Kids Guide To Solar Power At Home | House Plans and More “Energy efficiency” is the term used to refer to the good use of electricity. Appliances, computers and even cars use electricity. The demand for electricity and the difficulty in creating electricity make it imperative that everyone use it wisely. With so many people using energy all day, every day, the government and even individuals are looking for new energy sources. Solar Power Information Solar Basics: This site, provided for by the U.S. Solar Power in the Home Kids Saving Energy: The US Department of Energy provides a fun page for kids about using energy wisely in the home, games and renewable energy information Energy Star Kids: A great website for kids about saving energy in the home. Solar Activities Energy Quest: On this page the State of California has created games about solar power. Save this article to: back to top
Solar House | Solar Energy Systems This is a home in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The house includes a fully integrated solar roof that is interconnected with the local utility grid. The solar electric system is provided by a Canadian company, ARISE Technologies. This system uses an inverter which regulates the energy produced by the solar PV panels on the roof making the system completely compatible with the home's local utility provider. This solar home, replete with solar panels, harvests energy from the sun to generate electricity and heat. The home is also equipped with a solar thermal array that provides all of the pool heating and a good part of the domestic hot water. As well, part of the home's space heating requirements is covered by solar thermal heating. In addition to all these features, the home is constructed using passive solar design principles. Special thanks to ARISE for the use of this photo and adapted material.
Top 10 Renewable Energy Sources There are many sources of energy that are renewable and considered to be environmentally friendly and harness natural processes. These sources of energy provide an alternate ‘cleaner’ source of energy, helping to negate the effects of certain forms of pollution. All of these power generation techniques can be described as renewable since they are not depleting any resource to create the energy. While there are many large-scale renewable energy projects and production, renewable technologies are also suited to small off-grid applications, sometimes in rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. Tidal energy can be generated in two ways, tidal stream generators or by barrage generation. Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example for electricity generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water (into reservoirs). Listverse Staff Listverse is a place for explorers.
Renewable Energy and Electricity | Sustainable Energy | Renewable Energy - World Nuclear Association (Updated 24 August 2017) There is widespread popular support for using renewable energy, particularly solar and wind energy, which provide electricity without giving rise to any carbon dioxide emissions. Harnessing these for electricity depends on the cost and efficiency of the technology, which is constantly improving, thus reducing costs per peak kilowatt, and per kWh. Utilising electricity from solar and wind in a grid becomes problematical at high levels for complex but now well-demonstrated reasons. Supply does not correspond with demand. Back-up generating capacity is required due to the intermittent nature of solar and wind, but at high levels the economics of this are compromised. Technology to utilise the forces of nature for doing work to supply human needs is as old as the first sailing ship. Today we are well advanced in meeting that challenge, while also testing the practical limits of doing so. Another relevant metric is energy return on energy invested (EROI). Wind energy
Renewable Energy Sources - Energy Explained, Your Guide To Understanding Energy - Energy Information Administration Federal, state, and local governments and electric utilities encourage investing in and using renewable energy and, in some cases, require it. Many programs and incentives are currently available. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency® (DSIRE) is a comprehensive source of information on government and utility requirements and incentives for renewable energy. Government financial incentives Several federal government tax credits, grants, and loan programs are available for qualifying renewable energy technologies and projects. A wind farm in Iowa Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and state mandates or goals A renewable portfolio standard (RPS) typically requires that a percentage of electric power sales in a state comes from renewable energy sources. Renewable Energy Certificates or Credits (RECs)RECs, also known as green certificates, green tags, or tradable renewable certificates, are financial products that are available for sale, purchase, or trade.
Learning About Renewable Energy | NREL Skip to main content 40 Years of Advanced Energy Innovation » Working with Us » Learning About Renewable Energy Learning About Renewable Energy For more information about renewable energy basics, visit the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Visit the U.S. Visit NREL's Education Resources for hands-on projects and curriculum suggestions for K-12 grade teachers and students. The United States currently relies heavily on coal, oil, and natural gas for its energy. Solar Most renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from the sun. Wind The sun's heat also drives the winds, whose energy is captured with wind turbines. Biomass Along with the rain and snow, sunlight causes plants to grow. Geothermal Not all renewable energy resources come from the sun. Hydrogen Hydrogen can be found in many organic compounds, as well as water. Ocean The ocean can produce thermal energy from the sun's heat and mechanical energy from the tides and waves. Hydropower
Time to shine: Solar power is fastest-growing source of new energy | Environment Solar power was the fastest-growing source of new energy worldwide last year, outstripping the growth in all other forms of power generation for the first time and leading experts to hail a “new era”. Renewable energy accounted for two-thirds of new power added to the world’s grids in 2016, the International Energy Agency said, but the group found solar was the technology that shone brightest. New solar capacity even overtook the net growth in coal, previously the biggest new source of power generation. The shift was driven by falling prices and government policies, particularly in China, which accounted for almost half the solar panels installed. The Paris-based IEA predicted that solar would dominate future growth, with global capacity in five years’ time expected to be greater than the current combined total power capacity of India and Japan. Dr Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, said: “What we are witnessing is the birth of a new era in solar photovoltaics [PV].
How solar energy saved a Puerto Rican farm from Hurricane Maria | Reuters Solar Energy Basics | NREL Solar is the Latin word for sun—a powerful source of energy that can be used to heat, cool, and light our homes and businesses. That's because more energy from the sun falls on the earth in one hour than is used by everyone in the world in one year. A variety of technologies convert sunlight to usable energy for buildings. The most commonly used solar technologies for homes and businesses are solar water heating, passive solar design for space heating and cooling, and solar photovoltaics for electricity. Solar panels installed on a home in Colorado. Businesses and industry also use these technologies to diversify their energy sources, improve efficiency, and save money. Solar Photovoltaic Technology These technologies convert sunlight directly into electricity to power homes and businesses. Concentrating Solar Power These technologies harness heat from the sun to provide electricity for large power stations. Solar Process Heat Passive Solar Technology From the U.S. Solar Water Heating U.S.
'New era' in solar energy fuelling growth in renewables: IEA The renewable energy sector is growing faster than expected, driven largely by a "new era" in solar power and strong expansion in China, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. "What we are witnessing is the birth of a new era in solar PV (photovoltaic)," IEA executive director, Fatih Birol, said in a new report. "We expect that solar PV capacity growth will be higher than any other renewable technology through 2022." The IEA calculated that new solar PV capacity grew by 50 percent last year, with China accounting for almost half of the global expansion. "For the first time, solar PV additions rose faster than any other fuel, surpassing the net growth in coal," the agency said. And boosted by that expansion in the solar sector, "renewables will continue to have a strong growth in coming years. Renewables accounted for almost two-thirds of net new power capacity around the world last year, the IEA calculated.
Tesla unveils batteries to power homes Media playback is unsupported on your device US electric carmaker Tesla Motors has unveiled batteries that can power homes and businesses as it attempts to expand beyond its vehicle business. Chief executive Elon Musk announced the firm would build batteries that store solar energy and serve as a back-up system for consumers during blackouts. The device would allow consumers to get off a power grid or bring energy to remote areas that are not on a grid. Tesla plans to start shipping the units to installers in the US by this summer. In a highly anticipated event near Los Angeles, Mr Musk said the move could help change the "entire energy infrastructure of the world". "Tesla Energy is a critical step in this mission to enable zero emission power generation," the company said in a statement. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery unit would be built using the same batteries Tesla produces for its electric vehicles, analysts said. Mr Musk is SolarCity's chairman and largest shareholder.