Basically, the ‘Green Energy’ idea is how our everyday needs are supplied by natural resources such as wind, tides and even geothermal heat. ‘Green’ basically means that all the energy is renewable. Often, by going back in time, we can see the value of wind power and windmills as modern energy sources. Overall, this is the method of using modern techniques to provide eco-efficiency and planet friendly options.<\/p>\n
The home environment, for example, encompasses a range of energy ideas – including Solar Thermal and Solar Water Heating solutions. Equally there is electricity that is generated through roof-installed panels. A further factor revolves around stoves and boilers – which are known as Biomass Energy. We now also have Ground Source Heat Pumps – which draw out the heat left by the Sun. When we think about Wind Power and Hydropower we have two of the more common forms of energy generation.<\/p>\n
Thermal Energy Systems: Typically referred to as Solar Energy this is mainly made up of two types of Solar Panels – each using different methods to achieve similar results. Initially, there is the process of obtaining hot water from the Sun via Solar Water Heating Collectors. Solar Electrical panels or Photovoltaic heat collectors transfer solar radiation into electricity. Obviously situated away from blockages such as chimneys etc., these Solar Panels need to be mounted on south facing roofs at an angle of 30 degrees from the horizontal.<\/p>\n
In the UK, Solar Water Power is now one of the most sought after forms of Solar Energy. These systems are very efficient – and can deliver 50 percent of a household’s hot water requirement annually. Getting a professional fitting will cost around 2-5k, however, doing the job yourself could make it as low as 500 to 1500 pounds in total.<\/p>\n
Biomass Energy: In the modern world this now includes genetically engineered ‘Energy Crops’ – but it also takes in natural plant and animal substances. It is by using these materials in new ways to create energy that makes it so exciting. With one of the largest production legacies within Europe, the UK is a major player in Biomass-produced electricity. The lack of C02 given out by this form of energy is another positive element in the whole process. Much of the UK wood crop is sustainable, in order to ensure that C02 produced during any heating process is absorbed.<\/p>\n
A process called Short Rotation Coppice (SRC), utilising trees such as Willow and Poplar, is used to meet the demands of such ‘Energy Crops’. Perennial grasses also produce a high yield of dry matter. Whilst Agricultural and Municipal waste may be lesser known, they are essential to the whole process. To begin with, Agricultural Waste is often produced as part of the agricultural process overall. Another biomass source is that of municipal waste – and this comes from recycled wood or food.<\/p>\n
Systems Based On Geo-Thermal Energy: By naturally heating the Earth, the Sun has the potential to generate both warm water and electricity. In the UK, we are lucky that we can both heat and cool buildings from the ground source temperature of around 12 degrees. These heat pumps do need some power to operate; but for every one unit of energy they use, they generate four units of energy in return. This system can go even further – if energy efficient items such as wind turbines or solar electrical panels are used.<\/p>\n
Wind Energy Programs: Without a doubt, wind energy has to be one of the oldest forms of energy production known to man. Recently though, there has been the trend to generate energy and deliver this onto the local grid. In fact, the UK has the largest wind resource within Europe. The fact remains that in the UK, there exists the ability to realise 10 percent of our electricity requirement from wind power – as opposed to the current value of just 1 percent. Although electricity is still being produced from between 2-10 p per kWh, it could be generated from as little as 2p per kWh. The financial recovery process takes around 6-9 months.<\/p>\n
Last of all there is Hydropower – an area of especial importance to the UK. The field of using moving water to release energy is a very old technique – albeit we now do this in new ways. Within the UK, this form of energy production is responsible for somewhere in the region of 2 percent of all electrical needs.<\/p>\n
The Hydropower process uses a turbine that can convert the energy from one form into another. No water reservoirs are required – as the turbines either run through a water drop-off system or the natural power of the river. Alternatively, ‘Micro-Hydro’ systems use hitherto outdated sluices and dams to generate electricity. Having been reviewed recently, this form of electricity supply could provide 200mW of the UK capacity. The expected cost of installing a system such as this would be between 200 pounds and 3k per kW of output.<\/p>\n
Because of the energy need of the Western World, we are now seeing a rapid rise in ‘Green Energy’. Within the UK and mainly the domestic sector, we are well placed to take advantage of the schemes above.<\/p>\n
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. Getting the right qualifications can often provide job security in a new field such as this. Electrical or plumbing training that incorporates green technology could be very useful for the future.<\/p>\n
(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Visit www.plumbingtrainingcoursesuk.co.uk\/SolarTraining.html<\/a> or Green Certification<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Basically, the ‘Green Energy’ idea is how our everyday needs are supplied by natural resources such as wind, tides and even geothermal heat. ‘Green’ basically means that all the energy is renewable. Often, by going back in time, we can see the value of wind power and windmills as modern energy sources. Overall, this is the method of using modern techniques to provide eco-efficiency and planet friendly options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1441"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1444,"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441\/revisions\/1444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.grinwebbus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}