Hi Guys,

I hope that you’ve all had a really great day.

Up to now we have looked at various aspects of renewable home energy solution, however there is a crucial element that we haven’t looked at yet: Energy Storage.

Most home energy solutions operate within a just-in-time system framework; that is during the day their solar panels and wind turbines produce electricity and any surplus produced is pushed back into the grid. At night, their reduced electricity production often forces them to draw electricity from the grid.

At best you consume as much as you produce and if you use more than you produce you still have you still have reduced electricity bills.

Although we are going to concentrate on photovoltaic cells for solar energy and wind turbines for home energy solutions I believe that if you have the space then it is advisable to store some of the energy you produce.

Without storage, you operate within a “just-in-time” framework that is not only dependent on your variable end-use demands, but you are also completely at the mercy of one of the most uncontrollable variables known to us: the weather. After all wind turbines are useful only when the wind blows and photovoltaic panels work only when the sun is shining. Energy storage is therefore needed to store surplus electricity produced at times of low demand.

To date cost-effective energy storage has been the orphan stepchild of alternative energy even though energy storage is a core enabling technology for many classes of alternative energy. Because of this power storage has been a key constraint in preventing the widespread adoption and use of solar and wind energy in general.

The trouble is that the period during which energy is generate from renewable sources, cannot always be matched to the time of demand. This leads to volatility in your supply and reduced reliability and stability. Energy storage systems are therefore an integral part of any renewable energy system especially if you go off grid.

Energy storage must consider both the amount of energy that can be stored (energy density of the material) and the efficiency at which it can be recovered.

Short duration storage technologies are frequently more important than long duration systems. In general, technologies that can store huge amounts of energy are not particularly good at releasing it quickly and technologies that can deliver energy quickly are not particularly good at releasing huge amounts of energy.

When an energy storage system is used you get stability within the electrical system and the quality of the voltage supplied will be considerably higher than under a just-in-time system.

From a user point of view there are both technical and commercial criteria for selecting the most suitable technology. This does not stop there though; because when one considers an electricity storage system one has to balance the technical with the economics and each case needs to be looked at individually. It ultimately all boils down to a return on your investment.

As far as energy storage goes conventional, commercially available lead-acid batteries have a very high-energy efficiency and all other energy storage technologies have to compete with this.

Batteries are the most expensive item in renewable home energy systems when considering the system’s total lifetime costs; and there are big variations in battery lifetime in different installations.

Rechargeable batteries or accumulators are the oldest form of electricity storage and are widely used. However, progress in battery technology has been slow.

Batteries can respond to changes in power demand within microseconds. Only super-capacitors equal such a response time. Batteries usually have very low standby losses and can have high energy efficiency, depending on the application and the details of the operation.

Most batteries contain toxic materials, hence the ecological impact from uncontrolled disposal of batteries must always be considered. Because of this current battery research focuses on new and improved materials and manufacturing processes, as well as on their operating conditions.

Ultimately the choice is yours on whether you operate a just-in-time energy system or whether you integrate an energy storage system into your home energy system.

One could start with a just-in-time system and gradually incorporate a energy storage system gradually to your home energy system with some the money you save on your electrical bill.

As always, I wish you everything I wish for myself.

Until the next time.

Alain

Check out my review of the top 3 products for renewable home enegy solution
Check out my review of the Home Made Power Plant product
Check out my review of DIY Power System product

Hi Guys,

I hope that you’ve all had a really great day.

As I actively promote Renewable Home Energy Solutions that include wind power you may be surprised that I don’t endorse the use of industrial wind power generation.

I will go into the reasons I believe that commercial wind power cannot be regarded as green energy. I have thought long and hard about this subject and my observations have brought me to the conclusions detailed below.

The main problem with wind power is it’s variability i.e. if the wind blows or blows too hard the turbines stop spinning. This means that these fluctuations in electricity production cause a roller coaster of surges on the power grid linked to these turbines.

The reason for this is that electricity cannot be stored directly on an industrial scale therefore because there are no large electricity storage capacity the commercial wind generators operate in a just-in-time system framework i.e. the electricity generated by these turbines is pushed onto the power grid as soon as it is generated.

To counter this, gas turbines are built as backups to compensate for the troughs. These backup gas turbines have to be resilient as they are throttled up and down depending on demand. The power grids linked to commercial wind generators have to be monitored constantly and by constantly I mean second by second to ensures a constant electricity supply throughout the grid.

So if you believe the exaggerations sprouted about carbon dioxide being a so-called green house gas then you are going to be sorely disappointed about commercial wind generation as the necessary backup gas turbines still emit carbon dioxide. As the generation and demand have to be balanced on the grid constantly throttling gas and oil turbines up and down to counter losses and gains from wind turbines generates more CO2 per kWh generated than if operated normally.

Wind power is expensive, unreliable and won’t save on natural gas. Wind power in the United Kingdom, Europe’s windiest country, comes at a steep price. A price that greatly distorts the markets as the real cost of wind power is hidden.

