Natural Environment Blog

The time has arrived for the world to wake up to the alarming scenario of energy crisis. This is no more a situation of single dimension; the other dimensions of it being depletion of the conventional energy sources, global warming, severity in climatic changes and their effects being manifold.

Check out some of the methods of harnessing the tremendous solar energy which is mostly wasted and which has the potential of solving a majority of the above stated global problems.

• Solar water heating equipment is one of the most common and predominant usage of solar power for domestic purposes. Water can be heated normally up to 60 degrees Celsius and can hugely cut down on the electricity bills.
• Solar powered heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems commonly called HVAC systems can be deployed at residential places. Homes with modern architecture can accommodate construction with specific materials which can act as heat store. This acts as a heater when surroundings is cold and acts as a cooler when it is hot.
• Cooking using solar power is possible by solar cookers. The incident solar light energy using concentrated solar power systems is used to boil the water and thus cook the food. This is can also be used as an oven, milk heater and so on.
• Solar powered vehicles are off the beat cutting edge technology automobiles which use solar panels for trapping more and more solar energy and convert it into useful mechanical energy. There are cars, bicycles, boats and even aircrafts which are solar driven.
• Photovoltaic cells which are commonly called solar cells are devices which convert incident solar radiation into electrical energy. These cells can be instrumental in lighting and other electrical needs of residential units.
• By switching over to solar power for simple equipments which we use in our daily lives, we can not only save a great deal of money but can be a significant shift towards utilizing renewable energy sources. Solar powered calculators, emergency lamps, decorative lightings, watches and other electronic gadgets can eliminate our dependency on fossil fuels and chemical sources of energy.
• There are these and many more ways of utilizing solar energy; but all it requires is a one time investment and then reap the benefits on a long run. Another advantage of using solar powered equipment is the relative low maintenance factor. The governments of most of the countries which are signatories of the UNFCCC are unconditionally giving investment and tax benefits for installations to shift over to solar energy for power requirements.
• What more? There are facilities for your house hold equipments to generate solar power and sell the excess to the power grids of the native country at the same price which is collected from you for using it!

As individuals, if we think there is nothing much that we can do about the global problems like climate change, global warming and energy crisis; then we can’t be more wrong. To save a better and healthier tomorrow for your kids and for all the coming generations, ACT NOW – ACT FAST!

This article was contributed by Catherine Annie on behalf of http://www.environmentbasics.com.

When considering energy solutions the only place to look, is up. Look up to the sky and see the newest of our clean, green energy solutions shining down on us.

The heat and strength of the suns rays can be easily converted to solar energy, which can power homes and industries. The rays are caught by the solar panels that are usually placed on the roof of your building. They are fed into an inverter, which converts them to energy of the right voltage for use.

Your Own Power Generator

Every time the sun shines, solar panels are creating energy - often more than your household can use. Even on a cloudy day your solar panels are still generating power. If you are connected to a grid, (which you will be unless you are in a remote area) the excess power can be sold back to the power company. Just imagine your energy company paying you rather than billing! It is like having your own power generator sitting on your property.

During the night or in periods when there is no sunlight consumers can buy their power back again and be comfortable knowing that it is clean and renewable energy.

Solar energy can power all your appliances, your lighting and even your hot water service.

The Cost Factor

While the initial investment can be expensive, consumers save money in the long term by generating their own energy. The actual equipment has no moving parts so it will last for a very long time with no wear and tear or replacement costs. Adding solar panels to a home can sometimes increase its value in the market, too, as buyers see the benefits in reduced power bills.

Solar power is reliable and continually available. It does not harm the planet and it is easy to generate. It can power small buildings and large communities. It is affordable and even has the capacity to generate an income for you.

When you are looking for energy solutions, look up. The answer is waiting for you in the sky!

This article was contributed by Rick from comparegasandelectricity.com. Compare gas and electricity suppliers and find energy companies providing green solutions. This saves money and supplies financing to the gas and electricity providers that are moving towards alternative energy.

Today, most people know all about the various green ways of generating electricity: wind turbines, solar panels, hydro-electricity. But green heating methods for the home are somewhat less known. Let’s have a look at the various methods of heating your home in an environmentally friendly and economical manner.

