In recent years the business place has changed almost beyond recognition.

Many economic changes have taken place but, retrofitting business solutions to the problems created by fast -moving technology is not always simple and, quite often, sound planning isn’t possible due to the current speed of technological advances. Even relatively simple businesses such as plumbers, architects, accountants and web design agencies find it difficult to keep up with the pace of change.

Simply put: Technology has surged beyond our wildest dreams.

Years ago windmills of wood and metal powered the well to bring up enough water for the cattle, Saturday night radio programs, and occasionally the family had electric light, if they had an electric lamp.

Now, a wind powered generator standing two hundred feet above the surface of the earth pulls enough to power an entire community.

Four of them provide power for our town. More wind generators are being positioned south of town, on the hill.

Enough wind generators to keep us cool all winter long – I’m afraid – if the wind blows from the south. Stulp farms, home of John Stulp, former Prowers County Commissioner is placing 50 of the gigantic towers on his place, just south of the Lamar city limits.

They will be visible from Spreading Antler Golf Course, from Lamar Community College, and various other land marks across southeastern Colorado.Located on the highway between Springfield and Lamar, Colorado, Emick Ranch is home to a hundred of the towering wind absorbing giants.

The prairies have long been renowned as a great place for raising rattlesnakes, cattle, wheat, and sagebrush, now our fame is growing, over two hundred feet tall to include Wind Powered General Electric Generators. I love it. The new wave of the nation, cartwheeling three armed giants facing the sunset, whipping the prairies dry, and capturing the energy long been lost as the winds blow across Colorado.Turbines the size of a semi-truck sit atop the towers, spinning blades the length of four cars, and collecting energy. If you ever get a chance to see the new giants of the prairie – you won’t be disappointed.

Nowadays global warming and the scarcity of fossil fuels are rarely out of the media Some people carry on hoping that government will come up with some sort of solution, others don’t really care and then a few people are wondering, “how can I help reduce global warming?”

Well, solar and wind power solutions can not only save you a great deal of money on your energy bills but can also help in the effort to save the environment.

With the way the energy crisis is growing, soon the fossil fuels that we rely on will be gone or so overpriced, that very few people will be able to afford it. Researchers have been creating new and innovating ways to create energy out of the natural resources that Mother Nature provides.

Even though the wind has been a source of power for hundreds of years, it is not until recent decades that it was considered on a large scale. There are many different types of natural resources that researchers have found promising, however, wind power is the most promising and least expensive renewable power source.

In places where winters and summers are extreme in nature, heating and air conditioning systems need to be of very good quality and must be maintained carefully. Ignoring the maintenance part will only lead to decreased efficiency of the aircon and the heating unit. To make lives comfortable in chilling days of winters and warm sweltering weather during summer one should have sufficient and adequate preparations to cope with the frostbites and heat strokes.

A lot of people do not service their aircon at all. These are the group of people who spend more money repairing it or purchasing new aircon units. If you maintain and service your aircon once every 3 months, not only can you save money on your electrical bills but you can surely prolong the lifespan of your aircon. You would have also noticed that a large number of us would switch on the air conditioner while sleeping at night, it is extremely important that we breathe in fresh and healthy air at all times so that our bodies would not be harmed. When the air conditioner unit is choked up by layers of dirt and fungus, it would not function as well as before; you may even experience water leaking from your units and other problems. Adding onto that, it would cause your air conditioner unit to work even harder to produce the cool air; this would then directly increase the amount of your electrical bill monthly.

Your care towards system is important, if you have maintenance in a regular interval of time your unit will lasts to the long period of reliability. Only an expert servicing agency should be allowed to handle such comolicated devices. To choose a right company for preventive maintenance and repair counts a lot for the unit’s life.

