Common Renewable Energy Resources
Traditional, fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas are a limited resource. With time, it will become harder to find and remove these resources out of the ground and this cost will be passed onto the consumers. There will be no change in this trend as more of these resources get used up. And there are potentially more telling costs that come with using fossil fuels. Many people feel that they have caused many of the environmental problems that we are beginning to witness today and ultimately 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. Many people are quite familiar with solar power and it is not uncommon to see many a neighbors house with a solar panel on the roof. To this extent, mankind has always known about the Sun's energy and used it is one way or another since the first civilizations where established, however it is only fairly recently that it has advanced to the stage that we are at now.
At this point in time, the Sun's heat and light energy is utilized to make energy for consumption.
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.
Getting energy out of sunlight is still a fairly new development by comparison. The innovation that makes this occur is the photovoltaic (PV) cell. The concept was first demonstrated in Victorian times but it was only first produced on a commercial basis 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 basis of direct current. Direct current can be stored in a battery or used to power appliances that run on DC.
Another popular option in terms of renewable energy is the use of 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 is a modern day windmill, it uses the power of the wind to turn blades. The kinetic energy turns a generator that, in turn, creates electricity. Many developed countries that have the available wind power are creating more and more turbines each year. They give the opportunity to create cheap yet clean energy.
Wind turbines or windmills can even be built in residential homes at a reasonable cost. It is quite simple to build a windmill or turbine from scratch or a pre-built variety can be purchased. Before you start thos project however, you should really establish if you get enough wind to make it worth the effort and a clear area to locate the turbine. You may also want to notify your neighbors that you are erecting a turbine as it could be an issue with some people.
Other renewable energy systems utilize the kinetic energy of water 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. This is using the heat from the earths core to heat water which can be turned into steam that can turn a generator or be used as is.