While the rest of Europe experienced a 15% price rise, the United Kingdom experienced a 29.7 % rise in gas and electricity prices. Ofgem, (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in the United Kingdom, believes that wind subsidies was a prime factor for the difference and questions the logic when, taking all the public investment into account, wind generates a mere 1.3% of the United Kingdom’s energy needs.

According to the United Kingdom’s government statistics, in 2006, the average load factor for wind turbines across the United Kingdom was just 27.4% with the worst performing turbine having a load factor of only 7%. Therefore a typical 2MW turbine only produced 0.54MW on average. This does not compare well with the 90% load factor for thermal plants.

The poor return on investment is obscured by the subsidy system which allows turbine operators and supporters to claim that they make a profit even when wind turbines operate at very low load factors.

Apart from the high cost of wind power, the perceived benign environmental impact of commercial wind turbines does not correspond with the latest studies on migratory bird and bat mortality. The mortality of within the already declining bird population include raptors and eagles

There is also considerable public protest over the noise and health effects such as provoked by these installation. Chronic sound trauma due to the low frequency noise generated by the blades and infrasound transmitted through the ground.

Further cause for concern include the devaluation of real estate for neighbouring properties, the degradation of natural heritage and the potential loss of the tourist industries in surrounding areas.

The unholy partnership of self interested businesses, so-called scientists, grandstanding politicians, alarmist campaigners and a main stream media pushing their sponsors agendas provide a new twist on a very old practice; companies and individuals using public policy to line their own pockets. This loose grouping, termed the Climate-Industrial Complex do not promote any discussion or free thoughts on the matter but vilify any person not on message. They would make the Spanish Inquisition proud in their labelling any and all dissenters as heretics.

As an afterthought, maybe just maybe, in light of the financial irregularities with minister’s expenses in the United Kingdom, we should follow the money and investigate the relationship between the “partners” of the Climate-Industrial Complex and look at the politician’s personal investments within this industry.

However, I do believe that wind power has a place within Renewable Home Energy Solutions either as a complementary mix to solar energy or as stand alone provided one stores excess energy in an array of batteries.

I wish you everything I wish myself.

Until the next time.

Alain

Review of the top 3 products in renewable home enegy solution

Review of the Home Made Power Plant product

Review of DIY Power System product

Hi Guys,

I hope that you’ve all had a really great day.

Are energy cost driving you crazy? You can bet your bottom dollar that it’s not going to get any better real soon.

Let’s face it the Power Companies are charging us way too much for power! And yes, we do need electricity but until now we had no other way of getting it.

Prices for energy have risen, year by year, at alarming rates and the basic reasons for doing so are not going to change in the foreseeable future.

By now, I’m sure that you must have considered generating your own electricity. I know that I did, every time that I receive an gas or electricity bill. It did not seen to matter what I did to try to keep our energy bills down, the bills kept on rising.

If you are thinking about purchasing a solar electricity system for your home or business then you are joining millions of other energy-conscious individuals around the world.

Solar electricity systems provide reliable, pollution free energy from a renewable resource better known as the sun. Solar electricity systems are becoming more affordable as advancements are made in photovoltaic designs and construction.

Adding to the affordability, many solar electricity systems are able to participate in net metering in several states. This means that if your solar electricity system generates more power than you are using, your meter runs backwards resulting in an even swap of power that you use at other times when you exceed the power supplied by your own solar electricity system.

As most home energy solutions operate within a just-in-time system framework. This means that the surplus energy produced by the system is not stored. It is either used as it is produced or, if you are participating in a net mettering system, pushed back into the grid. At night, your reduced electricity production forces you to draw electricity from the grid. This system certainly cuts your electricity bills and may even produce a small windfall if you use less electricity than you produce.

Before you invest in a solar electricity system for your home or business, it is advantageous to understand exactly what you are purchasing and how solar electricity is generated.

The building block of any solar electricity system is the photovoltaic cell. Photovoltaic cells are wired together to produce solar electricity modules. The electricity produced from the modules or panels is then passed through an inverter that changes the current from AC to DC, making it usable to power household appliances and the utility grid.

It is often to your advantage to incorporate batteries into a solar electricity system so that you are able to store excess electricity generated by your system. The stored electricity can then be used in times of low sun light and power outages.

It is important to realize that solar electricity systems work only when the sun’s UV light hits them. This is not a problem if you utilize battery backup systems or are connected to the grid.

Installing a commercial solar electricity system. However, with net metering and government funded rebates, many are able to pay off systems much more quickly.

The cost of installing some of the commercial solar electricity system to a home can come with an initially high investment cost and it can makes it very difficult to get a return on your investment. However, with net metering and government funded rebates, many are able to pay those systems off much more quickly.

You definitely don’t need to understand the physics of solar electricity systems to understand it’s appeal. A solar electricity system will never run out of fuel nor will it increase our dependency on foreign oil.

Stop thinking about a solar electricity system for your home or business and start investing in your freedom by starting your research of solar electricity systems today.

I wish you everything I wish myself.

Until the next time.

Alain

Check out my review of the top 3 products for renewable home enegy solution
Check out my review of the Home Made Power Plant product
Check out my review of DIY Power System product