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"Renewable Energy Sources"In 2008 the price of crude oil reached over $140/barrel even though it's now only around the $70/barrel mark. This is, however, enough to demonstrate that fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource that cannot be relied upon indefinitely and that eventually relative scarcity will cause the price of oil to remain permanently high. The need to develop renewable energy sources has never been more necessary. Wind power, solar energy and hydro-electric power can ultimately provide a far better alternative to their non-renewable fossil fuel counterparts. Solar Power Exploiting the immense potential of solar energy to meet our (increasing) energy demands could solve many of our future energy problems. Thermal solar power and electricity generated from photovoltaic solar panels are the best two solar energy applications. The energy from such systems (once manufactured and installed) is for all intents and purposes green and clean. Due to fast paced technological advances we now have access to revolutionary devices such as inexpensive thin film photovoltaic solar panels. These devices convert any form of sunlight into electricity that can be used to help power our homes efficiently. Wind Power Using wind energy is not new. Wind power dates back thousands of years. In fact the windmill was first used as early as 7th century B.C. by the Persians. In the 19th century wind power began to fall out of favour with the dawn of the industrial revolution. Up until quite recently it was still considered not quite equal to other renewable energy sources like solar energy and hydro-electric power. The use of wind power is now becoming increasing popular in certain situations and there are systems available ranging from inexpensive home made DIY residential setups right up to industrial scale systems designed for serious energy production. Water Power This renewable resource is available for exploitation in many places on the planet. The process of using water power to create electricity is called hydro-electric power generation. The water is usually accumulated in a dam and then diverted through a turbine which in turn powers a generator which produces electricity. This is then transmitted via cable to where it is required. About a tenth of our energy demands are met using hydro-electric power. Using hydro-electric power isn't exactly a practical solution at home unless you happen to have your own dam or river nearby. This is not really a problem as there are much more practical forms of energy production (such as solar energy and wind power) which can be employed in a home DIY setup. These simpler less ambitious DIY energy system projects will not only help you to cut your energy bills but can also be used to sell any excess energy you produce back to the commercial power company (into the grid). You are not required to change over to an alternative energy system overnight but you can begin to experiment quite easily with solar energy and wind power options in your own home over time.
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