The global challenge for renewable green energy technology

You might think that this is the kind of thing an engineer working for JPL does in his spare time. However, with all the information available on the internet today, anyone who has ever been able to use a tape measure and is handy with a hammer and saw will be able to build these items with a minimum of effort.

One of the most perplexing things we face today is the uncertainty about our energy reserves. I often think about the future that we are going to leave our children and grandchildren.

The public’s demand for self-sufficiency and cheap, clean, renewable energy has given rise to all kinds of projects and laws aimed at encouraging the average citizen to take advantage of the technologies that exist that will allow them to supplement their energy needs or become downright independent. Laws that have been enacted even include provisions forcing utility companies to purchase any excess power generated by private citizens.

In this climate, and with the myriad of materials available today, the average person has the ability to build high-performance solar cells and wind power generators. For a relatively small initial investment, a person can build a supplemental power system that will pay back their entire initial investment in less than a year. Along with this incentive is also the fact that many counties offer special tax credits for homes and businesses that use solar, wind, hydroponic, or biomass energy. If you call your local city or county building department, you can find all the forms and information about what is available in your area. You can also find this information online.

In addition, we also have to pay astronomically high electric power bills. If you go back a few years, you’ll see that energy consumption in American cities has increased exponentially, and now the costs we pay for this energy are rising dramatically.

However, this has changed in the face of developments in the world market that have forced cuts in the available fuels used by utilities in their power plants. Clean air regulation has drastically reduced the ability of many of these plants to burn coal or high-sulfur fuels, and outrageous oil prices have bankrupted many of the gas-fired power plants.

The unbelievable fact is that there have been various solutions available to the average citizen for over 50 years, however these solutions have never been encouraged by the government and local utility companies due to the obvious reasons that utility companies publics do not want to compete with their customers. energy supply, and the government has generally had a stake in these companies and has therefore followed their policies.

You may be starting a revolution, but in the end it will be to your benefit and that of your family. You will also be showcasing the American notion of being independent and that entrepreneurial spirit that was in the pioneers who helped build this country. Think about the impact you could have in your community if you were the pioneer and introduced your friends and neighbors to the benefits of generating your own power.

As you audit your energy needs, you realize that if you stay on the grid, you’ll be handing over a lot of your hard-earned money to the utility company in exchange for a few basic things like gas to heat the water. in the house and electricity to power things like your computer, television or stereo. If you took a pair of scissors and cut your energy bill in half or more, you could use that saved money to invest in things like a new computer or a trip with the kids. Sounds crazy?

Take this quick quiz: Get your utility bills for the last 12 months and add up what you’ve spent on electricity and gas. Do the math! Now find out what that amount would have been if you only paid 50% or even dared to think of 20%. That amount, which can easily be in the thousands of dollars, is a real number. What does it add up to? A week or two of your salary from work? How much it would cost you and your wife to go to Las Vegas for a weekend, including some moderate stakes, and still have some left over when you got back? Think about it.

Once you’ve established that you’re essentially giving your money away, then building and adding a solar and/or wind generation system is a no-brainer. You’ll find that building and installing your system will take perhaps a weekend or two, but eventually you’ll have taken your first step toward energy independence and see tangible results from your efforts on your next utility bill. Combine that with the tax credits and grants that may be available in your area and you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank!

You can be very creative as to what you can use to make your solar or wind power. A friend of mine has made a solar panel that only heats the pool so he can unplug the gas heater and just use the solar heater. Another person I know uses a windmill to keep his security system in his store powered by the windmill charging the storage batteries full time. Even if intruders cut the power, the system is still active since it is not connected to the electrical grid. Another uses a combination of solar cells and a windmill for the batteries he uses in his lighting system at the back of his barn.

The possibilities are as endless as your imagination. All you need is to take that first important step towards energy independence and then let your imagination run wild. Just about any system you have connected to the electric grid right now can be converted to solar or wind power or both. Once you switch to these alternative energy sources, you’ll have achieved a switch to reliable, clean power that won’t be shut off by an unpaid bill.

When you think about your application, you need to keep in mind that you are no longer forced to navigate the limitations of what the utility wants you to do. Most people end up having several independent systems working together to eliminate the possibility of one main system failing and leaving the entire area without power. Having two or three systems powered by their own solar cells or windmills will allow the home or business owner to stack the cards in their favor in the event of a natural disaster that cuts off power to neighboring residents .