If you go on not servicing your aircon thinking that you will save money, you’re committing a terrible mistake. In the end, you will end up paying massive amounts in either getting it repaired or buying a new one. You do not need to spend sum of money maintaining your air conditioner units at home or office, normal servicing is required only every three to four months, if you continue to deteriorate the problem then you would have to pay more money to service your air conditioner problems.You can go for a servicing company like Aircon Scotland who are one of the largest ac repair companies in Edinburgh. Problems with machines are mostly unforseen so you always need an expert maintenance technician on hand who provide services throughout the day and night

One of the best way you can reduce your electric bill is to use solar water heaters. This is the reason why there are a lot of people who would want to utilize solar energy in order to lessen the amount which they have to pay on their electric bill. And solar energy is a good source of energy to utilize because it is a clean source of energy. You will help preserve the environment if you can use clean sources of energy because it will minimize the environmental impact. So you may want to consider having a solar power heater in case you don’t have any installed. In this article, we will be reading some of the information which will help you in solar water heaters.

First, you have two major types of solar water heaters and they are the active and the passive types. The active type as the name implies uses a pump to move the water through the tanks. It is more expensive to set-up since you need two tanks and a pump for circulation. Your passive system will only require on natural forces such as solar energy and gravity in order to circulate your water in your house.

Second, solar water heaters can be used in conjunction with a regular water heater. This is usually done for homes in areas where sunlight is not available all year round. They can switch to solar water heaters during days when the sun shines enough to be able to produce hot water. In case there is not sufficient sunlight, you need to use your regular water heater.

Third, solar water heaters do cost substantially at first when you install it. The purchase of materials and equipments plus the installation is going to cost you but then you will get the return of your investment through the years. It is important that you consult with a professional when installing your solar panels to ensure that you will be able to get the most energy out of it daily. It is important that you consult with the professionals who know all about these things if you want to be able to install your solar water heater properly.

There you have some important information when it comes to solar water heaters. It is important that you determine if you can really install a solar water heater at home in case you would want one. It is also recommended that you seek help from professionals.

Call us for expert advice on solar panels for your home at our solar installation San Diego company. We have installed many solar installations for many satisified clients of our San Diego solar panels company.

Over the past several years we have all become painfully aware that CO2 emissions from fossil fuels likely play a significant role in worldwide climate change. Our insatiable demand for energy is driving prices up and generating more CO2 than ever.

How Much We Use

Today, the world uses about 12 Terawatts per year for all uses. That is 12,000,000,000,000 Watts. In a separate article I reviewed these sources of use which break down as:

Built Environment = 52% (40% for operations and 12% for materials)Industry = 24%
Other Transport = 15%
Passenger cars = 9%

Energy from Many Sources

There has been a lot of conversation about renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and others. One would think we are now generating 30% of our overall needs from these sources. Unfortunately, that is not the case. If we break down the sources of energy worldwide we get:

Oil = 35%
Coal = 27%
Natural Gas = 20%
Hydro = 6%
Biomass = 6%
Nuclear = 5%
GeoThermal = under 1%
Wind, PV, SolarThermal = under 1%

The largest energy sources are Oil, Coal and Natural Gas. All fossil fuels which generate significant CO2 emissions. And the cost of all of these fuels has doubled in from 2007 to 2008.

Future Energy Demand

Our demand for energy is increasing worldwide, at an ever increasing rate. With the planet getting warmer we are actually consuming a lot more energy trying to keep cool with technology such as adaptive air conditioning systems Given the current rate of increase, several estimates put worldwide demand at 30 Terawatts within 30 years, an increase of 18 terawatts, more than double today’s requirements. So we need move to renewable sources which don’t generate CO2 when burned. Solar, biofuels, nuclear. Sounds like a plan! Or is there trouble in paradise?

Let’s consider each one.

Nuclear

Nuclear power generation does not emit CO2, or much of anything else. The heat from a controlled nuclear reaction boils water into steam that spins a turbine. 3 new plants are planned and beginning the license process in the US. And possibly as many as 8 worldwide this year (requesting licenses). Let’s go out on a limb and hope that somehow that figure grows to 45 new licenses this year, and 45 more every year for the next 30. And they each take no more than 10 years to build. And what is the result of in 30 years? 1 Terawatt. Not the 30 total we need, or the 18 additional Terawatts in growth. Just 1 lousy Terawatt.

Puts it all in perspective.

