Icky Thump asked:


I feel like these are very important issues & I’d like to know what Obama/McCain will do to help.
What do we need ethanol for? Does that tie with green energy?

Seymour

Max Loodlin asked:


The market of green energy is growing exponentially. More and more people are going green and for good reason. Let’s take a look at 3 reasons why you should use green energy right now.

1. Green For The Environment

Using green energy is one of the best ways to help out the environment. Green energy is clean and is renewable which means that it won’t harm the environment and it will never run out. Fossil fuel emissions are slowly killing our planet which is why everyone needs to do their part in keeping our environment healthy. We need to take action now if we want keep our planet a sustainable place to live.

2. Green $$$

Along with helping out the environment, green energy can also save you a ton of cash. At the very minimum, a natural energy source will save you 80% on your energy bill. And this is just within a months time of using a renewable energy source. Not only will your natural energy source have payed for itself within a month, but you will also save you hundreds of dollars. But, even more incredible is the ability to make money off of your green energy source. Since green energy is renewable it has the ability to produce more energy than you actually need. This means you will be able to sell unused energy back to your utility company for a lot of cash.

3. Green Won’t Always Be Cheap

The most important reason why you should go green now instead of waiting is because this market is growing rapidly and is bound to become huge within the next six months. And when this market becomes huge you can expect prices to soar as well. Right now you can make your own green energy source for around $50. How long will this be a realistic price? Not very long. In just a few months this price could easily increase to 3x times the current amount. Green energy will always have the ability to save you money, but when you have to dish out hundreds of dollars it may take a pretty long time.

Want to learn more about the best DIY green energy guide? Click the link below and learn how you can make your own clean energy for less than $50.

http://www.squidoo.com/howtomakenaturalpower



Ingrid

Madison Greene asked:


It is estimated that our natural resources will be completely depleted within the next 150 years. It is because of this that we as a society need to be actively searching for sources of alternative energy.

Alternative energy, whether it is used to replace fuels such as coal, or to reduce our reliance on petroleum based fuels; alternative energy is one of the most important issues facing society today.

The two most common types of alternative energy are:

* Wind power

* Solar power

Both of these alternative energy sources are harnessed from natural resources, and as such are completely free. Only the equipment and technology cost money, and over time as we advance the costs should be reduced.

It is these free sources of alternative energy that we should be pursuing with the most fervency, so that, eventually, energy can be available to all regardless of income. Below we will take a look at these two most common sources of alternative energy.

Wind Power

Wind power, while a free source of alternative energy, would be the most costly type of renewable energy to power our nation. This is largely in part to the fact that we must first place wind turbines across the country, in enough numbers to provide electricity to communities nationwide, even in areas where the wind velocity is not as strong. The cost of building enough of these turbines to harness the wind’s alternative energy would be staggering.

Also these wind turbines are very unsightly and would ruin very beautiful and scenic parts of the country. It should also be noted that they only produce power 1/8 of the time that they are running. That is not very efficient, but we are on the right track, things just need improvement.

Another problem I see with wind turbines is the amount of profit many companies stand to make for putting them in. Individuals are making millions off of this and that is just not right when our well-being is at stake.

However, if you’re interested in using wind power as your own source of alternative energy, it is a viable option. Many farms and rural communities use these wind turbines to power themselves. In smaller numbers, the cost of building the turbines pays for itself relatively quickly. But wind energy is only one form of alternative energy. Next, we will look at using solar power as an alternative power source.

Solar Power

Solar power is alternative energy derived from the power of the sun. Solar energy is also completely free, except for the cost of installing the equipment necessary to convert the sun’s rays into usable electricity. This equipment is becoming less and less expensive every day. Solar power generally ends up paying for itself within the first few years.

The equipment needed to use solar power as an alternative energy source for your home can be bought at virtually any home improvement store, and can usually be installed in just a few hours. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself, there are a great number of contractors available who can install your solar panels and generators for you.

Regardless of which type of alternative energy you choose to use in your own home, the fact remains that we must find a renewable source of energy soon, or be at risk of losing the few natural resources we have left to burn. Contact your Congressman today, and ask what is being done to find a good source of alternative energy; and what you can do to help.



