Wind Energy Or Solar Energy - Which Is Best For Your Location?

When choosing the best option for reducing your power bill, it is important to understand the benefits and drawbacks of two of the most popular energy sources: Wind Energy and Solar Energy.

Solar Energy

The earth does not produce energy on its own. Solar Energy creates two other sources of energy often utilized by homes and businesses: water and wind. Solar Energy is collected using various types of Solar Panels, which is then channeled into a home via "Grid-Tie" or "Off Grid" systems.

The Grid-tie systems collect solar energy and feed it directly into your electrical system through a grid-tie inverter. In this arrangement, the electric company is essentially the storer of any excess electricity collected throughout any given day. The advantage of this method is the cost savings in needing to purchase a battery bank to store the energy. If you happen to produce more electricity than you use, many electric companies will pay their customers for each extra Kilowatt Hour (KWH) of electricity fed back into their system. However, the amount electric companies pay their customers for the electricity is not typically as high as the amount they would charge you for the same amount.

Off-Grid systems are the same as Grid-tie, except they store the extra solar energy collected by solar panels into batteries. The off-grid inverters cost less, but there will be a substantial battery cost. The amount of batteries needed will depend on the number of solar panels you have. The more solar panels you purchase, the more batteries will be needed to store the energy.

Some areas of the country are more suitable for solar energy than others. Solar Panels need the direct rays of the sun in order to operate at peak efficiency. Cloudy areas such as Seattle, Washington are not going to produce as much solar energy as places like Phoenix, Arizona. While Seattle is one of the worst areas, if you were to make a line that went from Minnesota to Ohio to Maine, that area of the country fares only little better in its worst month. See a Solar Radiation map for more specific information in your area.

Wind Energy

Wind energy has the distinct advantage of being available both night and day. When the storm clouds roll in, blocking the afternoon sun, wind energy is there to pick up the slack. Interestingly, wind energy is actually produced by solar energy, albeit indirectly. As the sun's rays come in contact with the earth, some areas absorb more heat than other areas, and some areas receive more direct rays (e.g. the equator) than others (e.g. the North Pole). The warm atmosphere gases then naturally move to colder areas, creating wind.

Some areas of the country are more suited for wind energy than others. If you live in the southeastern section of the United States, wind energy is not a good option unless you live in a high elevation or near a coastline. A wind resource map can be located on the web site listed in this article.

Another important factor in determining whether or not wind energy is a good possibility for your home is whether or not you are able to place a wind turbine at a high enough elevation to produce a cost-effective amount of energy. Most guides recommend wind turbine installation at an elevation of 30 feet higher than the surrounding area. The higher your wind turbine, the more energy it is going to produce. Of course, this also means that initial installation costs will be higher as well. Overall, wind energy is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Just make sure your location is well suited for it.

Conclusion

It can be a very satisfying experience knowing that you are saving money and reducing your carbon footprint every time you see the wind blowing or the sun shining. With the federal government basically picking up 30% of the tab through tax credits, now is a great time to invest.

Thomas J. Martincic is the author and developer of the web site http://www.WindSolarEnergy.org. The web site contains a wealth of free information on wind and solar energy, provided in layman's terms.

Thomas J. Martincic

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Martincic

Various Renewable Energy Resources And The Best To Use At Home

So do you want to know about renewable energy?

I understand why a lot of people are interested in this subject. In fact, I am one of them myself.

Renewable energy is becoming a very important resource of power; even governments are conducting huge researches on this matter.

I want you to think about this for a second- What if all countries and individuals use renewable power, how would it be?

Well, it will definitely change the future of the planet.

Renewable energy

It is the energy generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, geothermal heat, and many other resources. These resources are naturally replenished.

Geothermal energy: It is obtained by trapping the heat of the earth itself. It can be done in some places from the surface and in others it has to be a few kilometers deep.

Hydropower: Energy in water can be harnessed and used. Water is about 800 times denser than air, so even a slow flowing stream or a moderate sea swell can yield a considerable amount of energy.

Bio fuel: There are various types of bio fuels that could be made out vegetable oils, animal fats, the sugar components of some plants and many other resources.

Solar energy: It is the energy derived from the sun through the form of solar radiation.

Wind energy: Air flows are used to produce energy.

Warning: These last two renewable energy resources are perfect for everyone to use at home or even at the office. You can easily buy or build your own solar panel and wind turbine, and produce green free energy.

You can go green and start using renewable energy resources!

You can get more information on renewable energy by clicking here.

Save money, save the environment, and use solar or wind power at your home.

