Discussion
Your Questions About Solar Generators Portable
Sandra asks…
How should I ground a floating circuit that is a portable solar generator?
I’m going to be mounting several pieces on a dolly such as a plastic bin to hold a battery inside, a voltage regulator, and inverter will be on top and a solar panel on the top (50 watt).
admin answers:
If you ground a circuit, then it isn’t floating is it?
Since you don’t know electricity, you should consult an engineer.
Mark asks…
How do I keep portable power for small appliances for long durations on the move?
If I’m living in my car down south and I need constant power for a fan, fridge, tv, recharging things, etc… what do I need and how much does it cost? Do those solar power panels work? Can you place them on the roof lying under the blazing sun? And then I can plug my applicances in? How much do I need to spend on those? Or will it not work? I don’t know. Help me out. No smart alic comments, only answers. Thanx.
admin answers:
To power those kind of appliences that draw that kind of power you need a kickass power inverter, i would say 4000watts or more and they are not cheap and you will need alot af battery power to keep them going
you can also use a gas generator but they are noisy
you can go to an rv dealer and talk to them as thats what they do
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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generator Cost
Betty asks…
What is the cheapest type of generator to use?
I’m thinking about using a generator for outdoor use but the price of petrol and diesel is too expensive and wondering of there’s any other types of generators that cost a lot cheaper to run. I was actually thinking about buying a Diesel one and running it on red diesel but I don’t know where to buy red diesel.
Over here in the UK you need to prove what you want red diesel for like if you own a farm or something to run tractors. It isn’t easy to buy because people will use it to run diesel cars as its tax free.
admin answers:
Solar cells or wind powered turbines, but initial cost is horrendous.
However, in the UK at the moment there are Government backed schemes for these Green Energy sources where you can actually put power back into the National Grid, when you are not using it, or generating an excess for your own usage and get paid for it. Again initial costs are mind blowing.
Jenny asks…
Why doesn’t set up a deep water siphon to lift deep cold water power running on solar and?
Energy to power, generators for the pumps that lift the water,
is cost the only factor or are there any
ideas on generating electricity from noise as it’s everywhere,
like a static powered watch only higher
levels of current for houses ?
Cheers & Thanks to all answers, Mars Mission.
admin answers:
Cost seem to be the key factor and the lack of Research on it.
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Your Questions About Solar Generator For Sale
David asks…
information about solar irrigation?
I have a stream running by my house and would like to draw water from it to water our garden/ yard…via a solar pump…does anyone have any information how I could get started? thanks
admin answers:
A boating store might be able to help you out. Most of their systems run on DC current and they also have outdoor-rated equipment for sale. A boat need its own power sources and so they may have decent-sized solar panels and wind generators. Even if you don’t buy from them, they have all the components to create a full system you can then piece together yourself via alternative sources.
Good luck!
Laura asks…
how do i make electricity at home?
admin answers:
How sunny or windy is the place you live? You can use solar panels if its rarely cloudy where you live and windmills if the breeze is in excess of 3-5m/s.
Its fairly easy and cheap to make wind mills and solar panels at home yourself. Though professionally pre-made plans are usually for sale. If your home windspeeds are at 9-10 m/s you can power the entire place through a 3-10 KiloWatt wind generator. Any other way is usually impractical for home generation.
There are also petrol generators available. Though they are expensive and costly to run as well.
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Your Questions About Solar Energy
William asks…
How solar energy can be generated at competitive cost?
How solar energy can be produced at competitive cost for the welfare of people at large?Presently what is the status of its use in india?
admin answers:
Professor Andrew Blakers from The Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at the Australian National University will today report to the Greenhouse 2000 Conference in Melbourne that photovoltaic (PV) solar energy conversion can be cost-competitive with any low-emission electricity generation technology by 2030.
His paper describes how extrapolation of the huge economic and technical gains made by photovoltaics over the last 15 years gives confidence that a dramatic shift in electricity generation technology over the next quarter-century is possible.
