Fossil Fuel Demand And The Very Near Future:
The demand for the Earths fossil fuel must have increased by at least 4 times in the past 10 years and there is no more resources available other than what we have now. So to offset the massive price rises, every country is going to have to be more efficient with their precious fuel use and produce as much power as they can by new renewable energy ways. But perhaps the most worrying part of this is that Western governments including ours have based their whole economies on the revenue from fossil fuel usage, and as we change over to a more alternative kind of energy production (if we can) then there is going to be some very large upsets as the revenue will not be there for running countries anymore and things will have to change BIG TIME!!!
The Facts About An Alternative To Fossil Fuels In Ireland:
When government ministers are asked about the future energy needs they will come out with stupid things like electric cars, but could never tell you about where the fuel comes from for these cars except they may mention wind farms.
Well the government would have to get the billions of lost revenue from the petrol and diesel we are not using from elsewhere, if they put this duty/tax on electricity then electricity prices will rise to unbelievable levels. The government needs this revenue as they use oil fuel for large income raising, so if you remove this form of revenue they simply cant do without these billions and need the money from elsewhere.......off you!
Secondly, the energy has to come from somewhere to make all these wind turbines so that they are not going to come cheaply and that money also has to be found from somewhere never mind the energy.
Thirdly, of course Ireland has never ever had a power cut so there is no problem with the power being out one night and the whole country coming to a standstill as no one can get to work as their batteries are flat.
Not forgetting that Ireland has a lot of hilly and mountain countryside and battery powered cars aren't great when they have to keep going up hill so their range becomes very short if not useless.
Then there is the other little joke that you hear about people having little micro wind turbines mounted on their roofs producing lots of lovely free electricity, but they do not tell you that the turbulence of having a turbine on your roof makes the actual turbine ineffective and also the noise and vibration would drive the inhabitants of the house insane, not to mention shaking the roof to bits. The only realistic way for the future is with what ever energy form we are using, then less and more efficient use of it is the only way to go because it is going to be so much more expensive.
It seems that most people think we can just carry on as before with just a few wind turbines and OTHER people will have to drive in a glorified milk float, while we have our nice shiney 4x4......there are going to be a few shocked faces very soon.
Can You Generate Your Own Electricity Needs?:
If you have the space around your house which will mean a decent few acres, then you can erect your own turbine as long as it is far enough away from your house and not near anybody else's because of the noise. Then you will have to work out the costing's to see if you can ever recover or better still make any money from the cost of your turbine installation, as a wind turbine for Irish wind conditions which can be extreme in the winter months, can work out to be very expensive.
Water turbines are a very much cheaper and better way of making electricity if you have the water and the height levels required for the two types of turbine to be able to operate, and using water turbines you can recover your costs and make money.
Solar Power comes in two forms which are photo electric cells which are coming down in cost all the time and becoming more efficient, and the more common one we all know about is solar hot water. These do give a good return on your outlay for installation and do actually give you after a time free hot water.
Micro-Power Production:
Today as more people are interested in producing some of their own power needs, there is what could be called "raised expectations" or even a "frothing of the mouth" when the term "Micro Turbines" are mentioned. Yes Micro-Turbines will save the world and put money in your pocket!. Some forms of small energy production are quite good and efficient, but the truth is Micro-Turbines produce and can only ever produce micro power. This may be enough for your needs then that is ok. A survey must be done first so you know the exact returns from the outlay involved.
Micro-Turbines may spin fantastically fast with the aid of a little breeze or a few drops of water from a hose pipe, but the golden rule of physics that "you cant get out more than what you put in" still stands true. So if you get invited or encouraged to attend a display or course on Micro-Power production, just remember that the power produced may not even cover the energy used or costs involved in the installation and maintenance of the Micro-Power equipment. This equipment does not cost "micro - money" to purchase and maintain.
If you are going to produce power from new alternative sources like wind, water and the sun, a full survey will need to be undertaken first to see if you have the power/energy there in the first place to be harnessed, because if it isn't available, then how can you hope to capture any of it? Then what power is available, has to be able to be be harnessed in a cost effective way, so that the installation costs of equipment and running costs do not end up more than whatever could be reclaimed in electricity. Make sure you explore the facts before parting with any money.
Now you have done all that then you can start to harness your home produced power and although small if your survey and figures are correct, then the small amount of electricity you are gathering needs to be put to it's best and most efficient use and that would be to use it entirely in your home straight away. Do not try to store it in a battery unless you absolutely need too, as you will cause more losses so making the whole process more expensive and maybe wiping out any benefits. Usually a home power generating set up will involve more than one kind of energy production and costs will still have to be calculated before hand to maximise possible energy savings.
Insulation & Ecological Building:
The best way of getting a return for any monies spent on what could be called "renewables" is very simply by insulating your house and altering it as regards your heating equipment, and in this section we can provide information and a few tips which will actually make a difference to your pocket in the short and long term.
If you imagine your home as a box with a heater inside, then the trick is to stop all that heat given off by the heater from escaping the box. So in theory you need to wrap that home/box in insulation to stop the heat escaping. The more heat you stop escaping, then the less heat you will need to heat that home, so the less money you will spend on fuel.
So the use of insulation is probably the most efficient use of energy, by trapping it where it is needed.
If you are building from new, then there is only one way to build and that is by designing and building your house so it is as energy efficient as possible. If you dont, then you are squandering which to most people will be the most expensive item they every purchase.
When it comes to now and the future, energy efficiency will most likely be the first and most important topic that anybody ever looks for when it comes to purchasing a property. If it aint energy efficient then it is costly to run. Its a petrol guzzler. It looks great but we cant afford to put the petrol in the tank, so nobody wants it!
Old petrol guzzling cars are a thing of the past and uninsulated energy hungry homes no matter what they look like are now being dumped and sold cheap because the market for them has gone forever, even if they look great and are perfect. So these homes need completely refurbishing to save on heating and electricity, just as an old house needs a new roof etc. These homes are bottom of the pile, so make sure if you build from new all heating and lighting running costs are as small as possible and if you are modernising your existing home, then make it as power efficient as possible, just do it once and do it properly and your savings on heating and electricity costs will come flooding back straight away.
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