Renewable Energy Sources
Renewable Energy uses energy resources and technologies that are “clean” or
“green” because they produce few if any pollutants. Many people use the terms
“Alternative Energy”, “Renewable Energy” and even “Green Energy” together in the
same sentence when taking about energy sources as though they all mean the same
thing, but they are not the same. Each term means something different when
talking about energy systems. So what does renewable energy mean.
Some say that alternative energy comprises everything that is not based on fossil fuel
consumption. While these may be alternative energy sources compared to
conventional fossil fuels, alternative energy in its broadest sense, is any type of energy
that replaces another, so we can correctly say that coal energy is an alternative energy
source compared to crude oil or natural gas but as we now know, coal is a fossil fuel
and burning it is bad for the environment. Even nuclear energy was once considered
to be an “alternative” to conventional fossil fuels, and was thus called an alternative
energy source.
Renewable Energy on the other hand uses renewable energy sources that are
continually replenished by Mother nature producing a usable energy that can not be
used up faster that it is consumed. These energy sources created mainly by the Sun
shinning on the Earth are converted into different forms, such as: solar radiation to
wind or water based energy which is distributed over the Earth and atmosphere, the
Earth’s geothermal heat, and plants in the form of biomass. Renewable energy
technologies turn these fuels into usable forms of energy, most often electricity, but
also heat, chemicals, or mechanical power. So what are renewable resources.
Solar Energy
This is the original renewable energy source as the sun gives us heat and light. There
are two types of solar energy: “Passive” and “Active”. The first simply involves making
use of the position, intensity and duration of the suns rays throughout the day to best
advantage, using it to heat our homes or induce an air flow by convection from one
room to another, without the use of extra technology beyond what is needed to store
the energy.
The second type involves using mechanical and electrical technology such as
photovoltaic solar panels or solar thermal panels to capture, convert and store the
suns energy either in batteries or hot water tanks for later use. Active solar hot water
systems use pumps to move the heated water around. There are many types of solar
power and renewable energy systems available for harnessing the suns power in the
home.