Worldwide photovoltaic sales are growing at 40 to 50% per year. Government research & market support for photovoltaics of around $400 billion spread over the next 25 years can deliver the technology required to eliminate electricity production as a contributor to climate change. This is a large sum of money – similar to the cost of the Iraq war – but it is dwarfed by the $23 trillion expected investment in oil exploration out to 2030 or the $24 trillion investment in PV systems required to generate half of the world’s electricity by 2040.
Professor Blakers will also describe Sliver solar cell technology, which was invented at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland, by Dr Klaus Weber and Professor Blakers in 2000 while attending a conference. Origin Energy, one of the sponsors of the Greenhouse 2000 Conference, is commercialising Sliver technology in Adelaide.
Work at ANU shows that Sliver solar cell technology can achieve electricity costs below retail electricity costs within five years, with the right investment. Explosive growth in sales in the commercial and residential sector will then follow.
Professor Blakers said that Sliver solar cell technology “can go all the way.”
“It’s not difficult to envisage Sliver based technology delivering electricity at a cost that matches wind energy, zero-emission coal and other clean energy technologies. No leap of faith is required; just careful engineering and adaptation of existing techniques from other industries,” he said.
Dr Weber added that it is essential to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel based electricity generation in order to limit climate change. The cost of doing this with advanced solar technology will be far lower than the pessimistic forecasts advanced by some analysts.
“The key to a clean energy future is the setting of clear and challenging targets and the provision of reliable, long-term support to the solar industry. The industry will respond and deliver the required technology,” Dr Weber said. Recent solar and fuel cell articles
Organic solar cells will help spur viability of alternative energy October 10, 2005
Imagine being able to “paint” your roof with enough alternative energy to heat and cool your home. What if soldiers in the field could carry an energy source in a roll of plastic wrap in their backpacks?
Harvesting tornadoes as power plants; renewable wind vortex energy October 9, 2005
Engineers are working to use artificial tornadoes as a renewable energy source according to an article in last week’s issue of The Economist. Storms release a tremendous amount of energy. Hurricane Katrina, a category 4 hurricane, released enough energy to supply the world’s power needs for a year, while the typical tornado produces as much power as a large power station.
Danish researchers develop hydrogen tablet; stores hydrogen in inexpensive and safe material September 21, 2005
Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark have invented a technology which may be an important step towards the hydrogen economy: a hydrogen tablet that effectively stores hydrogen in an inexpensive and safe material. With the new hydrogen tablet, it becomes much simpler to use the environmentally-friendly energy of hydrogen. Hydrogen is a non-polluting fuel, but since it is a light gas it occupies too much volume, and it is flammable. Consequently, effective and safe storage of hydrogen has challenged researchers world-wide for almost three decades. At the Technical University of Denmark, DTU, an interdisciplinary team has developed a hydrogen tablet which enables storage and transport of hydrogen in solid form.
High oil prices make Asia pursue green energy September 9, 2005
For energy-hungry Asian governments, the answer could literally be blowing in the wind. Across the region, renewable energy such as solar, wind and geothermal power is gaining ever greater credence as a way to curb the region’s appetite for oil and cut runaway import bills. With oil prices near $70, and expected by many analysts to stay over $50 through the end of 2006, governments believe alternative energy will help keep their economies growing.
Cockroaches and rats used as batteries? August 24, 2005
An article in today’s Manilla Times highlights some local research into using common household pests as energy sources. A group of scientists from Feati University recently devised a biological fue
Robert asks…
When solar energy is available in abundance why we rely on oil and other alternative?
Why can solar energy be not used everywhere? Is it very expensive to tap it?
admin answers:
Solar energy is (or was) very expensive, yes. That is changing. Current costs versus long term power production are falling, however. At present, the cost is borderline.
However, solar energy alone is not a complete answer. First of all, for the production of electricity, it has some problems. The main one, of course, is tha tit doesn’t work at night. You either need a storage system (batteries) or an alternative source when it’s dark or cloudy.
There are alternatives which, combined with solar energy, can replace coal. Wind, existing hydroelectric systems, nuclear energy, and tidal power are some of them.
