Alternative Home Energy: Types of Alternative Home Energy
Posted: Tuesday, February 23, 2010
by Lynda Lacroix
Clean Team Detailers
The amount of our home energy consumption and how to provide that energy is one of the main problems civilizations have today. We all need electricity to power our lives for one reason or another. Our civilization and our way of life are powered by electricity. Most people complain about the price they pay for the amount of electricity they consume but there are ways to reduce the amount we use on a daily basis. We can reduce the amount of our energy needs, learn how to generate some of the energy we need for our own personal use, and use alternative energy sources to reduce our cost and save our environment.
Alternative home energy has been on a roll since the concept was first envisioned. People may think that alternative energy is just a recent development but alternative energy has been around since before electricity was developed.
Consider these types of alternative home energy:
1) Wind power Windmills are used in homes to run small generators. Generators produce electricity stored in a battery bank to be used in running small home appliances. Windmills have been around for a long time and used to be used to run pumps to bring water up to stock or possibly the main house.
The term "windmill" means it was used as a mill to grind corn or wheat for bread. Its' main priority was for a purpose other than producing electricity. Grinding grain by hand is very hard work. Windmills were used to turn the large grinders in order to make life more convenient and the production of flour more efficient.
It was inevitable that the windmill would evolve into one of the 21st centuries primary alternative energy resources with large fields or arrays being used as a power source to provide electricity.
2) Solar power Solar power has been around for a long, long time. People tend to think solar power as an alternative home energy is something that is available because of the advancement of technology. Recent technology is making more affordable and more readily available but we have been using the power of the sun in many ways for quite awhile.
We have been using solar energy to dry our clothes ever since man started wearing them whether they were hung over a bush, laid out on rocks or hung up on a clothesline. You can save money and energy by going back to basics and using a clothesline if available on days where you have plenty of sunshine or you can put in solar panels to help meet the energy need for when you need to use that clothes dryer.
This alternative home energy is harnessed nowadays for a variety of tasks. Some use it to heat their homes, others use solar power to heat water, and other people use solar cells to power small appliances and save a little on that electricity bill. The efficiency by which we are now able to convert solar power into electricity is of such a degree that it is very possible to power a whole house! Now, isn't that amazing?
3) Hydropower Water currents are harnessed to turn turbines in order to run generators. This is not new technology, but one that is only used in a limited capacity. Waterwheels were often used in mills to harness the power of a nearby river turning large gears attached to large grindstones in order to grind grain into flour.
4) Biogas This is an alternative home energy source that many have not heard of or may just be unfamiliar with the details. Biogas is produced naturally via the decomposition of different biological material contained within an enclosed composting tank. By using biogas instead of LPG, home owners may be able to cut back on heating bills.
Explore the different types of alternative home energy and you will be able to discover which type of alternative energy that fits your needs. Do your homework and know your needs in order to determine what type and how large a system you need to install.
Some of the methods for harnessing different alternative home energy may not seem practical to the common homeowner. As technology continues to evolve, you can rest assured the use of alternative energy will be more efficient, affordable, and practical.
You accomplish two things by using alternative home energy:
1) You save on your energy cost; and
2) You help create a better world by using clean renewable energy instead of using energy generated by combustion of fossil fuels.
Alternative home energy sources do not release any harmful toxins into the environment. By using alternative energy sources, you are harnessing relatively free renewable energy. The devices used to harness these sources may be a little expensive, but how do you put a price tag of the future of our planet the future of your children.
Now is the time to make a decision and choose to follow a different path. Follow the path to a cleaner long term solution instead of just looking at the here and now. There are consequences for everything we do. Make the choice to go back to basics by choosing an alternative energy source to help meet your needs. Going green is a wise choice.
Lynda M. Lacroix is an accomplished writer with over 40 years working in areas of homesteading, animal husbandry, and conservation. She is an avid homesteader and conservationist as well as a Wildlife Biologist. It is her belief that we live in a time that neighbor must look after neighbor. No longer can each person go through the day thinking of themselves first. People must think about the consequences of their actions. By going back to basics and becoming more self-sufficient, using alternative energy sources, and eating organic grown foods, we can help ourselves and the planet. For more information please visit: http://greenenergyfromhome.com/review.htm
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