Sean

Gregg Camp asked:


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After long wait, the supposed energy “crisis” just might force politicians to finally get us off the Middle Eastern tit of oil. I am going to put myself out on a limb here and say that I actually think the high gas prices are a good thing. While they do leave a pain in the wallet of most American families – mine included – the reality is that the way we Americans seem to learn best is through the wallet.

Take cigarettes, for example. When the cost of a pack of cigarettes became so high that buying them became more than a thoughtless expense, the consumer demand for smokes started going down. How many remember all those surgeon general warnings and studies showing that smoking was bad for us? All the warnings in the world weren’t enough to get people to put out their smokes. It wasn’t until the cost started to rise that people finally took notice. The point is that money talks when it comes to getting us to make a change, and I firmly believe that the same holds true when it comes to making an energy change.

It didn’t take the Japanese long to figure out that Americans make decisions with their wallets. That is precisely why they are building more economical automobiles while providing the level of quality American consumers demand. Thanks to the better leadership of Japanese companies and their desire to invest in energy saving technology, a growing number of Americans are making better energy choices with their wallets. While it may take awhile for us to make the transformation from gas to hybrid technology to sensible ethanol, biomass or hydrogen technology for our transportation, there are choices that Americans can already be making right now in their own homes that can help with the “crisis” we are currently facing.

The facts are simple. The vast majority of electricity comes from coal fired plants, followed by natural gas, nuclear and hydroelectric plants. In the future, we can hope that biomass technology will also contribute substantially to electrical production. At present, there are also many wind and solar projects in the works, but there is still a need for a greater amount of change.

Experts agree that most consumers realize global warming is occurring and are at least somewhat aware of the importance of shrinking their carbon footprints. Most think this involves having solar panels on their house and using fluorescent light bulbs. While both are certainly helpful, getting green power is an easier and more effective step to take.

Unfortunately, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that only 700,000 out of 122.5 million American households are buying green power. While it is true that not all households have access to green energy sources, only about 1.8% of those with access to green energy are participating in these programs. Some areas of the country, such as Palo Alto, California in Silicon Valley, are ahead of the curve when it comes to switching to green energy. In fact, the participating rates in this part of the country are at about 20%. Palo Alto is somewhat of an anomaly in that the city is home to a highly educated affluent populace that is receptive to change and innovation. Nearby Santa Clara also has stellar participating rate of about 8.7%.

But, the real question is why aren’t more people taking advantage of these programs? The answer is simple: many are not aware that they can actually buy green power.

The Green Power Network, which is run by the department of energy, makes it easy for you to see whether or not you can purchase green power through your local utility company. While there is a small premium for choosing green power, most can easily make up for the extra cost by foregoing their daily super latte from the coffee shop.

Currently, 44 states offer green electrical power to their customers. In order to participate in one of these programs, you simply buy and pay for green power from your usual supplier. For most Californians, this would be either Pacific Gas & Electric or Southern California Edison. Your supplier then applies the amount of power you purchase to the grid system.

Most power companies also sell green “renewable energy certificates,” or RECs, separately. RECs represent one megawatt hour( MWh) of renewable energy, which may be produced from solar, wind or other renewable sources. Each MWh you purchase means that one less MWh of the polluting coal variety needs to be produced.

Excluding hydroelectric energy, only about 3% of our nation’s energy currently comes from renewable energy sources. In California, the figure is more like 11% and new legislation mandates that utility companies produce 20% energy of their energy from renewable sources by 2010. As you can imagine, the companies are scrambling to sign contracts with renewable energy producers. The reality is that there may not be enough capacity for them to meet the goal by 2010 but, if you ask me, the goal should be higher and the state should be shooting for having 33% of its energy being from renewable sources by 2020. Now, that is a goal that can make a real difference.

 

 

 

 



Kai-Tak

Lisa RiCharde asked:


Data center cooling requirements for high-heat density servers are driving power demand and taxing the normal data center operational procedures. The good news is there are solutions to this growing problem and IT managers are able to kill two birds with one stone. By fine-tuning data center energy architecture, corporations can reduce their energy consumption while achieving their green data center goals.