Myy point is, don’t fall into thhe trap of fixating on a single all-encompassing cure-all technology. We need a mix of technologies. That’s true today–we use coal, oil, nuclear, hydroelectric, and other sources–a mix of technologies to provide our energy needs. We need to change themix–eliminating fossil fuels and incorporating new technologies to replace those fossil fuels. There is no simple solution.
Now-as to oil–it is used primarily for transportation. In some ways it is ideal: its easy to store and the fuel stores the energy, whichis released when it’s burned.
There are alternatives. The one I think the most practical is to use electric cars. Current technology makes electric cars with performance and adequate range possible at prices comparable to gas-powered cars (once they are produced in large numbers as gas-powered cars are). That’s acutally a solved problem. What we do not have is a way of producing the electricity to power all those cars (without buring oil or coal, which defeats the purpose) at present. For that–go back to the first part of this post.
But we also do not have a practical infrastructure to deliver that electricity to a fleet of 150 millioncars (in the US). That is not a trivial problem. Think of what it takes to deliver a gallon of gas from an oil well to your car. Here’s the sequence. Oil well to pipeline (hundreds of miles) to refinery to another pipeline to atanker truck to an gas storage tank under a gas station and then a pump to take the gas out o fthe tank and deliver it to your car.
And remember, you need tha tinfrastructure so comprehensive that it blankets an entire CONTINENT.
You will need the samme for electric cars (or any other alternative).
I don’t mean to discourage you–this is doable. We DID do jsut that in the early 20th century to make our current system of gs-driven cars possible. But that took decades–and a hellava lot of engineering and research.
But–as to your question–we wil get solar power on a large scale in the foreseeable future. But we will need a lot more. It’s a complex problem–and a big one.
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Your Questions About Solar Generators Costco
Betty asks…
How many kilowatt hours would I need to power a town of 1000 people plus businesses and a mine?
If i had a remote alaskan town of 1000 residents, how much power would I need to generate to run the whole town. Would a diesel generator work?
admin answers:
You didn’t give enough info.
1000 people and business plus mine isn’t specific.
What kind of people? Treehuggers? Hippies? Or the typical super-wasteful American stereotype?
What kind of business? Small things like the mom-n-pop stores? Small-town restaurants? Or a giant general motors automobile plant? Or what about a server farm (which requires lots and lots of power)?
For a mine, again, it depends of what kind of mine. How big is the operation? How updated is its facilities? Is it a pit/strip mine? A tunnel mine into the side of a mountain? Or a deep mine that goes way into the earth?
Then you have the climate. Alaska narrows it down some. Its cold there. But you forgot to say how is the town heated. Oil? Gas? Electric? Solar? Geo-thermal?
No matter the answer, I can tell you unless the town has tiny mom-n-pop businesses, tree huggers and hippies and an obsolete open pit mine, you’ll need a lot more than a diesel generator. You can try something green- like geo thermal, wind, tidal power. If you embrace the power of the future, nuclear power is the way to go. You can have an oil-fired or coal fired plant. It can run on natural gas or methane from composting waste. You can even have one burning trash to make power.
How much kW of power?
If each house had 4 people, then it would be about 250 households. Each household would consume about 15 kW a day of electricity.
So for homes you have 15×250 = 3,750 kW
business, say you got small ones and one Costco store.
Say 10kW electricity for 12 small businesses and 40kW for the Costco (they have lots of lights and fridges).
So business you have 12×10+40 = 160 kW
say you got the average open strip mine. A small operation that employs 350 people. Its not high-tech. It processes gypsum (different types of mines uses different amounts of electricity) for another plant in nearby Anchorage. That stuff is shipped by rail. I’d estimate 2000kW energy.
So subtotal:
homes: 3,750 kW
Stores: 160 kW
mine: 2000 kW
you need to generate at least 5,910 kW a day or you’ll have power issues. If all the homes are electric heated and not gas or oil, add another 1000kW a day.
In all, you needs at least 6,910 kW a day, but not more than 9,000 kW. The 2,000 kW a day difference allows some flex and deals with expansion of the town or unexpected high power consumption.