BioFuels

This technology is controversial since it takes real energy to grow and harvest crops. The full analysis of many of the biofuel processes we have suggests that some (such as corn ethanol) use more energy to make and distribute than we get back out. But that argument aside, let’s pretend for the moment that we get 100% efficiency and there is no energy required to grow and process the crops. So we will take every acre of plantable land on earth and plant the most efficient crops we know of to generate biofuels.

That should do it. Well, not really. That is only about 3 Terawatts.

But we are on a roll, so let’s continue.

Solar Cells

Photovoltaic technology has come a long way in the last few decades. Efficiencies have improved and costs have come down. And more plants are being built to supply more solar. A good size solar plant today can manufacture enough solar cell’s to generate 1 gigawatt annually. Of course it would take 1000 plant-years to get to 1 Terawatt. And a lot of silicon (or other substrate). If we can make 20,000 square miles worth of cells and place them in sunny areas on earth, it will take all of the output of the current and planned plants for the next 25-30 years. And how much power is that? About 2 Terawatts, if all goes right.

Of course, only during the day, but that is another issue.

Add It All Up

Adding up the largest sources at levels that we likely cannot attain, we still only end up with 6 Terawatts out of the 30 Terawatts total required to meet our needs. Add in wind, solar,thermal, wave energy etc. and there is maybe another Terawatt. So basically, while these are all excellent businesses and fine technologies that must be pursued, we cannot count on renewable energy sources alone to get us to the promised land.

Conservation

The only hope we have of addressing CO2 and climate change is conservation. Since renewables can only deliver some 6 to 9 Terawatts total, we have to deal with as much of the 21+ Terawatts in other ways. As discussed earlier, the built environment is responsible for 52% of worldwide CO2. In order to address the built environment, we need to address the materials (such as new cement, drywall, metal processes) as well as building operations (primarily heating and cooling). Companies like CalStar and Serious Materials are re-inventing the old processes, reducing embodied energy by 75% or more.We all can address operations, at least at home.

Easiest targets are sealing ductwork, installing programmable thermostats, insulating homes that aren’t, and choosing high R value windows (at least R6 and preferable higher). Up to 50% of heat loss occurs through windows which are closed. Upgrading to dual pane low E windows is only gets to an R3. New technology is becoming available (such as ThermaProof Windows) which can provide R values above R10. A 300% improvement and a significant savings in heating and cooling bills.

The Result

If we begin addressing out built environment, we can easily reduce the energy required by 75% over today’s inefficient buildings and materials. The result would be a 12 terawatt savings in 30 years. And it is the least expensive 12 terawatts available, much less expensive than more coal power plants, which is the alternative.So what will you do? Save the environment and your energy bill too.

Make the right choice and act now.

-What other technical reason besides money making exist for the SABS praxis to only test “Systems” and not components?

It is not international praxis. It gives not the Efficiency and heat loss of the collector for international comparing.

The Q- factor only shows the performance under certain circumstances but gives no possibility to valued a system of the performance in practice and compare it with other collectors (pipe length, installation angle, installation direction, system heat loss).

It is as good as to ask a plumber to register every house installation again as soon as there is an other make taps or shower heads or geyser in this installation and he have to pay $4000 every time.

-Why is the testing report valid only for one year when no technical changes are made? Please keep in mind, a test cost about R40000 and after a year you have to register with mark approval- R60000. Lots of mark approval systems are on the weaker side of the marked (have a look at the rebates some of them get).

-Why are internationally recognized test results only applicable for commercial installation but not for domestic users.

The only “harsher” circumstance in SA than in other countries is the higher radiation. This higher radiation is not brought into consideration for most registered systems (recommended collector sizes are identical with international recommended sizes. This lead to some danger configurations especially by registered EVT systems-without any concern from SABS side.

-How can it be that registered companies recommend and install systems with a capacity

up to 150l per person and get a rebate. This is a waste of money of the client . On the other hand it is not energy efficient at all! Water saving showerheads are much more efficient and cheaper.

-Why is parallel installation applicable as it is much less efficient and energy wasting configuration?

