Posted by C. Greene on November 26, 2008 at 11:02 am
The nice thing about making your life a little greener is you can start just about anywhere, from huge changes to tiny ones:
For instance, if you want a greener career, here are a couple of books to give you a boost:
Or maybe you want to know where to invest your money for the best for both you and the planet. Then one of these books might be for you:
Maybe you have a house and want to make it greener. Here are some books to guide you:
Don’t have a house and want to build one? There are some great books to show you how:
Maybe you just want to clean your house for the holidays without adding anything toxic to the family circle. Here are some books to explain how to green clean your home:
Don’t want to read a book? Then just add one of these to your cleaning supplies:
Keep checking back here for tips on how to make 2009 a little greener for you and your family!
One essential part of any wind project’s development is the wind power feasibility study. This study undertakes a thorough analysis of a variety of factors to determine how viable a wind project will be and how much power can be produced. A feasibility study is used to keep the various stakeholders on the same page about a project in the early development stage of a wind project. Further, should a project be deemed unviable, the feasibility study will have saved stakeholders a great deal of time and money. The feasibility study, therefore, serves as a keystone for the wind energy development project.
To get an accurate read on a wind project’s potential, the feasibility study must first include analysis of wind speeds and air density. Wind power output is a cubic function of wind speed and air density, so gaining these data for an area is crucial to understanding the area’s wind power potential. A feasibility study must also carefully consider transmission and interconnection availability. Dearth of transmission lines for new energy projects is one of the wind industry’s biggest setbacks. For a wind project to be successful, the study must show that a wind project has good chances of being connected to the grid and being able to transmit power to areas of high need such as metropolitan centers.
In addition to gaining an idea of transmission and interconnection possibilities, getting a feel for land control possibilities is another central facet of any feasibility study. For any registered plot of land, the owner holds one set of wind rights. He/she cannot agree to put a turbine from one company on one part of this land and another turbine from another company on another part. If land has already been tied up by another wind developer, a new wind project will likely need to refocus its development area on a different location or meet its end. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by C. Greene on November 23, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Wind power has long been a source of renewable energy, as evidenced by the many windmills of centuries past. The flow of air is used to run wind turbines, some of which can produce up to 5 megawatts of power. The most common wind turbines for renewable energy used commercially produce between 1.5 and 3 megawatts. The renewable energy that a wind turbine gives off is derived by the cube of the speed of the wind. As the speed of the wind increases the power that the turbine puts out increases almost exponentially. In places where wind is strong and nearly continual such as at high altitudes and offshore are the best places to locate wind farms.
Wind is the fastest growing source of power through any of the renewable energy resources and technologies. In the past ten years, the maximum capacity of wind power installed the world over went from a 1992 high of 2500 megawatts to a high of 40,000 in 2003 and continued to grow each year after that by another 30 percent.
This shows no signs of abating. Due to wind being an intermittent energy resource most wind turbines in the European Union only produce an average of one fourth of the power they are actually capable of. Under favourable wind conditions, however, some reach 35 percent or more. In winter the EU realizes a higher load factor. What this means is that wind as a renewable energy in Europe typically has a capacity for 5 megawatts maximum per turbine but regularly produces 1.7 megawatts.
The long term potential for wind as a reliable renewable energy resource throughout the global is probably about five times what it currently produces and forty times what is currently demanded of it. Large pieces of land that are not now being used for wind turbines could easily do so, especially in high wind areas. The offshore areas, where wind is nearly twice as fast and dependable as that of inshore land masses could be increased substantially as renewable wind energy sources.
The strength of the wind near the surface of the earth varies considerably and scientists cannot assure that the earth would have continuous renewable wind energy there unless it was combined with other sources of energy or stored in some way. Some suggest that 1000 megawatts of the capacity for conventional wind gathering could be counted on to produce 333 megawatts of power that is continuous.
This could change as our technology evolves, but most experts suggest using wind in the context of a renewable energy system that has an expansive capacity for reserving the energy. Examples of these would be hydro power, desalination plants, reserve loads and the mitigation of the economic impact of variability of resources.
Not only is wind power a renewable energy, but like other renewable energies it gives off no harmful greenhouse gases while being operated – no methane, no carbon dioxide. The one negative of wind power is that bats and birds get caught up in the turbines and get killed. Wind turbines should, therefore, be built where this impact would be least felt.
Posted by C. Greene on November 10, 2008 at 7:28 am
A generation ago, a small band of appropriate technology enthusiasts bought and retrofitted an old Victorian in the Berkeley Flats area of Berkeley, California. Featuring a bottle wall to take advantage of passive solar energy, a composting toilet, and carefully designed systems which used each ‘waste’ product as a nutrient for another food source, the house was capable of producing all the food and energy needs for a family of four. This book explains all the systems in full, and although the house has long since returned to the ranks of the ordinary, costly and pollution producing family home the book (now also long out of print) is still one of the best guides for those looking for a better, healthier and cheaper way of life.