Remote Alaskan towns should not rely on diesel, or anything that needs to be shipped in. If the shipment is late or not coming, everyone could freeze to death. You’d want something that comes out of the earth reliably. Like geothermal. The earth won’t die for a very long time. If you place the plant near a volcano or place with thermal activity, you’ll get good, reliable high power output for the next couple thousand years or so.
Donald asks…
What is the best book for building an electric car?
I want to begin the project of building an electric car, can someone tell me what the best book to aid in this process. I am a novice.
admin answers:
The one EV car I currently have (have 2 vehicles that run on hydrogen also) I converted from a vw bug and is free to charge. As I live completely off the grid all my electricity comes from solar panels and 2 wind generators, which I also built.
However I did charge up at Costco in Carlsbad California (I actually only drove up there to fill up) if I remember right it was around $2.00
Not sure if you’re interesting in doing it yourself, but I’d be willing to walk you step by step threw the conversion. I’ve converted 3 of my own cars (a datsun truck, ford ban, and a vw bug) and a few for neighbors. I’ve also converted cars to run on hydrogen, ethanol and biodiesel, by far EV is the easiest.
If you’re interested here’s what it would entitle…
– The engine compartment is first cleaned out of any gasoline components.
– Electric components are then installed in exchange.
– A battery bank is built and incorporated.
– Existing starter and driving systems are connected.
– Turn the key, step on the gas pedal sending more energy to the electric motor, & thus more power to the drive system, which in return creates more speed, more acceleration.
– The system has normal automotive top speeds and acceleration, typical to the vehicle your modifying. If your top speed was 85 mph and your acceleration was 1 mile per min, then this will be what your left with after the conversion.
The methods are extremely simple, making the process possible for anyone, everyone, ANYWHERE.
Typical tools, hardware & supplies are used, making access to parts available for all.
Electric Conversions can be easily accomplished in ANY model vehicle, even tractors, Generators, types of machinery, etc.
Project lengths range from 1 day to 1 month.
If you’re interested I wrote a guide on it which is available at www agua-luna com
My last EV conversion ran me about $1400. Everything is available online. I have a how to do it yourself guide available at www agua-luna com that will walk you step by step through the process. If you have ANY questions feel free to contact me through the site. Here’s a list of what you’d need…
Advanced DC Motor
The motor is an 8″ Advanced DC series-wound motor. It weighs 107 pounds and is rated at 68 peak horsepower. These motors are available in several sizes.
Adaptor plate
The adaptor plate mates the motor to the transmission. It is constructed of 1/2 inch aluminum and is pre-drilled with bolt hole patterns for both the motor and transmission. An aluminum spacer is also used for proper spacing between the shafts of the transmission and motor. Adaptor plates are available for many cars.
DC Motor Controller
The controller regulates current going to the motor. It is a solid-state device that uses a pulse width modulator (PWM) that sends short bursts of current to the motor at a rate of 15 kHz. Controllers are available from both Curtis and DCP.
Potbox (Potentiometer)
The potbox is a 5K ohm throttle between the controller and the accelerator, similar to the way a sewing machine pedal works. The potbox’s lever arm is attached to the existing accelerator cable.
Main Contactor
An electric relay that serves the same purpose as the ignition switch in a gas car. When the key is turned to the start position, the contactor closes the circuit to allow current to flow to the controller.
Circuit Breaker
A safety device that shuts down power for servicing or during an emergency. The circuit breaker is installed under the hood and can be switched both off and on from the drivers seat with an extension or cable.
Main Fuse
The main fuse protect the system from high voltage spikes. A fuse should be installed at each battery box or group of batteries.
Shunt
A shunt is placed in series within the wiring as a means to connect meters. Shunts are available in different sizes for both high and low power configurations.
Charger interlock
A relay that keeps the circuit open so nobody will inadvertantly drive off with the charge cord plugged into the car.
DC/DC Converter
The DC/DC converter is similar in function to a gas car’s alternator. It charges the 12 volt accessory battery by chopping voltage from the main battery pack down to 13.5 volts.