-Why are there no minimum requirements for installation angle and -direction?

The systems are tested at latitude plus 10. If these systems are installed at 23 degrees in Cape Town (latitude-10), and most systems are, the thermal output in winter will be only about 80% of the tested results and will be an additional, none usable surplus in summer. For what is the rebate? What for the systems are tested?

-You even can find installations in south direction and/ or under latitude –10!

Kwikot even recommend   “The solar vacuum tubes should be installed on a roof pitch greater than 8°and less than 30°” on there web site! This is a very danger installation and should be not allow if the heat output of a system in the summer months (30Mj + per m2 per d radiation) is higher than the normal demand of the system ( most of the installed systems). The power output of a latitude plus 10 installed system in summer is about 130% of the winter output (16Mj +  per m2 per d radiation). On the other hand, the power output of latitude minus 10-installed system in summer is about 200% of the winter output. That means 50% of the rebate for such systems are paid to warm up the environment and not to save energy.

-Why are low-pressure EVT- systems allow for low cost housing under SA

Circumstances? It is very dangers! Only flat plate systems with safety components should be aloud!

-Why are freeze protection valves allow if they not working properly?

-Why become rebate applicable for oversized systems? If system produce enough KWh

by 16Mj radiation it will produce un-useable surplus at 30Mj. Why can I register such systems without any heat dump facility? (esp. Tubes)

– How is it possible to register systems without tempering valve in houses where there is not even mixing taps. Are the SABS experts not aware of what happening if somebody open a tap and 90deg or hotter water comes out?

-The age of a retrofit geyser might be not an issue anymore (???), but a 2 year old solar geyser  from the same company (Kwikot) can not receive a rebate for a retrofit geyser system – why?

– Why are not retrofitted systems on gravity geysers allow? We installed a

lot of them (pumped and thermosyphonic) and they working very well. We can install them from R6500 (without any rebate!) and a lot of people can effort this, but not R12000 ore more

-How on earth can SA install 1mio systems (about 17 installations per week per registered Company) until 2013 if we stand after 3 years on 55000 (about 1 installation per week per registered Company)?

May be by involving more interested installers? As far as I know is the majority of the SWH installations still done by installers out-side the Eskom Rebate Program.

If the rebates disappear today, most of the so-called bigger role-players will disappear with it.

It can be hard to believe how much it costs to heat and light your home until you really start paying attention to how much your energy costs run to. If you count everything from keeping your house at a comfortable temperature to keeping your car fueled up, you can quickly come to the conclusion that your energy costs basically eat up most of your paycheck. However, there are all kinds of ways you can make a dent in that bill though and, best of all,  they’re not really difficult to implement. If you were to pick up a common list of ways to save on household energy consumption and actually do those things, you could probably come out a few thousand richer the end of the year without really giving up much. But, what are your options if you’re after more significant savings? Well, these ideas for green energy solutions, supplied by MES FM (www.mes-fm.com) should help.

For instance, what do you think about installing a wind generator on your roof or elsewhere on your property? Bring this up with anyone and right away they balk at the idea of a huge unsightly three bladed monster whirring up a storm up there. While these are great at producing lots of power, you haven’t really seen anything until you’ve seen the little green energy solutions they’ve come up with – they look like large portable fans and you can stick them on your roof just like that. They look pretty high-tech too. The small ones take care of about 10% of your energy costs.

There was once an article in the LA Times about how all these big movie people make a point to go get a hybrid car. When the salesperson asks them about their interest in being green, he usually learns that they all live in huge mansions that are air-conditioned and heated every minute of every day whether there’s anyone at home or not. Basically, when it comes to green energy solutions, waste not-want not should be the rule you live by.

In that spirit, here’s a simple way to go – make sure that the energy you use isn’t wasted. More to the point, make sure that your house is completely well-insulated. Really, it’s difficult to understand how much energy is wasted when you don’t pay much attention to it. There’s been an experimental kind of home construction project done in Germany where they have been able to pull off a way to completely maintain comfortable temperatures indoors with no artificial heating at all. They just insulate the house extremely well, and make sure that not even the ventilator throws out air that has any heat left in it. And you can go through the deepest winter without artificial heating this way. If the design of the house is so good that your body heat is never wasted, that’s all you need. These are green energy solutions should come stateside soon enough.

