Biomass Fuel To Heat House And Industry
July 30, 2009 by Go Green Tips · Leave a Comment
The sort form and supply of energy today should not be supposed or taken for granted. The types and forms of energy we use have implications on our economic condition and the natural world. For the last century the use of fossil fuels has grown and developed. For over a century and still today the use of coal as a constant heating source and transportation fuel has been major. Since the 1930?s to today there is a much larger use of liquid and gaseous fossil fuels. Liquid and gas fuels generate much less maintenance and burn more proficiently drastically reducing issues such as smog, which was a big crisis in the inner cities. The use of these fuels nonetheless due to their effects of contributing unsafe levels of CO2 into the natural world has now got to change. The questions are what fuels and energy sources can replace fossil fuels to meet our ever-increasing energy demands. The most significant point of view that is still shared by many that needs to change is that there is one answer. Some look to wind, some look to solar, wave, geothermal etc etc. The point is none of these forms of energy individually can meet our energy demands; the answer is therefore a parcel of these and other technologies. The answer is to choose the energy source based on the locations resources and power needs. Biomass is another form of a low carbon renewable power source, which can be used in an power package for both heating and electricity. Biomass is made up of woods and grasses, straws and other grown and left behind plant matter. So biomass is quite a general term, and it can also be processed into solid fuels and liquid fuels.
Learn more about Pellets
The presently most common use of biomass as a heating fuel is by way of wood pellets. Most wood pellet are made from pine and spruce residues, the bark is separated as this can add to the ash content of the pellets. Wood pellets are becoming well known as a cheap, economical and practically way to bring clean green technology into the residence.
Read more about Wood Pellet
Wood pellets are made by a pellet mill. Pellet mills are shaped in various different shapes and sizes to meet the altering demands of the pellet market. The pellet mill compresses the wood into pellets and then the rest of the development cools and bags the pellets ready for sale. Wood pellets can also be sold in bulk, which can be much cheaper and removes the need for plastic bags. On delivery the bulk delivery can be loaded into a silo which can be a manual or automatic store of pellets.
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The Margin Between The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Solar Power Is Narrowing At An Alarming Rate.
July 29, 2009 by Go Green Tips · Leave a Comment
The gap between the advantages and disadvantages of solar power is getting smaller at an alarming rate.
By far, the main disadvantages is the startup cost of the equipment. Solar energy technology is still a costly alternative to the use of readily available fossil fuel technologies, but that margin is getting smaller every month. Now that the price of materials to build your own panels have decreased, the idea of running your own house on solar, or even wind power, is more practical then ever before.
Even though the cost of building your own solar panels is reasonable, disadvantage #2 would be the batteries required for storing the energy produced for when the sun goes down or on those cloudy days. In years past, there have been 2 points of concern when it comes to the batteries. Problem being that batteries can cost even more then the panels in some cases. Now with recycling efforts and a global push to ‘go green’ – batteries don’t cost nearly as much as they did if you know where to look. There are even locations that offer free batteries. The other downside is the chemicals that they possess. Both lead and sulphuric acid are toxic to the soil, water and air, and is highly toxic to marine life. Again, recycling efforts have been able to recover 98% of lead that would have gone into landfills. By the same token, proper maintenance of batteries can triple there life expectancy. So if you look at it that way, it turns out to be less of a disadvantage and more of an advantage – relatively speaking.
The third thing to consider before investing in a self sufficient solar power system is the location or efficiency factors. Regions like Southern California, Florida , and Hawaii would be an a perfect spot to start such an endeavor. Heck, even places in Alaska could run solar energy 24 hours a day, but only for half of the year, if you keep the snow cleared off of the array. Simply put, Problem is that most locations are seasonal. Places like Phoenix can count on 5 ½ hours of direct, usable sunlight a day most of the year while tornado alley may only get 2 – 4 a day depending on the time of the year.
Another barrier in regards to location is the fact that it is going to take up a lot of space if you are going to see any major differences in your energy bill. You could do just fine with one panel to light a shed. Three if you want to light a room or hot water heater. More if you are wanting to store it and use it at night via batteries. There are so many variables as to what your power requirements would be, but don’t be surprised if you find your self needing a dozen or more.
So what does this all mean? Yes, transitioning over to your own personal power company is a big step. It is a major investment. The flip side of the coin though is that we are thinking long term here. In general you will cut even in 3 – 4 years time and after that it’s all profit. Even better is that if you remain connected to the utility company, and you produce more electricity then you use up, they will be sending you a check. The value of the home goes up, It raises the resell value of a home, [spin] and just in January of 2009, congress passed the new Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 which lets the government pay for up to 30% of the installed system. Plus, as a bonus, additional tax breaks year after year.
Do it yourself solar power is making a comeback because in the past it was just to far out of reach. But now with the lower costs and additional cash back incentives folks are beginning to see that the advantages of solar power have out weighed the disadvantages.
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Making Energy From Renewable Forms Then Using It Resourcefully
July 25, 2009 by Go Green Tips · Leave a Comment
There are a mixture of forms of alternative fuel. The most common and well-known forms of renewable energy are wind and solar. However biomass needs to play a more significant role as a widespread energy resource. Biomass is a generalisation of many different sources of fuel. All biomass energy is grown energy, this includes all plant mater and processed organic mater, which can be used as a energy source. This can therefore include a number of sources of purpose grown energy, and also a lot of waste. For example from the wood industry a lot of sawdust is manufactured, this sawdust can be processed into wood pellets to be used as a low cost, low maintenance home heating fuel. Other wood species, which grow at an accelerated rate, can also be used for fuel pellets and other energy conversion technologies. Willow or short rotation coppices are forms of fast developing woody biomass, which is perfect for this purpose. Hemp is another biomass energy source, which grows at an accelerated speed; it can be used for numerous different purpose including bio-diesel, textiles, paper, food and plastics. After hemp processing there is also waste dust and fibres, this waste can then be utilized for pellet fuel manufacture. Most of waste today still goes into landfill, and much of this could used to manufacture new products and energy. Our ideas of what is and isn?t waste need to change as resources become more prized. To extract fuel from biomass, usually means burning, and many people still believe that is just as bad as burning fossil fuels. The key differentiation during biomass incineration the carbon released was from the atmosphere and fossil fuel combustion the carbon was from deep underground. Therefore biomass incineration does not increase the levels of carbon within the atmosphere.
Learn more about Biomass Renewable Pellets
Wood pellets as mentioned above are one form of biomass fuel. All types of wood can be processed into energy pellets, however the grade of the wood and its bark content will affect its fuel rating. For example wood with bark and some wood species in general create more ash, and consequently has a lower price as a energy pellet.
Read more about Wood Pellet Mills
Pellet Mills are used to compact the wood into pellets. Usually wood pellet production has been seem to be only a large-scale business process, however it is possible to make pellets on small-scale equipment. Making pellets however can be complicated process and certain factors have to manage to produce a quality pellet. These factors include the moisture content of the raw matter and the temperature of the procedure to name but a few. An accurate descriptions is to compare pellet production to cooking. To learn more about the procedure please click the pellet mill link below.
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