Basically the ideas is how ‘Green Energy’ meets our everyday needs supplied by natural resources such as wind, tides and even geothermal heat. ‘Green’ basically means that all the energy is renewable. It is easy to think of the fact that we are often travelling back in time, especially when we think of items such as wind power and windmills. Overall, this is the method of using modern techniques to provide areas such as eco-effiency and planet friendly options.
It is the use of simple renewable energies such as Solar Thermal and Solar Water Heating Collectors that suits the home environment. Following on it is items such as the Photovoltaic Panels (PV’s) that develop electricity through suitable roof-panels. Equally important is that of Biomass Energy which includes Stoves, Fuel, Pellets and Boilers burning Wood. There is the old heat from the Sun now known as Ground Source Heat Pumps. Considering items such as Wind Power and Hydro Turbines we are finally getting to very old forms of energy production.
For those wanting to train in this area we will expand on each section and cover off some of the skills required. Working in the field of Plumbing, Gas or as an Electrician you can see that the points raised would be of value to you. It would definitely be worth looking at modern careers such as Electricians, Plumbers and Green engineers and see how they relate to this information. So we have researched this site and added links and adverts for interested parties and bookmark via CTRL-D.
Thermal Solar Energy – This technology is based around two core types of knowledge to achieve the results known as Solar Energy. At a first strategy we have Solar Water Heating Collectors which basically creates hot water from solar energy. Then we have the work of the Photovoltaic Heat Collectors, often called Solar Electrical Panels which transform solar radiation into electricity. Obviously situated away from blockages such as chimneys these Solar Panels basically need to be mounted on south facing roofs at an angle of 30 degrees from the horizontal.
With Solar Power being so common within the UK it is now Solar Water Power that often comes to mind. With the ability to provide almost half the annual need for hot water in the house then Solar Water heating systems is very important. The average cost of installing this type of equipment is expected to range from 500 to 1500 pounds for a DIY system, through to 2-5k for a professionally installed system.
Biomass Energy Based Systems: Includes all natural forms derived from plant and animal products such as wood, straw, poultry litter and ‘energy crops’. As such, this is a very versatile material and can be engineered to produce heat, electricity and a combination of heat and power in the form of electricity. It is interesting to note that the UK has some of the largest quantities of Biomass material to generate electricity within Europe. It is the minimal C02 produced alongside the energy production that makes this attractive to the markets. That being said the process where each tree felled is replaced by another helps to reduce the overall effect on C02 as a part of energy produced.
Within this field is the need for the use of ‘Energy Crops’, such as fast growing trees, e.g. Willow and Poplar or other entities grown on a Short Rotation Coppice (SRC). Perennial grasses are also responsible for large quantities of dry matter. Within this process also sits the lesser known Agricultural and Municipal Wastes. Using normal agricultural activity, Agricultural waste is a natural by-product. Another biomass element is that called municipal waste and this comes from wood or food goods.
Geo-Thermal Energy Based Systems – This is where both warm water and electricity can be produced as by products of the natural heating of the Earth by the Sun. Using the ground temperature of around 12 degrees in the UK we can both heat and cool buildings. With four units replaced for every one unit of energy used these heat pumps are very effective. The energy generated by a heat source pump can in fact be considered 100 percent renewable, if the power to operate the pump comes from solar electrical panels or a wind turbine.
Wind Energy Systems: The use of wind as a source of energy has been going on for thousands of years, especially in milling grain and pumping water. Whether to a home or local grid when the energy has been generated it must be delivered to appoint if usage and cannot be stored. To be fair the UK has the highest level of wind generation within Europe. It is interesting to note that whilst we can produce 10 percent of our entire requirement from wind power at present we only produce 1 percent. Electricity can be produced from as little as 2p per kWh, but generally comes in somewhere between 2-10p per kWh. Because of this it is estimated that it takes between half a year to three quarters of a year to cover the costs.
Last of all there is Hydropower an area of especial importance to the UK. Just like a thousand years ago we are looking utilising energy from water. It is this type of energy production that meets 2 percent of all the UK’s demand.
A hydropower system transforms the kinetic energy of the moving water into another type of energy by means of a turbine. The important thing is that without relying on water storage the turbines can generate electricity. A ‘Micro-Hydro’ system creates energy through the use of dams and sluices that are not considered in the larger national distribution schemes. This process alone could meet 200mW of the UK requirement. When considering the install cost of items such as this it is worthwhile to think about the return which rests somewhere between 200 pounds and 3k per kW of energy created.
It is down to the worldwide energy requirements that sees the growth in ‘Green Energy’. Considering this schemes laid out above the UK domestic market appears to be one of the core beneficiaries of this technology.
With the rise in demand for domestic installations both Electricians and Plumbers are well placed to take advantage of this technology. Not only in the EEC but also in the UK ‘Green Energy’ is rapidly gaining ground as the way forward and a range of financial incentives are in place to support this. It is by gaining the right certificates across the board that will help opportunities and job security for the long term. Look for combined electrical and plumbing training, with a key emphasis on practical green systems and installation.
(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Try Green Engineer Courses or plumbingqualification.co.uk/Green-Engineer-Training.html.
I found the info on this post useful.