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Posts Tagged ‘green energy’

One of the best ways to help the environment is with a solar power generator.

There is a solar power generator for every possible need in each and every house. Each residential solar power system has to be rated to fit the needs of the consumer. For the individual consumer that has little electrical requirements it is possible to have your energy supply come almost entirely from an inexpensive solar power generator.

For those looking to make small moves toward bringing the use of solar power into their lives, one appliance at a time would work. This approach over time will not only reduce the consumption of energy from the local grid but will also help on your pocket book. One 25 watt solar panel with a small amp charge controller and a sealed battery could be maintained along with a DC to AC converter for less than $400 in today’s market.

This would not run too much but it is a step in the right direction. For those looking to help convince their parents of the money saving side of solar power make it an educational venture for all of the family. If all the savings from just one solar panel is reinvested into another solar panel, the savings will add up.

If just one step at a time is the approach taken, in time your whole house could be supplied by green energy. The best thing is that most solar panels work and produce electricity for 30 years or more. At the end of that time only one panel at a time would need to be changed at to keep your systems’ efficiency up. Best of all after the initial cost of the units, there is no monthly charge from the sun.

A solar power generator uses only clean renewable energy of the sun and should be just one of the ways to help the environment that you can achieve by yourself.

Residential wind power has many advantages by not only supplying your home with a green renewable energy source but it will also offset carbon emissions. This is how it will work for your home.  Wind power is collected from a set of blades much like the fans seen on many farms to drive the water pumps. This wind is really kinetic energy that is directly converted to electricity that is compatible with your household needs.

Residential Wind Power

Most residential wind power units are also connected to the local utility grid, which has two purposes. First when the wind is strong and your wind turbine is producing more green energy than your home needs, the excess power is transmitted to the local grid for others to use and you receive an energy credit from the utility company. The second is when the wind is below 7 to 10 mph, your wind turbine does not produce any electricity and you can draw energy from the local grid.

The power savings from a small wind turbine has the possibility of lowering your current electrical bill by as much as 90%, depending literally on how the wind blows. Of course this all depends on your consumption of energy.  There are many methods described here on Way to Go Green that will help you make decisions on how to lessen your own home energy consumption.

To determine the benefits to your home add up your previous 2 years energy consumption in kilowatts. The average for an American household is about 9,500 kilowatt-hours a year. Which translated to a constant need of your home would be in the range of 10 to 15 kW of power generation.

When you use a small wind turbine for residential wind power you will also offset carbon emissions by not requiring commercial power that is manufactured with polluting coal or oil.  This is the offset it would create with the reduction of greenhouse gases that would have been necessary to met your energy needs.

For a small residential wind power turbine about 200 tons of carbon would not be emitted and 1.2 tons of other air pollutants over the life time of your wind power system.  The average lifetime is greater than 30 years with most warranties lasting the same, 30 years.  Residential wind power is a renewable energy power source the whole world can benefit from.

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In the Philippines almost 30% of the country’s energy needs are from a geothermal renewable energy source of the earth.  This move was started over 30 years ago when the now deposed leaded Ferdinand Marcos reacted to the energy crunch in the 70”s.  He created a major governmental program to tap into their natural resource to not only reduce the country’s dependency on foreign oil imports but to reduce the price of supplying energy to the people of his country.

With a country of 90 million people where over 40% of the population survives off of less than $2 a day, a solution for cheap reliable green energy was needed.  Today this country is home to the world’s largest consumers of electricity from a geothermal power source.

America is ranked #1 in geothermal power capacity in use and has even more potential for expansion of this green renewable energy source but have yet to exploit it to its full potential. For over 30 years the government of the Philippines has been behind their initiative to ever expand this power source with consistent enthusiasm.  The government of the Untied States has been behind our nation’s commitment for geothermal power but it has been inconsistent.  Each new president has his own agenda so priorities keep changing.

A perfect example of inconsistency is what the Bush administration did. In 2006 the federal spending programs for the development into geothermal power was reduced to $5 million.  This is only 5% of what it was in the 1980”s.  Because of this many projects had to be dismantled which was not only a waste of U.S. tax dollars but the scientists involved had to find other employment.

A consistent green energy policy needs to be not only established but keep immaterial of what administration is in office. Geothermal is a renewable energy source our country needs and has plenty of.  All the government needs to do is quit wasting the tax dollars and stay focused.

To be considered a green energy provider, the source of the energy must be non-polluting and environmentally friendly. Several examples of green energy are solar and wind power, hydroelectric and geothermal.

In America the United States Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Center of Resource Solutions acknowledges that the voluntary purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources are considered Green Energy. In 2007 six companies were singles out for the 2007 Green Power Suppliers Awards. The companies that received the awards were Constellation NewEnergy, 3Degrees, Sterling Planet, SunEdison, Pacific Power, Rocky Mountain Power and Silicon Valley Power. These 6 award winners provide over 5 billion kilowatts of electricity a year.

Constellation NewEnergy’s main headquarters is located in Baltimore Maryland. They use a combination of wind and hydropower to give their consumers a viable alternative for their energy needs. There is also the option for consumers and companies to purchase renewable energy certificates. They provide 16 different states with power along with the District of Columbia and 2 Canadian provinces.

3Degrees and Sterling Planet are providers of renewable energy certificates for any and every consumer in America.

SunEdison is North America’s leading solar energy provider. This company manages over 31 megawatts of energy. With power stations in 9 states, this is company is proving Green Energy is a viable option for the future.

Pacific Power is an energy provider for 6 western states. They have a blue-sky program that supplies consumers with energy produced by wind and solar power.

Rocky Mountain Power was a part of Pacific Power until 2006. They offer the same types of green energy as their previous parent company by utilizing wind and solar power to product electricity for its customers.

Silicon Valley Power is a non-profit municipal electric company that is owned and operated by Santa Clara, CA. With this company, the consumer can chose to have 100% of their energy to be supplied from either wind or solar power.