Personal Electric Generation Using Renewable Energy
Author: Gary Ashby
Renewable energy has been around for decades and people have utilized the natural energies of the world for quite some time before we began turning it into electricity. From mass wind and solar farms to personal electric generation, renewable energy has provided many of us a way to remove our dependence on fossil fuels. When the time comes that fossil fuels begin to run out, we know we'll have to somewhere to turn. Practical renewable energy for the home, such as to power appliances and various other things, is mostly seen in solar panels and, to some extent, wind power.
Solar panels are created out of a semi-conductor material called silicon. When the sun's photons hit the negative electrons, it forces them to flow through the material and create a current. This can then be used as direct electricity. This is essential for personal electricity as it allows the user to simply feed the electricity out and into whatever they please, such as a battery. Older uses of solar power was to purify and heat water.
Solar panels are often measured in watts and this determines the power output of the panel. Panels in the hundreds can provide electricity for a vast amount of appliances and lights, maybe even power the entire home. In the double digits, panels could perhaps charge batteries or power singular appliances.
Wind Turbine
Miniature wind turbines are difficult to acquire and set up and are more unwieldy than their flat, unmoving counterparts, the solar panels. Furthermore, their use diminishes during windless weather, whereas solar panels work even on cloudy days. Also, because they have more moving parts, their lifespan is significantly reduced and require maintaining.
While their use in mass wind farms is clear, especially in windy territory, their use at home is somewhat lessened due to their more unmanageable nature. I have personally managed to build my own home DIY renewable energy system by following an online system which you can find out more about at my website link below.
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About the Author
Do you want to learn how to build Electricity Generation Systems at home? Do not do it because the author has found many useless guides online. Download the Best Step-By-Step Home Energy Guides at http://www.renewableenergysystemreview.com/download.htm!
How to set up grid connect Solar or Wind electricity home generation systems?
I am concerned about the environment and would like to make more use of renewable electricity. The best way to do this seems to be by installing a grid connect Solar or Wind home generation system but I am not sure how to get one installed, especially the part about getting connected to the grid. I live in a three bedroom semi in south east London.
how does the generation of electricity by hydroelectric,tidal,and wind sources are similar to each other?
is it possible to use wind turbine for generation of electricity by train?
Have any studies calculated average number of birds killed per KWH of electricity generated by wind turbines?
I’ve read some of the articles in scientific journals citing huge death tolls from birds flying into wind turbine blades on a daily basis. (And several joggers in my city report being “grossed out” by the number of bird carcasses that litter the running path located near the mayor’s favorite “green power generation” project.) But I’ve never seen any estimated tolls for the entire U.S. and how the death toll would average out for the megawatts generated.
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Thanks for the excellent informative responses!
(Nobody answered the question posed — which is actually very common on Yahoo Answers — but a lot of helpful information was posted nonetheless on related issues.)
Should Offshore wind turbines be used to produce offshore Hydrogen – then pipe that instead of electricity?
Traditional methods of storing hydrogen involve giant steel gassometers – built on land, that are nothing more than upturned containers – sealed by….. water.
Would it make more sense to site anchored storage containers near the turbines – eliminating the fluctuations in generation – and providing a steady supply of domestic gas ?
Grid-tied turbines have to be more complicated to match a variable production method to a consistent output, but with gas production by electrolysis – there is no need for this.
Yes, you can generate electricity by mounting a wind turbine on a train, however, it is generally pointless to do so.
If the trains is powered by burning diesel/gasoline/wood/coal/oil/paper, then it will most likely be more efficient to directly connect a generator to the driveshaft. If the trains is electric, then simple plug into the electrical source used to power the motors, with the appropriate converter (AC-DC, DC-AC, transformer, or whatever).
Regardless of the method (wind turbine, drive shaft motor, tapping into electrical source), the total amount of power extracted from the train’s energy source:
1) power required to overcome all friction experience by the train PLUS
2) power of the electricity generated PLUS
3) inefficiency of the motor/engine PLUS
4) inefficiency of electrical system
Hydroelectric, tidal, and wind sources are almost pollution free for the environment and they all use water as a main source to generate electricity.
Good for you. I can’t tell you about London specifically (I’m in California), but where I live there are several programs available through my electric utility that give loans and grants to homeowners who are interested in generating their own solar electricity. Maybe you should start at your electric company’s website to see if they have any similar programs.
Addendum: A lot of people do illegal hookups because they don’t want to deal with the regulations of their electric company. All you need for that is a solar panel (it doesn’t have to be big) and in inverter that will synch up to your household current. Then you just plug it in. I’m not necessarily suggesting you do this; it may not always be safe. I’m just letting you know what’s out there. You can find more information if you do a web search
I would cast my vote for Jeff M right now for best answer and by taking the 6400 avian deaths a year and dividing that into the yearly kWh of production would give you the final answer, assuming Jeff is talking about your city.
Interesting that you want to juxtapose avian death with energy production. Are you trying to make a statement that (for example, to use a made up numbers) says something like: “For every 5000 kWh of energy produced, 200 birds are killed by a wind turbine.”?
That’s an interesting thought.
But I’m sure the millions that the energy industry spend on surveys, etc., would have determined a long time ago that the best use of turbines is for electricity, which is easier to transport than gas.
Good luck.