If you haven't heard all the talk about Renewable Energy, you
must have been living in a cave for the last 10 years. Even so,
if you were in a cave I am sure someone would have told you
about solar energy, wind power or hydro power. These are all
examples of renewable energy, that are being used in to days
world and with the concern of Global Warming, at no other time
in our history has this concept been more important. Governments
to homeowners are all looking for alternatives to carbon
producing coal and oil, and this effort has been further boosted
by the rising prices of energy making all of us look for
alternative ways to heat and light their home.
Solar Electricity, electricity from the sun!
From sunrise to sunset the sun produces an unimaginable amount
of energy each and every day, and all you have to do is tap into
that energy. You can use a solar collector to help heat the
water in your home or use a Solar cell to convert the sun's
energy to electricity, and if you have ever used a solar
calculator I am sure you understand the idea. This has moved on
from the calculator to cells helping to providing power to
homes, cars, street lamps, cell phones the list is endless. You
will find solar cells helping provide power from the Artic to
the equator.
Wind Energy
For thousands of years man has harnessed the power of the wind,
it used to be the only way a ship could get across the oceans.
You will have also seen windmills that harnessed to power of the
wind to grind grains or to pump water. Nowadays we are
harnessing the power of the wind to create a clean source of
electricity in all parts of the world. Wind Farms have been
appearing all over the countryside, and can produce enough
electricity to power thousands of homes. They are surprisingly
simple in how they work, the blades of the windmill and
connected to an electrical generator through the use of gears
and shafts, that mean when the blades turn electricity is
created by the generator.
Water Power
Water power is another example of renewable energy that has
been used for hundreds of years. The earliest machines were
waterwheels, which back then, provided power for grain mills and
lumber cutting. Hydroelectricity, as it is now called is the
same principle but on a larger scale, the power of the water is
used to turn turbines to produce electricity. Hydro power
produces an impressive 60% of the electricity in Canada today,
unfortunately, the United States are nowhere as close.
For the home owner the simplest ways to get started in
producing alternative energy is to look at solar power or wind
power, there are now a multitude of options available to get
started with. Remember you don't have to start big, as big
changes usually come from lots of small ones, so what small
change are you going to make today.
Gavin Dye is the webmaster at http://www.solar-power-4u.com where you can learn about solar
power and other forms of alternative energy you can use around
your home. You can also learn how you can do your bit to stop
Global Warming.