What you can do right now is to install double-glazed windows and take the leap and invest the $5000 or so that it takes to insulate your house all around.

With rising energy costs and growing concerns about climate change there are very few homeowners who are willing to ignore cost-effective ways of saving money on their household bills. Building energy efficient homes and improving energy efficiency in our homes can increase their value. Even smallest changes can yield the biggest results.

A surprising number of homeowners have started educating themselves on how to make their home more and more energy efficient.Every conscious undertaking is, after all,  a step towards increasing your home’s energy efficiency.

The first step in making your home energy efficient is made by conducting energy efficiency audit. Home energy audits are easy to carry out and useful in identify areas for home improvement. It focuses on the areas of lowest energy efficiency, such as un-insulated lofts, single glazed windows, open fireplaces and energy ‘eating’ appliances as well as improving your home’s air tightness.

A home energy audit from a certified energy advisor such as Booth Electrical is necessary to ensure that the most cost-effective improvements are undertaken. Basic areas which energy auditor from MES will test in your home are:

• Blower-Door testing.
• Weatherization Programs.
• Thermal Imaging Video of you Home.
• Duct-Blasting Test.
• Furnace Flute Testing.
• Moisture Reading.

After completion of audit, their energy auditor will provide you with a full written report of the findings and solutions to increase your home’s energy efficiency. Each energy audit has its own benefits and some of the most prominent of them being:

• Make your home more comfortable and at the same time using less energy.
• Prevent wear and tear on your heating and A/C equipment.
• Lowering your energy bill.
• Reducing airborne contaminants.
• Immense help in saving energy.

All Western people are increasingly looking at ways to improve the energy-efficiency of their homes as making substantial improvements in energy efficiency. This will save house owners money in the long run.

In today’s market, the options for sources of alternative energy can be very difficult to implement for both home owners and contractors alike. This is due to the high upfront costs required for acquiring and deploying these types of solutions. The initial investment tend to be so expensive that people simply don't have the cash available for purchasing the system.

If, in the other hand, the equipment for green energy is installed and provisioned while the home is in its construction phase, then this will unfortunately increase the final cost of the property thus affecting its ability to be sold.

On the other hand, fossil fuels are causing a great deal of damage to the planet,  and their use needs to stop as soon as possible. In our opinion, the need for government intervention is inminent in this sector so that green buildings become a reality for the majority of us.

Some of the many technologies used for building green homes are: photovoltaics, energy-efficient appliances, solar hot water, geothermal heat, heat reflecting windows and loft insulation. Each one of these offers its own degreet of efficiency and cost.

The most expensive technology is photovoltaics but, if you plan to live in the same home for a long time then photovoltaics can be a good cost-saving option. In some cities, the government is now offering subsidies for installing photovoltaic systems.

In order to effectively convert our homes to Green Homes, the following aspects are very important:
 

• Deliberate planning and attention to detail from the outset covering the design through all the phases of construction.
• Understanding of building science principles, including the principles of air, heat and moisture flow.
• Good communication among the entire team, including the developers, architects, engineers, builders, trade contractors, and material suppliers.
• Proper sequencing of decision-making and building activities throughout the entire design and construction process.
• Adequate training and supervision to ensure high quality construction.
• Testing and verifying performance both during and after construction, and establishing a feedback loop to improve future designs based on the testing results.

The important subjects you need to understand and review while working on green buildings or homes are:
 

• Decrease Energy Use
• Conserving Water
• Choosing Green Materials
• Reducing Waste
• Protecting the health of the people
• Site Selection

In order to keep down your energy consumption, follow these simple guidelines:

Televisions and other electronic equipment draw power even when they are turned off. Plug electronics into a power strip and turn off the power strip when not in use.Use fresh air cooling strategies before air conditioning, including ceiling fans and window fans. If you install a room air conditioner, choose one that carries the EnergyStar label.Replace bulbs with EnergyStar labeled bulbs.Turn out the lights when you are not in the room.

