subject: How To Use Alternative Power Systems To Generate Renewable Energy? [print this page] How To Use Alternative Power Systems To Generate Renewable Energy?
Renewable energy is a form of power we've been utilizing for over a millennium, though not in the ways you'd expect. We've used wind power to power along boats and ships, but also to grind grain in windmills. Solar power has been used to heat pipes for hot water and water power provided an alternative for grinding grain in water mills. Today, our need for power is different as we use primarily electricity for all of our needs. However, to generate this electricity, we still utilize many of the world's natural properties to create it. Solar panels absorb sunlight and create usable electricity, wind turbines use the kinetic energy of the blade turning to create electricity. These are all alternative power systems for our home.
Solar Panels
Solar panels are becoming cheaper by the day and have become the number one renewable energy power system for the home after commercial options. It provides an easy method of creating electricity and lasts several decades with good maintenance. The lack of moving parts means it wears down much slower than many of its other counterparts. The size of the solar panel determines the productiveness of said device and many can be used in series for more electrical production.
While they are costly, more so as the size goes up, their ease of use and efficiency, even on cloudy days, makes them the preferred option for most homeowners wishing to use renewable energy. It can be utilized to power the lighting or certain appliances. Many users opt to charge deep cycle batteries for later use.
Wind Turbines
Wind turbines are much more costly and larger than solar panels. Additionally, they may create noise and have a number of moving parts, meaning they require maintenance. The costs grow if you're not trained to deal with such maintenance as you will need to have a technician come out to do said task. However, some of the costs are balanced out as you can connect the wind turbine to the power grid and sell the electricity back to the companies.
There are two types of wind turbine; Mast-mounted, which are free standing and erected in an exposed position and can create up to 6kW of power and the roof-mounted, which is installed on the roof if there's a suitable source of wind and can create up to 2kW in power. While considerably more than solar panels, the costs and work make them more undesirable for homeowners looking for an easier fix. 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.