Solar Heating

Similar to solar panels used for generating electricity, solar heating panels can be installed to generate hot water for your home to be used for central heating as well as tap water. If installed to an optimum standard, this method can account for 40-60% of your hot water, the remainder made up by traditional gas heating.

In the winter when there is less sunlight, solar heating naturally is not as effective, so this method is not as reliable throughout the year. However, the important thing to remember is that the resource that it requires, sunlight, is free.

Electric Radiators

This modern, state of the art approach to central heating is highly cost effective. Compared with traditional radiators, electric radiators are much cheaper to run, costing just a few pence per hour. They do not require pipes, keeping the heat confined to the radiators themselves. They also use a lot less electricity than your average storage heater.

If your home is solar or wind powered, this method of central heating truly makes your home totally self sufficient.

Geothermal Heating

This method of heating is gaining large popularity. Geothermal heating utilises the heat found deep underground. By running pipes underground, heat can be brought into the home, and hot air extracted to be ventilated into the building. This heat supply is much more constant than solar heating throughout the year and is readily available for whenever it is needed. This method can provide up to 70% of your heating requirements and, like solar heating, can be combined with a traditional gas source. It is no wonder why this method is gaining such popularity.

Under Floor Heating

This is a very popular heating method. Under floor heating is especially useful for homes that are built in older renovated buildings that do not have existing central heating systems.

This method comes with two options: wet or dry. As the name suggests, the wet option involves pipes with running warm water keeping the home at an optimal temperature. The dry option involves electricity and woven materials. This is a much more expensive option than the wet option, however it is much easier to install in older buildings where the system needs to be build into existing architecture.

Conclusion

You may be thinking that these methods of heating are expensive to install. While this is true, it is important to consider the money that you would save over the coming years by purchasing less gas, or even no gas, to heat your home. These methods, combined with good insulation, can save you as much as 70% on your heating bills. It’s time to move our heating methods into the 21^st century as we gradually say goodbye to our old fossil fuel friends.

Guest post written by Chris Johnson on behalf of Electric Radiators

In light of the growing threat of global warming and other environmental catastrophes, the need for new green technology that will contribute in saving the environment likewise rises.

Green technology refers to the continuously developing system of research, methods, theories, products, and practices that all lead towards safeguarding the earth’s natural environment. It also includes the promotion of sustainability of natural resources, reduction of waste and pollution, and development of green alternatives in modern technology.

This year, 2011, new green technology has surfaced. These breakthroughs are considerably major steps in saving the environment. Below are the top five green technology breakthroughs in the last six months of 2011:

1. GE Refrigerators Going Green

General Electric has recently announced that it is now using gas which significantly reduces the emission of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas, which is the trapped heat in the earth’s atmosphere, is one of the most common factors that affect climate change. Examples of greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, methane, and ozone.

Industrial processes involved in the manufacture of modern machinery likewise result to GHG or greenhouse gases—examples of which are sulfur hexaflouride, perfluorocarbons, and hydrofluorocarbons. In order to reduce the emission of these gases, General Electric is conducting research and development and their latest breakthrough in refrigerators this year is proof of their success in the said field.

The company will switch to the new gas in its procedure of pouring in foam installation to its fridges. Dubbed as “atmosphere-friendly gas,” this latest initiative from GE paves the way for about 99 percent of greenhouse gas emission reduction. This innovation is part of GE’s Ecomagination system, a company initiative which was launched in support of green technology.

2. Mini Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Hydrogen Fuel Cells are electrochemical energy converters. The fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into water and during this process of conversion, electricity is produced. These fuel cells are, in a way, working like batteries. The difference is that the chemicals contained in a battery eventually dies and cannot be replenished. In a hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen is continually supplied so it then becomes a very practical and useful power generator.

This year, the company Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies is making it possible for people to have their hand-held mobile devices powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Through the product called “MiniPak” (which is a non-toxic and recyclable pocket-sized personal power generator), your smaller techie gadgets can now be powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The MiniPak costs $99 dollars for now but it is expected to have a price drop to $29 in the future.

3. Solar Power Technology

There are a number of new green technology breakthroughs in the field of solar power technology this year. Leading the list is an educational initiative launched by California manufacturer OWI, In.c, which has recently produced educational toys which are also solar-powered. These toys are meant to educate children as to why renewable energy is important as well as how battery-free toys can help in saving the environment.