The Future Of Wind Power

The future of wind power is looking promising. This abundant energy source delivers some of the most cleanly produced energy that exists. Not only is this energy source great for our environment but also a very cost competitive source for electrical power. The price for fossil fuel derived energy must not be viewed with only the current price tag in mind. The actual cost is much higher when damage to our environment such as pollution is taken into consideration, as a matter of fact the cost is unknown, but rest assure it is high in the long run.

The technology developments been made have already enabled wind power commercialization. Wind power is ready for commercialization, technology is now mature enough. Of course, improvements of existing technology along with further development will go on forever. The advantages with wind power are so many that full commercialization is eventually inevitable.

Wind Energy, Potential in Many Ways

Development of wind energy not only lessens the impact on the environment, it also carries economic benefits such as jobs, business creation and reduces the reliance of imported energy. So it’s a win-win situation for the countries whose energy efforts are directed towards wind energy. Several studies have recognized that wind power brings more jobs per dollar invested or per kilowatt-hour generated, than most conventional resource alternatives.

In addition to its economic benefits, wind energy receives the benefit of public support. There are a number of very obvious reasons to this and information has brought humans awareness. It produces no hazardous waste or pollution which in turn preserves our wildlife, plants and do not cause major changes in climate. In a broad range of studies, wind energy is increasing in popularity with consumers, many of whom are willing to pay for renewable electricity.

Some advantages that speaks for a strong future:

• increasingly competitive prices
• growing environmental concerns
• reduces our high dependency on foreign energy sources
• Creates job opportunities
• Preserves wildlife, plants
• No output of hazardous waste or pollution

There will of course be challenges along the way; some of them are already here. These have a tendency of slowing down expansion and utilization.

Some of the challenges:

• increased steel costs due to high demand
• Not in my backyard issues, i.e. people don’t want have them to close
• Warranty issues
• Concerns about animals colliding with these high towers

All in all the future seems to be bright and something must be done to preserve our planet; wind power is a good contributor to a better environment.

Renewable power sources contribute roughly about 29% of energy used worldwide. Using sustainable resources for mass production of electricity is now more commonplace, due to the environmental consequences usage of fossil fuel derivate energy brings. To expand usage of clean energy technologies, it is promoted by countries and organizations worldwide through tax incentives and subsidies.

Our most powerful energy resource is the sun. Most forms of sustainable energy is in some way produced by the sun, e.g. its heat contributes to the growth of plants and trees that are used in production of biomass energy and it also plays an important role in producing wind which we can utilize with help of wind power technology. By using solar power technology to capture radiation with photovoltaic panels, we can create electricity; sunlight is also a large contributor in making hydropower possible.

Another great energy resource is geothermal energy that is acquired by using heat from inside the earth itself. This energy derives from the radioactive decay in the core of earth, which heats the earth from inside out.

Ocean Power

The ocean supplies us with several sustainable energy resources, and each one is driven by different forces. Not comparatively cost-effective at the present but as ocean power technology evolves the ocean could become a big player in the energy game by bringing us electricity from the waves, tides and the heat stored in sea water which can also be converted to electricity. This makes the ocean an important potential energy source for the future.

Ocean power is often divided into two classes, wave power that uses floats to extract mechanical energy from the motion of the waves and tidal power that uses dams to draw energy from the changes in water height due to the tides.

Hydrogen

This source has an enormous potential, both as a fuel and energy resource. Hydrogen power is not ready for full commercialization as the technology to bring to fruition the extraordinary potential is still in its early stages. Hydrogen is the most common element on earth, e.g. water consists of two-thirds hydrogen. The process of separating it out is very complex.

Largest Green Association

A wide variety of different renewable energy associations exist throughout the world. The German Wind Energy Association (BWE) is the biggest renewable power association in the world; they claim their wind energy installations to be the most successful of all the renewals. Argument instead of polemic convincing through facts, this is the credo of the BWE.