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Reasons to Build Renewable Energy

Reasons to Build Renewable Energy
By Bill Law

Congratulations! You have just found the how-to build renewable energy tips!

Let me tell you a few unknown facts about renewable energy:

Over 93% of energy used in the U.S comes from non-renewable sources such as coal, gas and oil.Less than 7% comes from renewable sources. Doesn’t that surprise you?

This means that over 93% of our energy used is harming the environment, increasing global warming and reducing the supplies of coal, gas and oil that are left on our planet. Statistics show that if we continue using these non-renewable energy sources, we will have less than 50 years until they run out, unless changes are made.

Why not make these changes now to save the environment?? If even 10% of the U.S started installing their own solar panels and wind turbines, think how much better the environment would be, and how much better you would feel about yourself…

Add into this the fact that you will save at least 80% on your energy bill every year by installing your own renewable sources, it really is a thing you need to do right now!

I can tell you that now is the time to start building your own turbine/ solar panels due to all of the benefits it comes with:

1. The current economic climate means every people everywhere are struggling financially. This could save you a lot of money, especially when I tell you that if you produce more energy than you need, the energy companies will actually pay you!

2. The state of the environment cannot be ignored as it is getting worse and worse every day. We have to, as a whole, start making changes ourselves.

3. The current price of this deal I am offering you is ridiculously cheap, but I know that it will not stay that way for long. Building your own renewable energy source for this price is unthinkable so get it whilst its cheap!

When there are things you could be doing to save the environment, whilst saving a lot of your own money, why aren’t you?

Billlaw70 is an online product reviewer dedicated to the environment and renewable energy. To visit his website and find out more on creating renewable energy, Click Here!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Law
http://EzineArticles.com/?Reasons-to-Build-Renewable-Energy&id=2602541

27Jul2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued

Alternative Energy presents Applications of Solar Thermal Technology

Here on Alternative Energy we are pleased to present you with articles from our guest writers on a wide variety of alternative energy topics. We hope you enjoy this one:

Applications of Solar Thermal Technology
By Adrian Greetham

Solar thermal technology has a variety of domestic, commercial and industrial applications. They range in scale from simple cooking techniques, to large scale industrial power generation.

Cooking

There are two main types of solar thermal cooking technologies, direct solar concentrators and solar ovens.

Direct solar concentrators

Direct solar concentrators use reflectors to focus the suns rays onto a cooking container, achieving temperatures as high as 350°C. The reflectors used vary in design, with disc, flat plate and parabolic trough the most common types. They all require direct sunlight to operate and thus are most commonly used in countries where overcast days are rare.

Solar ovens

Solar ovens basically comprise of an insulated, internally reflective box with a transparent lid. Pots are placed within the box and can be heated to temperatures between 50 and 100°C. Although the temperatures are significantly lower than those achieved using direct solar concentrators, this system does have the advantage of being able to operate on overcast days.

Water heating

Domestic water heating is the most common use of solar thermal energy. In these systems solar energy is collected via solar panels and used to provide a significant portion of the total energy requirement for water heating within a home. This results in dramatically reduced conventional energy bills, particularly during the summer months.

These systems operate by either heating water directly within the solar collectors or by heating a transfer fluid that is then used to heat water via a heat exchange system. The water is moved from the collectors to a water tank either passively using thermodynamics or actively with an electric pump system.

There are two main types of solar collector, flat panel and vacuum tube. Flat panel collectors are cheap but inefficient whereas vacuum tube based collectors are more efficient but more costly.

Room heating, cooling and ventilation

Solar thermal technology can be used for both heating and ventilating rooms.

Room heating

Room heating is achieved by using materials of high thermal mass such as concrete, water or stone to store solar energy during the day, which can then be released when room temperatures drop.

Room cooling

It may seem odd that the suns heat can be used to actually cool air spaces but it is in fact true. There are multiple methods of solar air cooling one example being an absorption refrigerator. This works by using a source of heat (the sun) to drive a cooling system.

Ventilation

One example of a solar thermal ventilation system is the solar chimney. Solar chimneys use solar energy to heat air within them causing an up draft and therefore circulating air throughout a building.

Power generation

Solar energy can be used to generate electricity. This is achieved by using solar energy to drive steam or gas turbines. To reach the extreme temperatures required for efficient conversion to electricity, solar radiation must be concentrated by lenses or mirrors. This is known as concentrated solar power. As the sun moves throughout the day the lenses or mirrors used to concentrate the sunlight must also move to ensure that the solar radiation is focused in the correct position.

There are a variety of methods for concentrating the suns radiation and tracking the sun:

Solar towers

These consist of a central tower which houses a receiver for the solar radiation and an array of flat mirrors that reflect sun light onto the receiver. The mirrors are movable so that they can track the sun to maintain focus upon the receiver.

Parabolic trough

This is a curved reflective trough which reflects sunlight onto a pipe which contains a heat transfer fluid. The pipe is positioned above the reflectors and runs parallel to them. The trough can be tilted so that it can follow the position of the sun and maintain the focus of the suns radiation on the pipe. This design is less efficient than the solar tower system described above as the temperatures reached are lower.

Dishes

Dish systems use a large, reflective dish to focus light on a receiver that is positioned above the dish. The parabolic dish is movable so that it can track the suns position and maintain optimal focus.

Solar Energy Solution install solar panels for solar water heating across the UK.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adrian_Greetham
http://EzineArticles.com/?Applications-of-Solar-Thermal-Technology&id=2270577

30Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued

Alternative Energy presents Green Energy Designs For New Urbanism

Here on Alternative Energy we are pleased to present you with articles from our guest writers on a wide variety of alternative energy topics. We hope you enjoy this one:

Green Energy Designs For New Urbanism
By Ben Tan

One of the most exciting developments among architects in recent years is a new respect for creating a sustainable inner city core. New Urbanism is a movement that strives to create walkable, neighborhood-based development as an alternative to suburban sprawl. Unlike in decades past, new urbanism is not about packing in as many people as possible or even creating the low-rent high-rises.

Green Energy Design Concepts

New Urbanism promotes neighborhoods with a town center that is close enough for the residents to walk to within five minutes, with a variety of dwelling types, with narrow streets to slow traffic, along with parking lots and garages located at the back of the buildings. Condominiums are usually designed with residential on top and retail space below. Very often parking spots are not part of the standard design as the goal of such centralized areas is to encourage people to stay at home and use their legs to get around as much as possible.

These condos, which were once limited to city centers and financial districts, are now found throughout urban areas. They are very often seen as an anchor in developing neighborhoods that can encourage a higher-end type of development, which caters to a middle-class that is affluent enough to consider issues of sustainability to be important.

Green Energy Communities

New Urbanism communities are designed with all of the aspects of shared resources, smart auto strategy, reduce waste, energy efficiency and water conservation. Parking streets are separated from pedestrian streets and bike lanes. Roads are constructed narrower with the conscious intention of encouraging walking and biking rather than driving.

Building smaller houses is another new idea for green energy communities. Houses are radically smaller than the national average for people who prefer smaller home to live together in a community of green supporters. Many households with 2 or 3 people find the 700-800 square foot house perfectly adequate for them. These houses not only reduce the amount of land needed for development, they also reduce the volume of resources needed for construction. In addition to all that material saved, the smaller houses also need fewer resources to keep them heated and cooled.

Ben provides consultancy to real and virtual estate owners. Eco-Renewable Resources is one of Ben’s interest, with special focus on Solar Energy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Tan
http://EzineArticles.com/?Green-Energy-Designs-For-New-Urbanism&id=2265884

30Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued

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