This white paper, by The Green Grid, provides guidelines to migrate existing, traditional energy consuming data centers into green, energy efficient data centers that deliver the required data center cooling. It presents how data center energy savings can be accomplished, sometimes by a 90% energy reduction, by making improvements from both an equipment-planning perspective and an operational-practices perspective.

This white paper’s guidelines include:



Engineering for Efficiency



Data center system design

Floor layout

Proper configuration of server software

Location of vented floor tiles

Right sized Physical Infrastructure components





Deploying Efficiency



Installing energy efficient power equipment

The trend towards closed-coupled cooling

Using virtualization to consolidate existing and future workload

Installing energy efficient lighting

Installing blanking panels in racks

Plumbing for rack level cooling

Development of new server replacement policies





Operating for Efficiency



Utilization of air conditioning economizer modes

Coordination of air conditioners





Organizing for Efficiency



Alignment of staff

Migration from a traditional energy consuming data center to a modern

energy efficient data center





Conclusion

Check list

Strategies can be used immediate or over time

Systematic changes can result in up to 90% reduction in data center electric

bill



To download the complete white paper, please visit: http://www.42u.com/energy-efficient-datacenter.htm.



Fay

stefani asked:


burning fossil fuels, such as coal, is contributing to global climate change, including dramatic changes in Canadian arctic. Should we consider using nuclear power as a “green” energy source for canada?
plz give me reasons why we shouldn’t use nuclear power as a green energy source for canada.
Thx!

Son-Tinh

Xldremz asked:


I’m going to be an owner/operator in a biodiesel manufacturing plant and I will have millions of gallons of biodiesel to sell, (if theres anyone looking for a large supply, here i am!) But i am looking to find out what other options are available in addition to what i will already be doing to make money in this area?

Im especially interested in ways to sell back to the power grid.

I do know a decent amount about solar panels and wind, but are there any other ideas out there or really ingenius ways to add to this desire?

What better way to make money helping the earth!

if you’ve got any information or suggestions that cant be posted privately, feel free to contact me!

fantasticreality@aol.com

PS: please make no mistake, this is mostly about my desire to succeed and profit in business within this industry!

Bret

mr struggle asked:


I read in the newspaper that the governments of colombia and indonesia are complaining to western countries. The demand for biomass energy makes that big corporations destroy their land. How green is it in this perspective?

Edouard

ELECOSN asked:


LEDs are solid-state semiconductor devices that convert electrical energy directly into light.

Thermal sources of light such as flames and incandescent filaments emit light when heated, either by chemical reaction (flames) or electrical heating (filament lamps). LED “cold” generation of light leads to high efficacy because most of the energy radiates within the visible spectrum.

Other common high efficiency light sources, such as fluorescent lamps and electro luminescent devices, also produce light without much thermal radiation outside the visible spectrum.

Because LEDs are solid-state devices, they can be extremely small and durable; they also provide longer lamp life than other sources.

Light is generated inside the chip, a solid crystal material, when current flows across the junctions of different material compositions.

An LED consists of two elements of processed material called P-type semiconductors and N-type semiconductors. These two elements are placed in direct contact, forming a region called the P-N junction. The composition of the different materials determines the wavelength and therefore the colour of light generated.

LED resembles most other diode types, but there are important differences. The LED has a transparent package, allowing visible or IR energy to pass through. Also, the LED has a large PN-junction area whose shape is tailored to the application. The device shown in Figure 1 is an AlGaInP LED because the semiconductor layers are aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga), indium (In), and phosphate (P).

Main LED materials

The main semiconductor materials used to manufacture LEDs are:

*Indium gallium nitride (InGaN): blue, green and ultraviolet high-brightness LEDs

*Aluminum gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP): yellow, orange and red high-brightness LEDs

*Aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs): red and infrared LEDs

*Gallium phosphide (GaP): yellow and green LEDs

 

Why LEDs?

