Solar power at a crossroads – Pasadena Weekly
Pasadena Weekly Solar power at a crossroads Pasadena Weekly Congressional Republicans are ramping-up their efforts to derail the further development of clean, renewable energy sources by exploiting a flap over the recent bankruptcy of Solyndra, a maker of solar electricity systems in …
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Solar power at a crossroads – Pasadena Weekly
Is A Solar Electricity System Right For You?
Until approximately a hundred years ago in the West, people only had recourse to renewable energy for heat and light for their homes. They burnt wood and sometimes coal or peat (OK, fossil fuels) and got up when the sun came up and went to bed with the sun as well. In, fact a large part of the world’s inhabitants still lives like that.
Things altered with mechanized industry and night shifts. Electricity providers sold the populace on being able to do more instead of just sleeping when it got dark, and the Western population got hooked on buying huge amounts of energy, mostly electricity and engine fuel, which was usually produced from oil and coal.
This idea soon travelled around the world and with rising prosperity came emulation and other countries wanted the same. Now we are in the sad situation where we have to confess that we rode the fossil fuel gravy train to its last stop without thinking about what we would use when fossil fuels ran out.
This is where the typical civilian comes in. You have to think about how you want to draw energy in the future. Do you want to be powered by keeping sucking unrenewable resources out of the Earth, or do you want to have as little to do with it as you can? Would you prefer to have everything you have now, but know that the resources that are powering your lifestyle are renewable?
If, like millions of others around the globe, you would rather say ‘No!’ to traditional power production techniques, then you have to take a stand. But not only in words, you really have to do some something about it physically.
This will mean investing a lot of money up front, which may not be a problem for you or you may even think that taking a stand is worth looking for a bank loan. These are admirable feelings, but I would like to propose that there is another way to self-sufficiency.
You could build your own!
Why not? The technology has been around for decades and is fairly easy. Most reasonably competent teenagers can put together a bank of photovoltaic cells into a solar panel and then plug that into your home’s electrical system. And if a teenager can manage it, so can you. All you (and the teenager) will require is a solar panel kit and a schematical diagram. A plan in other words.
A solar panel kit can be bought locally from a DIY shop or from the Internet. A typical solar panel will take a few hours to assemble and will produce 100 watts of electrical energy. The electricity produced from these panels is then passed through an inverter that changes the current from DC to AC, making it usable by household appliances and the utility grid.
Do yourself and the planet a favour, get off the grid and start saving money and the planet’s resources, you will be surprised how straightforward it is once you get going. And do not forget, you can do it in stages of, say, one 100 watt panel a month until you hit self-sufficiency. It is not a question of ‘All or Nothing’.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with a favourite topic, types of renewable energy. If you are interested in Sustainable Energy At Home, please click through to our site.
Living Off The Grid
You can live off the grid. You only have to have the grid to purchase electricity if you cannot generate your own. Living on the grid has made too many of us lose our self-sufficiency. We slavishly buy energy off the big suppliers and pay through the nose for it at the end of the month.
How many days a month do you have to work just to pay your electricity bill? What could you do with that time or money if you did not have to use it to pay for your electricity?
The fact is that you can come off the grid and you can even sell your surplus, home-made electricity back to the grid. This is not likely to make you a lot of money, but it is a nice feeling after only paying out for decades. However, the savings of life off the grid do not end there. There are ecological savings and the saving of human life too.
Soldiers would not be sent to fight for oil if we were not so reliant on it. The fact is, that if more people came off the grid, the price of oil would fall, because demand would go down and the oil-producing countries that think they have a strong hold on the West would lose their power. And that can not be a bad thing either, can it?
It is easiest for people who live in their own houses to come off the grid. They have more jurisdiction over their own premises and can make their own choices about what to do with it. Drill a hole here, cut a hole there – that sort of thing. Alterations or home improvements. Life off the grid is also most beneficial for families as they use the most electricity.
The most common techniques of attaining a life off the grid is by the use of solar panels, hydropower and wind turbines or even good, old-fashioned wind mills. These devices are still expensive to buy and very expensive to have installed. A 2010 study in the UK estimated that it would take 10 years to recover the investment of a professional installation of energy-making equipment.
However, you could take out the expensive labour element by constructing and fitting the units yourself! This option is available to anyone in the world as the drawings and plans for making these devices are available on the Internet from specialist alternative energy web sites and the components are practically every day objects.
You will be able to obtain them from a hobbyist or DIY shop. They are also very easy to assemble – most teenagers could do it and so could you. If you do not like that way, you could purchase a self-assembly kit.
Once you have started to become free of the grid, you can make life off the grid even more rewarding by renewing your appliances, as and when necessary, with low energy models. If you approach life off the grid wisely, you could add new energy producing units every month until you do not get any electricity bills any more and then whatever further savings you can make will be sold back into the grid.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with a favourite topic, renewable energy advantages. If you are interested in Sustainable Energy At Home, please click through to our site.
