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

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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

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!

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

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