationary one with the ion engine, fed by solar panels. The concept of an integrated symmetric concentrator (ISC) will reduce the mass of the controlling and power distribution system on the satellite, which constitutes a significant proportion of the mass of the whole station.

Be smart and use the aid of solar power grants to convert your life to better ecological balance with nature. Read about solar power grants, how to make proper use of them and where you can get these solar power grants.

P.S. Good knowledge quickly enhances the quality of our life.

Due to this if you are properly armed with the knowledge in your topic you can rest assured that you will in any case find the solution to any bad situation. So, please make sure to track this site on a regular basis or - the easiest way to take care of it - sign up to its RSS. In such an easy way you will have a direct shortcut to the freshest info updates here. Blogging can be helpful, you just need to understand how to use it.

What Are The Different Sources Of Electricity

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Sources of electricity are everywhere in the world. Worldwide, there is a range of energy resources available to generate electricity. These energy resources fall into two main categories, often called renewable and non-renewable energy resources. Each of these resources can be used as a source to generate electricity, which is a very useful way of transferring energy from one place to another such as to the home or to industry.

Sources of electricity can include coal, which mainly consists of carbon atoms that come from plant material from ancient swamp forests. It is a black solid that is reasonably soft. You can scratch it with a fingernail. It is not as soft as charcoal, however, and is quite strong.

It can be carved into shapes. There are different types of coal. Some contain impurities such as sulphur that pollute the atmosphere further when they burn, contributing to acid rain.

How was it formed?

Millions of years ago, trees and other plants grew rapidly in a tropical climate, and when they died they fell into swamps. The water in the swamps prevented the plant material from decaying completely and peat was formed.

As time passed, layer upon layer of peat built up. The pressure from these layers and heat from below the Earth’s crust gradually changed the material into coal.

Coal can be found in parts of the world that were once covered with swampy forests, such as the UK about 250 million years ago. There are large deposits in China, USA, Europe and Russia. South Africa also has relatively large deposits.

When coal burns it produces mainly carbon dioxide, some carbon monoxide and soot (which is unburned carbon). Many coals when burned produce smoky flames.

Their energy content weight for weight is not as great as oil. When coal burns it produces more carbon dioxide than oil.

Advantages

Coal is relatively cheap, with large deposits left that are reasonably easy to obtain, some coal being close to the surface. It is relatively easy to transport because it is a solid.

Disadvantages

Some sources of coal are deep below the ground, as in the UK. They can be difficult, costly and dangerous to mine.

Burning coal without first purifying it contributes to global warming, as well as to the production of smog (smoke and fog), which is harmful to health. It is a finite resource and will eventually run out.

Earth4Energy Renewable Energy By Michael Harvey gives you lots of information which you can’t cover in this article and moreover you can also visit earth4energybonus.blogspot.com

Build Your Own Solar Energy House To Save Money And The Planet

Friday, January 9th, 2009

Is a Solar Energy Home for You?

Have you ever considered the benefits of a solar energy home?

Do you wonder if your grandchildren will have the energy they need to maintain our current standard of living?

Do you just want to reduce your dependence on foreign oil and other non-renewable energy resources?

Solar Energy Benefits

Solar energy homes provide their owners benefits others don’t enjoy. The main one is a lower energy bill. In order to save the most money, you should keep price in mind on every decision you make if you are using solar energy in your home in order to save money. Compare the price to the expected savings to determine if something is a good investment. If you are doing it to save the environment, you may not care about price as much, but most people want to save money.

A few of the solar energy items discussed are listed belowHere are a few of the things you will learn about:

  • solar water heating
  • solar lighting
  • solar tubes
  • solar panels
  • green energy plans
  • energy conservation

One relatively inexpensive way to bring solar energy into your home is to use solar tubes to light rooms without windows. Basically, what you do is install a reflective tube with a clear cover on your roof to let light in. You can also go with a skylight, but they are much more expensive and don’t work if you have a standard ceiling that is several feet below your roof.

Solar water heaters are very popular when building a solar energy home. They are more expensive than a traditional water heater, but can substantially reduce the cost of heating your water. You can usually upgrade your existing water heater, but it is cheaper if it is installed when your solar energy home is being built.

Another easy way to harness solar power in your home is to use solar lights. These are typically used outside as accent lights. They harness the suns energy during the day to power the light after the sun goes down. They are very handy and you don’t have to worry about running wires underground to your lights.

The thing that most people associate with solar energy homes is the solar panels that generate electricity. Usually, you see these panels on the roof of a house. They harness the suns energy and create electricity that is stored in batteries for later use. If a home is extremely efficient, it is even possible to sell electricity to the power company in some areas. I wouldn’t recommend planning to sell electricity though, just focus on trying to get enough electricity to power your house and save a bunch of money on electricity.

There are tons more items, gadgets, and appliances that harness the suns power and help break the dependence on fossil fuels and non-renewable resources. These are a few of the most popular. Put everything together and you can have your own solar energy home!

Alternative Energy You Can Afford

If living off the power grid is what you are looking to do, there are alternate power solutions and you will be surprised to learn that they are not only cost-effective but also extremely feasible. There is an informational product called Earth4Energy can help you get started without spending a ton of money. You may even get addicted to renewable energy!