Another innovation in solar power technology is the solar charger from Solar Tech USA. The charger is meant primarily for Apple iPhones. Phone chargers can now be redefined as eco-friendly with the trend to be set by these solar-powered chargers of mobile handsets.

4. Energy Waste Reduction

Desktops and laptops as well as the mini-laptops or notebooks are known to waste energy. Thus, there has been a challenge to reduce this energy wastage.

Just recently, Tricklestar launched an external hardware accessory that responds to this challenge. The gadget can minimize energy consumption when you connect it to your personal computer with the standard USB plugs.

5. Travel Accessories

Another outstanding breakthrough in green technology is the development of travel accessories which are eco-friendly.

Among these products are the lightweight solar bags and backpacks. These nifty travel items were developed by Konarka Technologies. It is also worth noting that apart from its usage of Power Plastic (which can charge small electronic gadgets), these items are also durable. Being lightweight, these environment-friendly luggage and briefcases can be lightweight—you get to travel hassle and stress free whilst contributing to the safeguarding of mother nature.

These are only five of the many, ongoing developments in green technology. Halfway through the year, various companies which have pledged a corporate social responsibility program continue their efforts in researching and developing better methods and more efficient products that will benefit both mankind and our environment.

This post was contributed by Amy Lizee of Environment911.org.

University of southern California experts show us a more powerful use of graphene solar panels.

Is it possible to imagine people powering their cellular phone or music/video device while jogging on a sunny day?

A University of Southern California team has produced flexible transparent carbon atom films that may have great potential for a new breed of solar cells.

In a paper recently published in the journal ACS Nano, researchers stated that organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells have been proposed as a way to create low cost energy due to their ease of manufacture, light weight, and compatibility with flexible substrates.

This work shows that graphene, an extremely conductive and highly transparent form of carbon consisting of atoms-thick sheets of carbon atoms, has high possibility to fill this role.

While graphene’s existence has been known for many years, it has only been studied extensively since 2004 because of the impossibility of manufacturing it in high quality and quantity.

The Study

The University of southern California team has produced graphene/polymer sheets ranging in sizes approximately 150 square centimeters that in turn can be used to create dense arrays of flexible organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells.

These organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices convert solar radiation to electricity, although not as efficiently as silicon cells.

The power provided by sunlight on a sunny day is approximately 1,000 watts per meter square, for every 1,000 watts of sunlight that hits a square meter area of the standard silicon solar cell, 14 watts of electricity will be generated, Organic solar cells are less efficient; their conversion rate for that same 1,000 watts of sunlight in the graphene-based solar cell could be only 1.3 watts.

Benefits of OPV

But what graphene organic photovoltaic (OPV) lack in efficiency, can potentially be compensated by its lower price and, greater physical flexibility.

Researchers think that it may eventually be possible to cover with inexpensive solar cell layers extensive areas like newspapers, magazines or power generating clothing.

In the meanwhile Prof. Ruoff and his colleagues of the mechanical engineering department at the University of Texas at Austin, are studying the basic science in the development of graphene-based ultracapacitors for usage in electronics and other fields.

Batteries vs Ultracapacitors

Prof. Ruoff says batteries are relatively slow, they can store energy but require sometime to charge up, and then they distribute energy slowly, over time.

Ultracapacitors can be charged quickly, within seconds, and discharge in a short time, but, right now, they’re not able to store very much electrical energy.

The introduction of stable and less expensive ultracapacitors could be a key step in using wind or solar-generated power, specially if researchers can discover methods to enable capacitors to store energy longer, that is not yet possible.

Current Potential Usage

Even with their current storage capacity, the graphene devices could provide quick energy when needed in certain situations on the ecological way.

They could be used, as an example, to absorb the heat generated in braking an automobile or train, and store it for a short time, and use it for the electrical needs of the vehicle (i.e. starting the car or acceleration).

About the writer - Sophia H. Walker writes for the solar panel battery charger blog, her personal hobby site focused on tips to help individuals save energy using solar power for small devices.

Small businesses will always strive for ways to reduce their outgoings, particularly in an unfavorable economic climate such as the one we find ourselves in. One good way to reduce expenditure is to look at utilities; switching suppliers or reducing usage can help with energy bills, although it can often be a complicated task.

