The Beginning of All Things

Unbeknownst to a lot of people, solar energy actually is the source of numerous sustainable powers like radiation, waves and wind. Solar energy has many usage it can give us light, heat, promote cooling, it can be harnessed through technology to power many things like for machines cooking, distillation, hot water, and disinfection.

Technology and The Sun

As we all know heat produces unfathomable amounts of energy. This energy has to be aided by technology in order to be converted into something that is usable by mankind. There are two types of solar technology, the passive and or the active solar energy. A classification between the two depends on how the heat from the sun is harnessed and channeled into ordinary things powered by electricity.

Active Solar Technologies use solar (photovoltaic) panels, combined with solar thermal collectors, and then channeled thru mechanical or electrical equipment. Passive solar technology is merely a technique in order to capture the suns useful rays; for example a skylight.

Electricity From The Sun

We are all familiar with the term “solar panel”; solar panels convert the heat from the sun into actual electrical current with the use of what is called the photoelectric effect. Concentrated solar power produces insurmountable energy. In fact it was greatly utilized during the time of the Ancient Chinese Civilization.

To concentrate the power of the sun, a series of mirrors and lenses are used in order to focus the light in one area thereby producing a single beam. There are a lot of technological advances out there that concentrates solar energy in order to produce a concentrated amount of power they are: the solar power tower, the parabolic dish and the solar trough.

Dilemma, Solution, And Economics.

The primary concern of the use of solar energy as a sustainable power is that there is no sun during the night. Modern times require continuous supply that is why storing solar energy is a key component of solar technology. Thermal storage systems can store solar energy. Newer scientific discoveries also paved the way for thermal mass storage systems which vary storage capacity and function by storing more energy during off peak times and varying supply at peak consumption hours.

It usually takes a crisis for people to actually look at possibilities, and like with almost everything else solar energy began getting attention after the 1979 oil crisis and the 1973 oil embargo. In fact solar technology began its appearance in the 18 hundreds. IN the past solar energy as a sustainable power was a dream but cannot be realized due to expensive technology needed to use it.

Today, with the rising costs of electricity, the volatile oil prices, and its degenerating source have paved the way for solar energy once more. The consciousness environmental welfare has prompted companies to manufacture affordable solar technologies and sell it commercial. Indeed it is a fact that solar technology is expensive but it is only in the purchase of the machines needed in the long run if you calculate it, you are actually getting a bargain.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs are made to be very efficient; it uses 66% less energy than the conventional light bulbs. Just by changing from the incandescent to the CFLs could already reduce electrical consumption to 7%.

When compared to the regular light bulbs, CFLs give the same amount of luminescence for less power and while it has a higher purchase price than the incandescent, CFLs have longer lifespan (approximately 12 times than the incandescent light bulbs, about 11,000 hours), enough to save $US30 in electrical costs during the bulbs lifetime.

A US published article claimed that if a household changes 30 fixtures in their home, investing $90,  the money saved in the span of five years could be anywhere from $500 to $1,500 depending on the areas electrical costs. For commercial buildings and other bigger establishments, the savings are even greater. An average CFL at 75 watts could save $22 dollars in direct energy savings per year. If that is multiplied by the number of light bulbs in a building, and include the cost of labor that could be saved from changing light bulbs, the savings could rise exponentially. True, there is a capital investment of about $2 USD per fixture; however that could be recovered in a month from money saved.

Other manufacturers of CFLs also apply titanium dioxide coating. This is because titanium dioxide is claimed to neutralize bacteria, odors and molds. Still many manufacturers of CFLs apply a luminous coating to the bulb for the purpose of luminescence after the CFL is turned off. The idea behind is that a little light could still remain, even for a short while, in cases of power failure and accidents.

Because Carbon Fluorescent lamps do not emit as much heat as the incandescent light bulbs, there is also less work for air conditioners in cooling up the space.

Surely there must be a downside.

If this could be called a downside, CFLs behave differently from the ordinary incandescent bulbs. For one, it takes longer to attain its full brightness depending on the temperature. The colder the climate is, the longer it will take for the bulb to give off full brightness. CFL also gives off the brightest light during its first use and begins to dull gradually, giving off less light as it nears the end of its life; a CFLs is expected to reduce its brightness by 20% from its original brightness on first installation. But that is just about it.

Saving energy, in almost all conceivable phases of production, is in focus today. The fuel that is currently in use, as we are all aware, is non renewable. This is why even in the field of lighting, continuous research is being done to further reduce the coefficient of energy that has to be saved.