Check this out to see available power systems.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Newmen

Present-Day And Future Alternative Energy Sources

The major past energy sources have included petroleum and coal. With the sharp increase in energy prices, depleting non-renewable sources of energy, the increase of green house gases impacting global warming, the future of using alternative 'green' sources of energy looks bright. Governments around the world are feeling the pressure of consumer demands for alternative renewable energy sources that will not harm the environment.

Wind Power is one method of producing 'green energy' that is becoming popular all over the world. Wind turbines are used to create power. Wind turbines can be placed wherever there is sufficient amount of wind. The higher the number of installed wind turbines, the more electricity will be produced.

Solar energy is one alternative energy source that is expected to see an increase in use in the future. This form of energy makes use of the sun for power and heat. Solar panels harness the power of the sun without polluting the planet and atmosphere. The solar panels power generators provide the electricity. The solar panels are installed on the roofs of residential and commercial buildings. In the future, larger solar panels will be built that can power hundreds of thousands of homes Solar energy requires does not require any other energy source to operate and it is free of pollution. Sunlight can be harnessed as usable heat or converted into electricity using photoelectric cells, solar panels, or using synchronized mirrors called heliostats that follow the sun as it moves. Methods for using solar power to replace a gas-powered engine by heating hydrogen gas in a tank have also been developed. There have been positive results with powering a generator.

Hydro Power is another alternative energy source with proven results. The flowing water drives the turbines which produces the energy. The energy created is dependent on the strength and force of the water flow because rapid flowing water drives the mechanisms that help with producing electricity. The current is then sent through a transformer where the electricity is transmitted over power lines. This is an eco-friendly form of energy and in the future, it is expected that more hydro power stations will be erected where there is a suitable water supply.

Current technologies for new renewable green energy sources, particularly solar power and wind power, are proving to be quite promising for the future. As well, Geothermal Energy which is heat energy extracted from the earth to create steam to power the generators that produces the electricity, is another potential future large energy source. There is also much research and development going into Nuclear Fission. Salinization of water at river estuaries as an energy supply is another possible source of alternative energy because many experts suggest that it will be millions of years before there is any impact. Nuclear fusion and artificial photosynthesis are two other energy technologies currently being researched as possible future energy sources.

Much of the traditional sources of energy are becoming unsustainable making new greener sources of energy the wave of the future. Many corporations, 'green' entrepreneurs, and governments are investing in the future of the planet and its inhabitants by investing in alternative renewable energy sources. An investment in 'green' energy means a future of low energy costs and a greener sustainable environment.

About the Author:
Alternative energy sources don't have to be hard to come by. If you want to experiment with green energy, look up for more resources online. There is a huge repository of information waiting for you there.

Cost Effective Alternatives For Energy

Solar energy has been used by man since the beginning of time to cook or dry food, warm dwellings and heat water among others. Today solar energy is used for heating structures, lighting buildings, heating water, solar powered electricity and a few brave souls try to power their vehicles this way.

Biannually there is a solar-powered car challenge, where mostly universities and enterprises compete. This has advanced the technology for solar cars, in 2007 the winner had an average speed of almost 57 miles and hour. Not bad over an almost 1900 mile course. Solar costs are often rebated by governments on a local or federal level to entice people to convert to solar energy. Up to 30% of total installation of solar hot water or solar electrically can be deducted from taxes as credits.

Biomass is made of anything that burns; garbage, paper products, dead trees, yard clippings, saw dust. California alone produces 60 million tons of biomass each year which if converted could run the electricity for two million homes! That's worth thinking about. The biomass is collected and burned in giant furnaces which are used to head water in a boiler the energy from the steam turns generators and turbines. This is a great way to reduce land fill and make energy which is clean and uses unwanted materials.

Wind energy is clean and efficient as long as the wind blows. A 10-kw wind turbine generates enough power to run an average household and a 250-kw turbine can run an elementary school for a year. Clean and efficient but almost always needs a back up plan in the event of a calm. Unfortantely these turbines or "wind mills" are very expensive to purchase.

Water produces electricity by quickly flowing or falling, the water rushes through a power plant and with the use of turbines and generators the energy in the water is used to produce electricity. Clean and efficient with moderate to high amounts of useful energy compared with low operating and maintenance cost. All kinds of clean natural resources are available but with our constant need for more and more energy we have to use explore all available alternatives.

About the Author
GLOBAL SOLAR CENTER (http://www.GLOBALSOLARCENTER.COM) is designed to make the transition to solar cost power as easy and transparent as possible. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

The Advantages Of Using Wind Power

Wind power is the most efficient type of renewable energy and can be a good option for heating and powering our homes. This process converts wind energy into electricity using turbines. Wind has been used for decades to power many things including ships. Windmills were used to pump water and operate mills. While it might seem like a new ides, the use of wind power is not novel as humans have been using it since 17th century BC.