Learning about Alternative Energy
If you were amongst the folks that hardly realized the advantages and best sources of sustainable energy, then it really is high time for you to be taught. Energy preservation is everybody’s interest; for this reason we should always be conscious of the measures and efforts undergone to protect the currently limited stocks of coals and standard fuels which function as the primary sources of the Earth’s power supply.
From an environmental perspective, alternative energy is viewed to be a clean form of energy since it doesn’t create hazardous wastes and contaminants in the atmosphere which considerably contributes to the accelerating challenges caused by global warming. Renewable or alternative energy is an energy created from easily-replenished sources and so this means that they can easily be supplanted. That is why, the power shortage and energy crisis that the whole planet is struggling from at the moment will not manifest.
Solar power or wind power, tidal waves and geothermal sources are some examples of renewable power. These sources will never be depleted as they are all readily accessible as opposed to the burning classic fuels that are just good for one consumption. While it is true that the usage of renewable energy can certainly create a pretty big difference specifically in the economic aspect, nevertheless you can find extensive factors why we ought to switch from the regular to the renewable sources.
Numerous industrial organizations believe that in the event alternative energy is to be pursued, it will eventually cause a grave downturn throughout the economy. This simple truth is impeccable nevertheless; the emphasis of this notion is just today. What about the next day and the next generation? Would the economical success help if the world is in major break down? Who would care about the economy when the rest of the people are suffering from the damaging results of global warming?
It will take a long time before the world can generate fossil fuels and coals compared to alternative energy which are readily available and will never be worn-out due to its sufficiency in supply. Quite a few nations with different federal government set ups all over the world have agreed and have been bonded by one objective: a healthy and a green nation for the future generation. The great thing that people can provide to our children and grandchildren is the beauty of an eco-friendly, livable and healthy world. Let’s make it happen, start off conserving our useful sources. Let’s not await tomorrow if we can take a step today. Every second counts!
Invest in Alternative Energy today and preserve the valuable natural resources for the sake of the future generation. Visit www.refillenergy.com and see how you can help save the world!
Find out New Sources Of Sustainable Energy.
For far too long folks have been addicted to fossil fuels such as coal and gas for energy, everyone knows sources of fossil fuels are running out and they do not burn clean energy, which is terrible for the environment. That’s why people are learning how to make wind generator and other renewable energy. people are now realizing that we need to find sources of renewable energy and learning how to make wind generators and solar panels. These types of sources include solar, wind and marine energy.
At the moment the most below use of renewable energy is solar power and wind energy is starting to become a close second.
A day and day out the sun creates an amazing amount of energy and that sunlight can be converted into electricity using solar panels. It is absorbed by solar collectors.
These are the heat-absorbing panels that you see on many rooftops. The way these work is that they absorb solar energy and convert it to heat energy.
Water is warmed by the heat energy and stored in tanks. Solar collectors are used to heat the water in your house and they are also often used to heat a swimming pool. Both uses take advantage of the same technologies.
Another form of renewable energy which is becoming more popular is wind energy. folks are starting to learn how to make wind generators. The energy contained in the wind comes indirectly from the sun, that is the sun heats the surface of the atmosphere and causes the wind to blow. As a matter of fact wind energy is the preferred choice instead of using fossil fuel because it does not create any greenhouse gases and it is a plenty full resource.
Wind energy is not new, wind energy was used to generate electricity by the ancient Egyptians and by the beginning of the 20th century when energy was widely used in Denmark.
However it was the introduction of cheap oil and gas that destroyed the wind power industry. It is only now that people are becoming interested in wind power again because of the issues to do with pollution and green house gas emissions.
Scientists are looking at developing technologies that extract energy/power from the waves and the tides. Marine energy is therefore another of the main sources of renewable energy. As an energy source it is sustainable and has very little impact on the environment.
Using H2O for water for energy is a relatively fascinating new idea and therefore no commercial wave energy devices as of yet are on the market. However, there is some technology that is being used and trialled. One such technology that is producing power on the Scottish island of Islay is a device called a LIMPET.
More and more technologies are being developed all the time. Watch out for any new innovations in marine energy technology next time you pick up the newspaper or an environmental magazine.
Geothermal energy is the last in the sources of renewable energy that is going to be mentioned in this article. The easiest way to take advantage of geothermal energy is by salt water and steam that is trapped in the many layers of rock underneath the earths core.
The most popularized form of geothermal power is natural hot springs that have been used for centuries . Some people say it that geothermal heat pumps are the new “it” renewable energy product. Although geothermal energy is sustainable, it is not readily available.
This is due to the fact that not everybody lives by a geothermal reservoir and that often the technology is far too expensive. Its nice we have the option though.
Now that you know more about the origins of wind energy isn’t time you studied how to make wind generator . Some folks like to call them windmills so learn how to build windmill and start Downloadting free energy. Download your free ebook today.