Solid state lighting, for example, is widely used in traffic lights; although for now, using this technology to be an energy saving method for domestic consumption is still being developed as the current cost is still high. For now, saving energy through the CFLs remains to spell a definite advantage compared with incandescent light bulbs.

The use of hydroelectric power or even hydroelectricity dates back to Ancient Greece and China when they installed waterwheels in rapidly flowing rivers to turn millstones and other equipment. Years later, this was used in the New World which is now known as North America to power saws and other equipment.

But the hydroelectric plants of today still use the same basic principles as the historical waterwheel with some variations. The difference is that we use the force of the power to push the turbine which in turn powers a generator thus generating electricity.

To make sure that there is a steady flow of power being produced, a dam has to be built to retain the water. If there is a need for more power, the gates of the dam are opened so water can be released. During non-peak, the gates are closed. To ensure there is water at all times, some dams have a recovery and pumping systems to the water released can be used again.

There are issues with the use of hydroelectricity. Some claim that it poses a problem for fish and aquatic plants on both sides of the dam. Because the flow of water has been altered, the nutrient rich silt which helps crops grow could be affected which is exactly what happened when the Aswan Dam was completed in Egypt.

But there are ways to fix that and the bigger picture is that power produced from hydroelectric plants do not generate any emissions or waste which happens to be much better than operating a coal-fired power plant.

There is another way to generate hydropower and you get this form the sea. This is also known as wave power or wave energy which uses changes in the air levels of sealed chambers to power turbines. When a wave rises into the chamber, the rise water pushes the air out which then turns a generator.

Once the wave goes down, air flows into the turbine and back into the chamber through doors that will close.

These chambers remain afloat on the ocean and how much power it produces varies. A lot of these are used on the western coasts of Scotland, northern Canada, southern Africa, Australia, and the northwestern coasts of the United States. These systems are usually small and can power a warning buoy or a small light house.

There is also tidal energy. The difference with wave energy is that when the tide approaches, the water is trapped in reservoirs behind dams. When the tide drops, the water behind the dam is released thus producing power similar to a hydroelectric power plant.

This can only work if you have tides that are at least 16 feet and since there are only a few places in the planet that can do that.

Lastly, you have ocean thermal energy. Here, you get power based on the different temperatures in the water. For this to work, you need at least 38 degrees Fahrenheit difference between the warmer surface water and the colder deep ocean water. Still in the trial stage, it is used Japan and Hawaii.

Hydropower is a green energy source. It is safe to use and what is even better is that it is renewable.

Water can power a car? If you think that’s impossible, well it is already here but this is not yet being made on a commercial scale.

The German automobile BMW has produced the world’s first ever hydrogen powered car. While only 100 of these units were produced, you can already imagine if more of these vehicles are on the road.

The initial model namely the BMW Hydrogen 7 uses the body of the 760i model. Once you pop the hood, you will notice that the engine is different since it uses gas and hydrogen.

This just means we have not yet totally abandoned are dependence on gas. Given more time and money, the current 4.7 miles per gallon it can travel using water alone could hit double digits in the future.

The biggest challenge to using water as a green energy source as opposed to oil in vehicles is the engine. While there are cars around like the Prius which runs on electricity and gas thanks to fuel cell technology, the hydrogen combustion is less than 10 years old so you could say we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

To prevent the water from evaporating, this has to be stored in a large, 30-gallon, bi-layered and highly insulated tank so this does not evaporate into compressed gas. Another safety mechanism is the valves which are designed to open should the pressure within the tank exceed 5 bars.

With the success of the BMW H7, the company came out with a new car that is also partly powered by water known as the H2R. While we cannot yet put our garden hose into the fuselage to fill it up, this vehicle uses liquid nitrogen as a fuel.

Tests on this vehicle have shown it can achieve 285hp and reach a top cruising speed of 185.5 miles per hour. It can also accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour under 6 seconds.

But why use water? It is because hydrogen combustion is clean so it does not emit harmful gases into the atmosphere unlike cars that run on petrol or diesel that emit carbon monoxide. Studies have shown that it also weighs less than hydrocarbon-based fuels and burns faster than conventional gasoline.

So when can you expect to buy a car that uses water as a green energy source? Hopefully in the next 10 to 20 years. It is really up to the automakers because all we can do is wait until a better and clear car hits the dealership.

Right now, the best option we have are electric cars. Since its introduction in 1999, more people are using it because they don’t want to spend anymore for gasoline that could hit an all time high of more than $110 per barrel.

If water as a green energy source can be used to power a car, why don’t we do the same for solar power which has been around much longer?