LEDs have a range of benefits which is fast making them the best solution for real energy efficient lighting. Over the course of the next few years some aspects are expected to change significantly.

Lifetime

As solid-state light sources, LEDs have a very long lifetime and are generally very robust due to no mechanical or moving parts.

Incandescent bulbs have an expected lifetime of 1k to 5k hours, while good quality LEDs are often quoted of having a lifetime of 50k hours, more than 5 years continuous use. However it is important to to understand that the performance of LEDs degrades over time, and this degradation is strongly affected by factors such as operating current and temperature.

Low maintenance

The long lifetime of LEDs reduces the need to replace failed lamps, and this can lead to significant financial and environmental savings, particularly in maintenance, labour and recycling. This makes LED fixtures useful for installations in inaccessible locations, but if tasks like cleaning the light fixture are required, then the light sources could be replaced at the same time, negating the “low maintenance” advantage.

Efficiency

As a semiconductor device, LEDs are highly efficient. Current device technology is allowing the performance of these to be pushed to limits that exceed that of standard lighting.

The directional nature of light produced by LEDs allows the design of luminaires with higher overall efficiency.

Low power consumption

The low power consumption of LEDs leads to large energy savings that can often drive the installation of LED-based systems. Initial purchase costs start off higher, but can be proven to return the investment cost in a short period of time.

Brightness

Light outputs are constantly being increased and there are several products that have higher lumen output than traditional lighting.

Heat

LEDs do not produce heat in the form of infrared radiation (IR) unlike incandescent bulbs which makes them hot to the touch.

This lack of heat production allows LED fixtures to be used in locations where heating from conventional sources would cause a particular problem e.g. illuminating food, textiles, artifacts, etc.

However, LEDs do produce heat at the semiconductor junction within the device and good thermal management must be employed on high power devices to maintain operation life

Cost

In many applications, LEDs are expensive compared with other light sources, when measured by metrics such as “£-per-lumen”.

LED manufacturers continue to work towards reducing their production costs while at the same time increasing the light output of their devices.

However, the high initial cost of LED-based systems is offset by lower energy consumption, lower maintenance costs and other factors.

The initial cost may seem high, but take into account the electricity usage that is saved, they pay for themselves.

Electricity Cost savings from switching to LED Direct replacement bulbs

10W LED Bulbs Vs 75W halogen bulb running cost comparison

 

Small form-factors

LEDs are very small – typical high-brightness LED chips measure 0.3 mm by 0.3 mm, while high-power devices can be 1 mm x 1 mm or larger. There are many examples where the availability of small, high-brightness devices have enabled significant market advancement. The obvious example is in mobile phone handsets, where blue, green and white LEDs are now used in most models to back light keypads and liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens.

Instantaneous switch-on

LEDs switch on rapidly, even when cold, and this is a particular advantage for certain applications such as vehicle brake lights.

Colour

LEDs are available in a broad range of brilliant, saturated colours (although performance varies across the spectrum), and white devices are also available. Modules containing different colored LEDs (typically red, green and blue, or RGB) can be tuned to a huge range of colours, and easily dimmed. RGB modules provide a much wider gamut of colours than white LEDs or other traditional white light sources, which is a particular advantage in applications such as backlighting liquid-crystal displays (LCD’s).

RGB LEDs and colour mixing

LED characteristics change with time, temperature and current, and from device to device. For RGB LEDs, the performance of different colored devices changes at different rates. This can result in variation of lamp colour and intensity, and poor reproducibility.

LED Vs Halogen

LED Lighting Types

 

Now the LED bulbs are widely applied in household, office, street, shop, park etc for decoration and lightings LED lighting family mainly includes:

1. LED ball lamp

2. LED spot lamp

3. LED ground lamp

4. LED tube light

5. LED rope lamp

6. LED pool lamp

7. LED curtain lamp

8. LED Christmas (festival) lamp

9. LED ceiling lamp

10. LED road light

11. LED Solar light

Etc.

In a word, LED lightings will be the future of lighting, and it will definitely replace the halogen lights in soon future.



Ingrid