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As a part of 'Energy Independence', generating electricity is the easiest and most flexible thing you can do. One of the easiest ways to generate electricity is to make your own solar panels
(For under $100)! You can do anything from generate power to run a gate or garage door opener, put lights and power in an outbuilding, sell power back to the grid to cut your electric bill, or even completely live without power from a utility company and operate an electric car.
By building your own solar panels and wind turbine using materials you probably already have in your basement, you can significantly reduce your energy bill by producing your own energy. And if you generate more than you use, the power company will be the one paying you!
How is this possible? Sunlight and wind are forces. A force can be converted into any kind of energy using the adequate technology. In fact, creating electricity requires a very small force and that's what the utility companies DON'T want you to find out about!
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Several factors go into making energy
sustainable. The first is whether or not the current use of the energy is something which could potentially persist into the future, which leads many forms of renewable energy to qualify as sustainable. People can generate energy from windmills, waves, and the Sun without running out of energy and resources, making these methods sustainable for use by future generations. By contrast, fossil fuels are not treated as sustainable because the Earth's supplies of crude oil will eventually peter out.
Another consideration is energy efficiency. Some forms of renewable energy, for example, are sustainable in one sense, but researchers have yet to achieve a high level of energy efficiency, meaning that almost as much energy goes into the production of energy from these sources as the sources themselves generate. Energy efficiency can also be used to describe the technologies which use energy, such as homes, cars, and businesses. Increased efficiency in the way energy is used makes sustainable
energy stretch further.
Many people also feel that environmental impact is another facet of sustainable
energy, which is why sources like nuclear power are often not treated as sustainable. Although it meets the demands of renewability and energy efficiency, nuclear power can have a negative impact on the environment. Likewise, some of the methods used to produce solar panels, wind turbines, and other technology to convert renewable sources into energy are polluting, leading to concerns that such technology merely passes the pollution, making it unsustainable.
Alternative energy refers to energy sources that have no undesired consequences such for example fossil fuels or nuclear energy. Alternative energy sources are renewable and are thought to be "free" energy sources. They all have lower carbon emissions, compared to conventional energy sources. These include Biomass Energy, Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Geothermal Energy Hydroelectric Energy sources. Demand for low carbon emissions has gone so far that companies are now even manufacturing lower carbon emission obscure products such as drinking straws. |