If you decide to start harnessing solar energy, learn about how to have a solar energy home work for you. You will find more information about Earth4Energy and how to get started.

Conserving Energy

It is always important to not waste our resources, but if you are living in a solar energy home, it is even more important because you most likely won’t have a surplus of electricity. If you happen to be living “off grid” then it is vital that you don’t waste the electricity you have because you can’t tap into the electric company if you need more.

There are a lot of resources out there that will help you save electricity which then saves you money. I have put in a quick video that can get you started saving electricity and saving money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ADp0vlcyq4

Buy your Renewable Energy

Now if you are the type of person that really wants to help save the environment and break away from our dependence on non-renewable resources, but just can’t do the things people associate with a solar power home, don’t despair. There is a way that you can buy green energy from your power company. This way you can help save the environment and have a clear conscience even if you can’t put up solar panels or other solar energy devices in your home.

Green energy plans are offered my many electric companies. Basically what happens is that you indicate that you want to support the use of green energy and select a plan that gets some amount of energy from solar, wind, or water sources. You will typically pay a little more for this, but if it helps the environment many people are willing to pay more. I personally use Ambit Energy for my electricity service. They have competitive rates and a nice green electricity plan. Check with your electric company and see if you can get green energy.

If you live in Texas, New York, Illinois, and soon Ohio, you can check out Ambit for all your energy needs. You can also check out the Ambit Energy business opportunity so you can make some money while helping to save the planet.

Free Guide to Using Free Energy To save The Earth

Monday, January 5th, 2009

When talking about green energy, what are we really talking about? In a nutshell, green energy is energy that comes from any one of the following renewable energy sources: wind, Sun/Solar, water/ hydroelectric, geothermal, biofuels and biomass energy.

There is no way that you are not going to find some form of green energy in play anywhere in the world at any given moment. This article will discuss how each renewable energy source is considered to be green energy, starting with wind power.

Renewable energy advantages will become more and more evident in years to come. Fossil fuels are continually being depleted and reducing the quality of the air that we breath.

Renewable energy systems encompass a broad, diverse array of technologies, and the current status of these can vary considerably. Some technologies are already mature and economically competitive, while others are yet to be unveiled.

The term ‘Renewable energy’ refers to electricity created by energy sources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and biomass. These energy sources are considered renewable sources because they are continuously replenished.

Technologies play an important role in the U.S. Government’s strategy to respond to the challenges of climate change, energy security and local air pollution.

Renewable Energy resources (hydropower, wind, geothermal, biomass and solar) are currently used to generate only about 10 percent of all electricity in America. If you were to back out hydropower, the remainder only represents about 2 percent of our electricity, produced.

The price we pay for energy is not only your monthly electric bill. Behind the charges on the bill, oil, gas and coal reserves are being depleted quickly, and their wastes continue to eat away at our planet. So it is obvious that the issue of energy facing most of us is basically two fold.

Different approaches taken to tackle green technology issues and utilize alternative energy, currently focus mainly on wind energy and hence wind turbines, solar panels, and even the use of the stirling engine.

You may be thinking that these are strategies and methodologies which have to be adopted by the government and you can really do nothing about it.

In fact I shall show you briefly what you can be doing to be part of the Green Cycle which enhances not only society but also your lifestyle! In fact I shall soon show you how you could be making use of alternative energy to benefit personally. How about if I asked you: “Would you like to unplug your house from the electric grid and start living 100% on alternative energy? Would you want to save up to $200 per month and make the Electric Company pay you instead of you paying them?

Don’t forget that green energy will show you step by step methods that can be used by anyone who wants to generate his own electricity. So if you have ever wished to stop wasting money on your electricity bills and want to help save global economy and the Earth, you are on the right page. There are numerable ways as I have already explained , to produce alternative energy. However most of the products you find will not be suitable to produce the electricity needed to be used domestically.

They cost way too much for you to afford and can only be used corporately. Else, you’ll find some companies which have developed products for generating home wind power or solar power or both but they cost thousands of dollars excluding installation.

This is why I have developed the best deals which you can use to build in your own garage for just a few dollars! I’ve made loads of tests and spent loads of money to make sure you can be making use of the most effective ways to produce heaps of energy. All you need to do is apply it and start benefiting immediately. You will be able to choose between two types of electricity generators. These are solar based or wind based.

You could even combine both and form a home made Power Generation Plant. At the green-energy-earth.com site you’ll get instructions on what is best to build based on geographical location and the size of your house. Step by step diagrams are also available in manuals to make the building of your system easier. What’s more, you’re going to have the time of your life building it! One other amazing way of benefiting from alternative energy and helping in the earth salvation, is by learning how to effectively convert your gasoline car to an electric vehicle.

Are you willing to reduce pollution, increase your mileage, eliminate fuel costs and be proud to drive your own personally converted electric vehicle? Visit electric vehicle to read more about converting your car to an EV.

You can start saving money on car loans and invest them into making your vehicles more eco-friendly. Learn how to use auto loan calculator to start saving on car loans right away.