If you interested I offer several DIY alternative guides to walk you step by step threw EV conversion process at agua-luna com or
www agua-luna com
Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.
Dan Martin
Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World… Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY… All With Just One Click of A Mouse…For more info Visit:
www AGUA-LUNA com
Stop Global Warming!!!
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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generators
Robert asks…
How to build a free source of energy?
Ive decided i want to use my free time to build something useful like a solar powered energy generator, or wind powered turbine to produce free energy, does anybody out there know of any FREE sites that teach you step by step how to build any one of these? Also what are your thoughts on these machines?
admin answers:
Build either of these
1. Solar powered generator
2. Wind turbine
3. Tidal flow turbine
4. Magnetic generator
5.geothermal energy source
Chris asks…
Where to buy an affordable Solar System in Saudi Arabia?
Does anyone knows where to buy an affordable Solar Energy Generator for the use of homes or remote farms in Saudi Arabia? I would appreciate solutions in the Eastern part of Saudi better. Does anyone knows if the technology now is practical in Saudi and do you have any information on people who have used these on small scales like homes?
admin answers:
Have you considered building your own?
Resources and parts to build them are pretty common place these days. There is lots of info around on how to do this.
Try http://www.squidoo.com/howto_gogreen
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Your Questions About Solar Energy For Kids
Donald asks…
What do you think will be the next big thing in energy?
Few years ago we had horse powered cars, then came the steam powered engines, and now we have fuel powered engines.
There are some cars in the market that work with electricity today, or solar energy, but none of them have yet addressed the needs of the market, what are your thoughts? Are we going to see or more probably our kids are going to see a new set of vehicles propelled with some sort of energy that replaces petroleum based fuel?
admin answers:
I think plug-in hybrids like the Chevy Volt will be a big deal.
For the short trips, it’s all-electric. No gas needed.
For longer trips, you have a small gas engine to generate electricity for the electric engine. And that engine doesn’t have to be gas either. E85, biodiesel, butanol, etc.
The possibilities are endless.
John asks…
Why did Ronald Reagan rip out the solar panels Jimmy Carter installed on top of the White House?
Sure, Jimmy Carter’s administration was a mess.
But solar energy was a legitimately good idea.
Why did Reagan remove the solar panels (at TAXPAYER EXPENSE, no less…) that Carter had previously installed on top of the White House?
What was the point?
What did Reagan actually do to decrease America’s dependency on Mideast oil – anythng?
admin answers:
The day the votes were tallied and we got the news that Reagan had won, the very first commentator asked him what his plan was to boost the economy.
He answered “I don’t have a plan.”
The commentator then stated ” But Sir, when you campaigned you said you had a plan.”
Reagan replied ” Anybody that was running for President would say they had a plan whether or not they really did have a plan.”
This told me right then and there that this man was a great Poster Boy for Opportunists everywhere.
I never believed another word that came out of his mouth, just like Bushie Boy Jr’s.
Far too many Americans died from AIDS during his term of office, mostly because he denied there was such a disease, so absolutely no Fed. Dollars were appropriated for AIDS/HIV Research, Care, or Prevention during his reign.
As far as ripping the Solar Panels out, he did this for two reasons.
One was because Nancy Reagan, being the Liberal that she’s always been, liked them, and Ronnie hated anything that Nancy liked, even her grown kids.
The second reason was out of pure spite.
I can’t tell you how much of a bad President he was.
.
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Your Questions About Solar Generators Reviews
Sharon asks…
Best Solar powered generator capable of running a small refrigerator and a few other appliances such as charge?
rs and lamps? pretty much a generator for keeping a house up and running when all of the power goes out. And one that charges in the daytime particularly in 6-10 hours. Reviews or personal experience would be awesome thank you.
admin answers:
Considering the purchase, installation, maintenance, and replacement costs of solar photo-voltaic panels, you’re paying 38 cents a kwh for that power and that’s without batteries, coal costs 1 cent a kwh and natural gas costs 15 cents a kwh. Solar is not a backup power source, it’s only viable if subsidized by the government or if grid power is unavailable in your region.