Wind occurs due to the uneven heating of the earth as the north and south poles receive less sun then the equator. Land also will heat faster then water and these different heat pockets cause wind. The greatest amount of wind power is found at high altitudes where it is always windy.

In order to get the best wind power conversion you need to put windmills or wind turbines in good locations. You need to use a spot that has consistent wind, where you are able to easily hook up transmission lines and also consider the natural surrounding land and environmental concerns of putting up the turbine. There is special software available - wind energy software - that can calculate the impact on the area by putting up wind turbines.

Offshore wind farms are very expensive to build but their constant energy production does offset these large costs. For powering entire cities and towns, offshore wind farms are a good option as there are not many suitable spots on land to put up wind farms but in shallow water there is always a wind so you can always produce power. All you need is a light breeze to convert wind energy to electricity.

Wind power has many advantages as it does not pollute, can provide extra income to those that may rent their land to wind farms, has more jobs per gigawatt of electricity then a coal station, is a renewable energy source and is a sustainable energy source.

While you can use wind farms on a large scale, it is also possible for the individual to use small scale wind power as there are many wind turbines designed specifically for the home that can be connected directly to your electrical system. Wind turbines are used in conjunction with batteries for home use and can also replace diesel generators. The most popular type of wind turbine is one that hooks up directly into the electrical grid so any power you do not use is feed back into the electrical company and you receive electricity credits.

There are many incentives available for those interested in using wind power. You will receive a tax break for using renewable energy. Green credits and property tax exemptions are all examples of this. But best of all, wind power allows for keeping the modern conveniences that we have come to love while reducing our consumption of fossils fuels and lessening the adverse impact on the environment.

About the Author:
The author is the owner of an established plumbing business. He writes articles on consumer information / protection , business in general and home improvement. For more FREE INFORMATION visit here and here thank you!

Resources For Alternative Energy

There are many different forms in which alternative energy is available.

One of these is solar power. Solar power is driven by photovoltaic cells, and these are progressively getting less expensive and more advanced. Solar energy power can be used for electricity, heating, and making hot water. Solar energy produces no pollution, as its input comes completely from the sun's rays.

However, much more work still needs to be done in order for us to economically harness the sun's energy. For the time being, the resource is a little too conditional—storage batteries are needed to be used as backups in the evenings and on inclement days.

Wind energy has become the most-invested-in (by private investors and governments together) alternative energy source for the time being. The great arrays of triple-bladed windmills are being placed all over as “wind farms”, to capture the motion of the wind and use its kinetic energy for conversion to mechanical or electrical energy.

Of course, there is nothing new about the concept of a windmill for harnessing energy. Modern wind turbines are simply are more advanced variations on the old theme. The drawback to wind energy is...what do you do when there is a calm, still day? Needless to say, during these times the electric company kicks in for powering your home or office. Wind energy is not altogether independent.

Hydroelectric energy is available as a source of alternative energy, and it can generate a substantial amount of power. Simply put, hydroelectric energy uses the motion of water—its flow in response to gravity, which means downhill—to turn turbines which then generate electrical energy.

Needless to say, water is ubiquitous; finding sources for driving hydroelectric turbines is, therefore, not much of a problem. However, hydroelectricity as a source of alternative energy can be complicated and expensive to produce. Dams are often built in order to be able to control the flow of the water sufficiently to generate the needed power.

Building a dam to store and control water's potential and kinetic energy takes quite a lot of work, and operating one is complex as well,and conservationists grow concerned that it. Of course, a dam is not always needed if one is not trying to supply the electrical needs of a city or other very densely populated area. There are small run-of-river hydroelectric converters which are good for supplying neighborhoods or an individual office or home.

Probably the most underrated and under-appreciated form of alternative energy is geothermal energy, which is simply the naturally-occurring energy produced by the heating of artesian waters that are just below the earth's crust. This heat is transferred into the water from the earth's inner molten core.

The water is drawn up by various different methods—there are “dry steam” power plants, “flash” power plants, and “binary” power plants for harnessing geothermal energy. The purpose of drawing up the hot water is for the gathering of the steam.

The Geysers, approximately 100 miles north of San Francisco, is probably the best-known of all geothermal power fields; it's an example of a dry steam plant.

Renewable & Alternative Energy Resources: http://www.alternativeenergybase.com

Many alternative energy sources researched. Ocean thermal, wind power, photovoltaic, and wind power too.

More information:
Alternative Energy

Renewable Energy Should Be A Personal Goal - Are You Responsible?

Just like many other global subjects, the present environmental situation is one of those topics which are SEPs or 'somebody else's problem' - to borrow a phrase from Douglas Adams. Whether the size of the task is so big that we are just not able to understand the full implication, or whether we feel that our little efforts will have such a tiny impact on the global situation that they will be worthless is hard to say.