Posted by C. Greene on November 7, 2008 at 3:48 pm
The solar panels most familiar to most people are made up of arrays of commercial solar cells or wafers formed of a thin layer of a material such as cadmium telluride or amorphous silicon sprayed or electroplated onto a base such as glass or ceramics. This is the technology most commercial solar kits use. These kinds of solar cells are relatively expensive and not terribly efficient, but that may be changing: Israeli scientists at the University of Tel Aviv claim to have discovered a new method of creating solar cells that will result in costs of less than 1/100th what they have been. According to an article in the EE Times Europe,
The reactive element in the researchers’ patent pending device is genetically engineered proteins using photosynthesis for production of electrical energy.
The scientists applied genetic engineering and nanotechnology for the construction of a hybrid nano — bio, solid state device. According to the researchers, although using photosynthesis for photovoltaic application is not new, their specific technique is the first to enable the production of useful photosynthesis-based photovoltaic cells.
. . .
The researchers suggest existing silicon based photovoltaic cells offer low average energy conversion efficiency of 12-14 percent, while their system is capable of efficiencies of about 25 percent. They based their photovoltaic device on genetically engineered dry proteins photosystem I (PS I), encapsulated in solid state substrate bottom metal and a top transparent electrode.
Another method of lowering the cost and increasing the output of solar cells is to use a fresnel lens as a solar concentrator. Here is a video showing a cheap and efficient homemade fresnel lens concentrator: Solar Breakthrough
A small (2′ x 1′) sheet of copper flashing (available at your local hardware store)
An electric stove (a propane torch may also be used)
A large clear plastic bottle
Table salt
Tap water
Sandpaper (or steel wool)
Sheet metal shears (also called “tin snips”)
Two alligator clip leads
A micro-ammeter (available from Radio Shack or other electronics store)
Instructions: How to build a solar cell
Cut the piece of copper sheeting, so that it fits the stove burner. Clean it first, so that there is no corrosion or other materials. Use the sandpaper.
Heat the copper sheeting until it is red hot. This will create two kinds of copper oxide: cuprous oxide is the one you are interested in. It will be red or tinges of orange or pink. This will be found underneath the black cupric oxide (which is no use to us). These copper oxides will begin to form after only a few minutes, but let the copper ‘fry’ for up to half an hour, forming a fairly thick coat of cupric oxide.
Turn off the stove and let the copper flashing cool slowly. The copper will shrink as it cools, and some or most of the black cupric oxide will actually pop off. Remove the copper from the stove element, once it has cooled (after about 20 minutes).
Lightly clean or rub the copper flashing with the sandpaper, under running tap water if you wish. Remove the cupric oxide but be sure to not remove much of the cuprous oxide.
Cut another piece of copper about the same size as the first. Bend both pieces of copper and set them inside the jar or bottle, making sure they are not touching. Connect the two plates to the ammeter. Connect the plate with cuprous oxide to the negative terminal and the clean plate to the positive terminal. You now have a solar cell, with a charge being read on the micro-ammeter.
Posted by C. Greene on November 4, 2008 at 6:32 pm
You’ve probably heard that solar panels cost a lot of money. Bought ready-made and installed by professionals, that can be true. But there is another option– build and install them yourself!
There are a couple of ways to build your own solar panels. First, you can buy solar panel kits. These are designed so that they can be built by anyone who is moderately handy. Or you can build your own solar panels from scratch. These require better skills– and probably a good guide or handbook to help.
Kits provide the photovoltaic cells, wiring, assembly hardware and the mounting devices. If you’ve ever put together an electronic project this shouldn’t be beyond your powers.
Cheaper, but more difficult and time-consuming is to build your solar cells from scratch and link them together into larger panels. For this you need raw copper sheeting, (available at most hardware stores), and a heat source. The copper is heated for about a half hour– long enough to oxidize the surface of the copper sheet.
After the copper panel has cooled, it is combined with a non-oxidized copper panel of the same size, placed in a salt water solution and encased in a shatterproof glass panel. With the wiring and mounting components, this produces a low-voltage panel. You will need a number of them in an array in order to produce enough electricity to run household appliances.
Building your solar panels from scratch is fairly cheap, but is quite a bit of work. A good solution might be to buy a solar kit in order to get familiar with the components. When you are comfortable that you know how it all works and how the components fit together, try building your solar panel from scratch. Don’t forget to check your local building codes first– or to find out if your new installation qualifies for any tax incentives.
Wind power has long been a source of renewable energy, as evidenced by the many windmills of centuries past. The flow of air is used to run wind turbines, some of which can produce up to 5 megawatts of power. The most common wind turbines for renewable energy used commercially produce between 1.5 and 3 megawatts. The renewable energy that a wind turbine gives off is derived by the cube of the speed of the wind. As the speed of the wind increases the power that the turbine puts out increases almost exponentially. In places where wind is strong and nearly continual such as at high altitudes and offshore are the best places to locate wind farms.