One way that small businesses are beginning to benefit from attempting to reduce their outgoings is through generating their own electricity. Previously the costs associated with generating electricity prohibited small businesses from considering this option, but  generating your own power is becoming a relatively affordable thing to do.

Increasingly generating electricity is becoming a viable option for small businesses, who can pocket the reduced utility bills, and even selling surplus energy back to the National Grid. Here are three ways in which small businesses can generate their own electricity.

Solar Panels

There are two ways in which solar power can be used to generate electricity. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) uses the sun’s energy to boil some water, while Photo-Voltaic (PV) solar panels convert the energy directly into electricity.

Photo-Voltaic solar panels are still reasonably expensive, but can generate a significant amount of electricity. These are solar panels which use light, so they can still generate power even on grey, overcast days although obviously not as much as long, sunny days.

One problem with solar panels is that they tend to mean power is only available during the day, when the sunlight is casting onto the panels. For domestic properties this can mean that solar panels are not appropriate, but for many businesses the majority of energy use takes place during office hours, when the sun is shining.

Either way, it will be useful to store the energy being generated, so most PV systems come with batteries which can be charged.

Another solution is to sell your energy surplus back to your electrical supplier (as long as you are still connected to the National Grid) and then paying them for your electricity when the sun goes down and you’re no longer generating power.

Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are experiencing a rise in popularity recently, particularly due to the shrinking price of micro-turbines in DIY stores.

While it may seem like the perfect solution, with the wind blowing all day and night, the amount of electricity which can actually be gleaned from these wind turbines is often negligible, depending on the specific location.

Wind speeds are always faster above ground level, at heights above an average house. The wind disturbance caused by other buildings around it further decreases the amount of electricity which can be generated.

A large turbine on the edge of a building where it can receive clean, fast air is more likely to generate a decent amount of energy, but there is also the annoyance of the noise of the blades spinning around.

Combined Heat & Power Units

Another method of generating electricity which is bound to become more widely available in the future is the use of Combined Heat and Power units (CHPs).

While they were previously only suitable for large buildings like factories and universities now small CHP generators are on the market, running on natural gas. The heat generated is channeled to provide heating and hot water for the building and is no less efficient than a modern gas boiler.

Future Benefits

While the technology required to generate electricity may still require a sizable initial outlay, the benefits should be apparent for years and years for a small business, with greatly reduced energy bills. As fossil fuels become scarcer the price of energy is bound to keep rising, so it’s no surprise that forward-thinking businesses are beginning to attempt to run under their own steam.

While these opportunities for businesses to save money on their energy use are still worth investigating, many of the technologies are not yet developed appropriately for businesses, and should probably be considered as future prospects rather than immediate changes.

Save Money Now

Most small businesses could be saving money now by switching business electricity supplier and employing energy-saving measures such as using natural light and ventilation where possible, avoiding leaving equipment on standby and turning off lights in rooms that aren’t in use.

This article was written by Adam Cairn on behalf of uSwitch for Business, a price comparison website, helping small and medium-sized businesses save money on their energy costs.

Konarka Technologies has recently released a press release regarding the first ever demonstration of inkjet printed solar cells. According to Konarka’s president and CEO, Rick Hess:

Demonstrating the use of inkjet printing technology as a fabrication tool for highly efficient solar cells and sensors with small area requirements is a major milestone

Konarka Technologies is a company that specializes in organic photovoltaics - solar cells made from plastics (as opposed to silicon).

The ability to print solar cells from an inkjet printer opens up the possibilities of how solar energy can be produced. Konarka is interested in working with partners to explore innovative ways of integrating solar power into products. For example, they have already partnered with Air Products to develop windows that generate electricity.

Although organic photovoltaics is not as efficient as using silicon cells - organic photovoltaics is around 5% efficiency, compared to 15% to 20% efficiency with silicon solar cells - it does allow for a wider range of solar applications, which can only be a good thing. Furthermore, Konarka’s chairman and co-founder, Howard Berke has said that he expects organic photovoltaics to ultimately approach silicon’s efficiency.

I notice that Konarka are billing this as the “first ever demonstration of inkjet printed solar cells…”. I suspect that this is because it’s not the first time we’ve heard of solar cells produced by printing techniques. A team of Japanese researchers have also succeeded in doing this.

In any case, it’s good news for the future of solar energy.