However, if we all take on board the responsibility for making sure that we no longer waste so much of the planet's resources, then together we can ensure a more positive future for all of us. One way to reduce our carbon footprint is to convert to renewable energy where possible. If we as individuals take the decision to reduce our own carbon footprints then this equates to an impact on a global scale.

A great example of an individual who has started to use renewable energy is that of a farmer, who, rather contrarily, grows tomatoes all the year round in several giant heated greenhouses. Now, on the face of it, there is one individual who is going right against nature and using up a lot of resources for his own personal gain. Not a bit of it!

He has employed some unique lateral thinking and has actually adapted his whole farming technique so that he uses completely sustainable energy. He gets tons of fruit and vegetables which are thrown out by the local supermarkets and ferments them in giant slushy containers. A high-technology plant is used to trap the resulting methane which is burned to provide the extra heat needed to heat his greenhouses.

"But what about all that carbon dioxide?" I hear you techno-savvy readers cry. "Isnt that one of the main culprits of global warming?" Well, it is true, that burning methane (CH4), does produce a lot of CO2. He uses this extra carbon dioxide by-product to help his tomatoes to grow. He pumps it into the greenhouses to help them photosynthesize. The growing plants turn it back into oxygen.

This is just one example of someone who has given a few moment's thought and turned a huge scary problem into a neat solution. Just think of the alternative. Year-round heating of huge glass-framed structures; buying imported CO2 -it makes you shudder to even think about it!

We are all searching for ways to lessen our impact on the environment and do our bit for the planet. The best ways to achieve this are by taking small steps and doing things that are achievable and realistic.

http://www.greenysearch.com is an environmentally friendly website that lets you take one of these small achievable steps right now. It's a browser powered by Google but with a dark page background. This causes your monitor to emit less light, reduces your electricity bill and saves the environment all in one. Just set it as your home page and you will save the environment every time you search. Try it now and see how easy it is to do your bit

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_J_Martin

Free Energy - The Race To Zero Point - Nikola Tesla Documentary

"Free Energy — The Race to Zero Point" is an eye-opening account of free energy technology — why we don't have it yet, and what is being done about that."

Renewable Energy Sources Have Plenty To Offer Each Of Us

Man's over dependence on fossil fuels has brought about disastrous consequences. Global warming and Climate Change have been directly attributed to the release of green house gases due to the use of coal, oil and gas. Non-renewable energy sources are not effective, and cost far more than they offer in benefits.

Renewable energy sources absolutely sustain life because they do not emit carbon-based warming and harmful substances into the atmosphere. Additionally, it helps the people live an economical life by not paying the monthly bills on home energy consumption anymore.

Do you want to know what are renewable energy sources and how you can use them to produce free electricity to run your home? The truth about global warming is that it is becoming a much more serious problem that is becoming very hard to deal with today. The main renewable energy sources are examined below.

Solar, wind, and water are renewable energy sources that are friendly to the environment. With awareness to the limits of our natural resources, practically everyone is considering renewable energy solutions.

Residential Solar Power

The residential solar power makes a difference to your family and the Earth where you live in. With the residential solar power at home, you will be able to cut-off some financial expenses.

Harnessing solar power may be extraordinarily affordable if the energy system is all homemade. The storage cells can be used to store the power made during daytime and this will be still in the position to run during night or at times of the blackout.

To successfully turn your home into a residential solar power you need to be situated to a place where there is plenty of sunlight. An open space area would be very feasible to generate more solar energy.

Residential Wind Energy

At present, wind energy is used in a few places to generate electricity, and the feasibility of more wide spread application of this use is being studied.

Wind may be used as a renewable energy source. The energy that can be generated out of the wind power generators is limitless. Unlike the typical energy source produced by private companies, wind energy provides a lifetime power that you need.

Bio Fuels

Bio-fuels are also a renewable energy sources. They have been around for a very long time however just lately, people are beginning to take notice. Liquid bio-fuel which is the one used in cars is a natural and renewable domestic fuel that can only be used for diesel engines.

This can be made from vegetable oils mostly soy and corn. In fact diesel engines were originally created to run on vegetable oil! The nice thing about bio-fuels is that they contains no petroleum, and they are nontoxic and biodegradable.

The fact that we have so many different types of renewable energy sources to choose from means we can use them to our benefit. Some people have already proven the use of renewable energy sources to be very effective that's why this energy saving idea has been shared to many users nowadays.

About the Author:
Anyone that has researched "building your own solar panels" or "how to make a wind generator", has discovered there are a lot of options out there and a variety of ebooks that promise to help you build either or both. Find out more about Renewable Energy Sources

Paul Rodgers specializes in marketing online.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Renewable Energy Sources Have Plenty To Offer Each Of Us