If you want a backup power source, buy a portable tri-power generator, install a transfer switch and a natural gas valve and you can run your house on natural gas if you loose your electricity, if the natural gas line has been interrupted, you can run on propane, if you can’t get propane, you can run on gasoline. If you’re off the grid, it would be a good idea to use an absorption refrigerator, they can run on natural gas, propane, or kerosene. A large propane tank can be put under your yard for free if you agree to purchasing a certain amount of propane each month. A heat fired refrigerator is often used because of reliability as losing the refrigerator means losing your food.
Ken asks…
What is your experience with the solar generators that are advertised on the web?
They cost about $1500 to $3000 depending on power. A panel, a charge controller, huge lithium battery, inverter.
I’m not asking if the price is right. They sound so sensible I’m wondering why they aren’t being offered by the larger manufacturers?
Anyone have any experience?
Thanks!
admin answers:
Without a link to the products you are talking about, it’s hard to give an accurate review. My guess is they are either kits that have been put together from the basic components, the few I saw from a Google search were just all of the components available at any solar equipment provider or an all-in-one device that combines battery, charge controller, and inverter that you plug a solar panel into. They are off-grid systems, which means you can only power the equipment from that battery, if the battery runs out (during a rainy stretch of weather), then you would need to unplug from it and plug into your regular electric. Duracell is rebranding an all-in-one device, except for the solar panel, that is made by Xantrex, and selling it as their own, so the big companies are starting to get into the game.
Something that size is probably just good enough to either provide emergency backup power in the event of an outage or enough for a cabin. A one-size-fits-all system is hard to make to work for most people. We put together kits that are a good starting point, but are often customized to meet the customers particular needs.
Http://www.altestore.com/store/Portable-Power-Systems/Xantrex-X1500-Backup-Power-System-802-1500/p2066/
http://www.altestore.com/store/Kits-and-Package-Deals/Off-Grid-Cabin-Systems/Off-Grid-Cabin-package-1-170W-PV/p5692/
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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generator Wikipedia
Ken asks…
What are the best three electrical energy suppliers?
[Location no object] Can anyone give me the details of three electrical energy suppliers that offer the best value for money?
And any additional details about the company…(Website etc…)
Thank-you!
admin answers:
Ecologically speaking
the Sun
Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass account for most of the available renewable energy on Earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used.
Solar power technologies provide electrical generation by means of heat engines or photovoltaics. Once converted its uses are only limited by human ingenuity. A partial list of solar applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, potable water via distillation and disinfection, daylighting, hot water, thermal energy for cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.
Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels, solar thermal collectors, with electrical or mechanical equipment, to convert sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
Http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/solar/en/index.htm
Wind
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2008, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 120.8 gigawatts.[1] Although wind produces only about 1.5% of worldwide electricity use,[1] it is growing rapidly, having doubled in the three years between 2005 and 2008. In several countries it has achieved relatively high levels of penetration, accounting for approximately 19% of electricity production in Denmark, 10% in Spain and Portugal, and 7% in Germany and the Republic of Ireland in 2008.
Http://www.milwind.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power
and Waves,(as in ocean waves)
Ocean waves are caused by the wind as it blows across the sea. Waves are a powerful source of energy.
The problem is that it’s not easy to harness this energy and convert it into electricity in large amounts. Thus, wave power stations are rare.
Http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/wave.htm
http://ocsenergy.anl.gov/guide/wave/index.cfm
Hydro-electricity
Today the largest use of hydropower is for the creation of hydroelectricity, which allows low cost energy to be used at long distances from the water source. Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by hydropower, i.e., the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and has a considerably different output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants. Worldwide, hydroelectricity supplied an estimated 715,000 MWe in 2005. This was approximately 19% of the world’s electricity (up from 16% in 2003), and accounted for over 63% of electricity from renewable sources.[1]
Some jurisdictions do not consider large hydro projects to be a sustainable energy source, due to the human, economic and environmental impacts of dam construction and maintenance.
Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropower
Daniel asks…
where do you find info on converting fruit waste into energy?
ok im in 8th grade advance science and i want to do a science fair project on converting fruit waste into energy but im having issues on finding Information help me please???!!
or if you have a better idea on how to wow the judges but have the experiment be something that has to do with environment that would be much appreciated.
admin answers:
There are 3 ways to utilize organic waste for energy.
1 biodiesel -corn/soybean/any oil
2 methane -mostly animal waste
3 ethanol -sugar/starch vegetables
Since fruit has a high sugar content you will want to produce ethanol. You will want to search the web for wine making(drinking alcohol is wine) The process is simple, just add water and yeast to the container and keep it sealed at room temperature.
Tip: If your fruit waste is clean i would put it strait into a container. If its not, I would cook it first to make sure all the bacteria is killed. You wan the only think living in the container to be yeast otherwise it wont work.
Here are the steps to energy production:
1. Fruit waste
2. Yeast creates ethanol from sugars
3. Remove Juice (compost the solids)
4. Distill the juice( to seperate the ethanol from the other stuff)
— http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still
— http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_still
5. Burn the ethanol with alcohol burner (you can use a peice of cotton rope poked through the top of a container filled with ethanol)
This would be a very cool project. The alcohol burner is simple, but it represents ethanol being used in a car, generator, etc.
For a first attempt you may want to add some sugar with your fruit waste just to make sure it works. Once you have the process down you can remove the sugar.
This is a hard project. If you run into stumbles, ask lots of questions. If your project doesn’t go fully as planed, explain to the judges the process, what you learned and what you would change.
Best of Luck!
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Your Questions About Solar Energy Colorado
David asks…
What type of home construction in best suited for the climate of Denver?
What climate factors need to be considered when building a home in Denver?
How well should the house be insulated?
What is the number of heating degree days?(mean below 65 degrees F)
What is the number of cooling degree days?(mean above 85 degrees F)
Is solar energy an option?
Should I worry about water conservation?
This is not a homework question! I am looking to move there and have herd lots of bad things and am looking to build a home and need help figuring it all out because my husband is an idiot!
admin answers:
To get really accurate answers you will need to ask a home construction person, but I will give you some rough ideas.
>> What climate factors need to be considered when building a home in Denver?
Denver gets cold. It can get below zero and stay there. In summer it can stay over 90 for weeks. The heat and cold are dry so it rarely gets really hot or really bone-chilling cold. I consider Houston really hot. I consider the east coast really cold. I have never been that miserable in Denver. A well constructed, well insulated, passive-solar designed, south-facing house is a big plus.
>> How well should the house be insulated? I would suggest R30 or above
>> What is the number of heating degree days?(mean below 65 degrees F)
At night temps gets below 65 a good deal of the time. A well build house will retain heat so there is no need to turn a furnace on until it gets a lot colder than 65. I have friends who turn off their furnace from May to September.
Http://www.go-colorado.com/Denver/Weather/
>> What is the number of cooling degree days?(mean above 85 degrees F)
I was born in Colorado, and have never used air conditioning in a house. You get a few well places fans and there is no need for air conditioning. Again, dry heat.
>> Is solar energy an option?
Absolutely! With over 300 days that are at least party sunny, solar is an excellent option. Passive solar is one of the best options around. See the link to CRES last time I answered your question
>> Should I worry about water conservation?
Absolutely! Colorado is high desert. We have serious water shortage problems that are only partially being addressed. Consider xeriscaping your yard and use water wisely.
Ruth asks…
How much energy does Colorado use a year?
hello could you please tell me how many MW of energy Colorado uses a year? and also what percent of that is made up of solar and wind energy? What is the most common source of energy? Were there any solar and wind plants 10 years ago? If not, could you please tell me when they first arrived?
admin answers:
Http://www.statemaster.com/state/CO-colorado/ene-energy
http://www.colorado.edu/libraries/govpubs/energy.htm
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/states/energy_statistics.cfm/state=CO
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