Renewable Energy Residential And Commercial Systems

Traditional, carbon based resources like coal, natural gas and oil are finite. As they get harder to find and extract from the ground the price to use these resources will go up. This will continue as more of these resources are used. And there is another, potentially more serious, cost to using these types of fuels. They are thought to contribute to environmental problems like global warming and destroying the ozone layer that will be paid for by future generations. So what are the alternatives to these traditional sources of energy. This article will cover a few of the alternative energy sources that are being touted as practical solutions both commercially and for the individual homeowner.

The first alternative energy source to be covered is solar energy. It has been around for quite a while now and most people have seen the odd solar panel on a neighbors roof. Indeed, mankind has always used the Sun's energy since earliest times but only in the past 60 years has it developed to the extent that we are now familiar.

At this stage we use heat and light from the sun to create energy.

Heat energy provided by the sun is used for many things like heating water, heating a room or cooking food. As we can feel the heat provided to by the Sun, the inspiration for using it as a renewable energy resource was not a great leap. Indeed, it was probably used in many ancient civilizations as an energy resource and might explain why so many of these civilizations worshiped it as a god.

Harnessing energy from sunlight is still a relatively new discovery by comparison. The technology developed to do this is called the photovoltaic (PV) cell. It was first used in the 19th century but only started being produced commercially in the 1970's.

The principle behind this is that photons in sunlight give the individual atoms in the PV cell enough energy to displace a spare electron. Many cells and more sunlight cause more electrons to flow. This is the principle of direct current (DC). Direct current can be stored in a battery or used to power appliances that run on DC.

Another popular renewable energy option is wind power. I think this is because it is fairly well understood by most people as a concept. It may also be because plenty of wind turbines are popping up all over the countryside.

A wind turbine, much like the windmills of old, uses the wind to turn blades. The kinetic energy turns a generator that, in turn, creates electricity. Countries such as Germany, Denmark and the United States are increasing the number of wind turbines every year. They represent a clean and cheap way to create energy.

Wind turbines or mills are an option even in the suburban home and can be constructed quite cheaply. It is quite simple to build a windmill or turbine from scratch or a pre-built variety can be purchased. Before this is done, it is important to ascertain the amount of wind you get and have a clear unobstructed place for the turbine to go. You may also want to notify your neighbors that you are erecting a turbine as it could be an issue with some people.

Other systems use water as the primary source of energy, utilizing the kinetic energy to create electricity. This is hydro-power and a dam is an obvious example of this process in action. Geothermal energy can also be used to some extent. The principle behind this is that the molten core of the earth can heat up water which can be used as is or to create electricity.