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Renewable Energy Options

There are a number of renewable energy options available for the home owner to provide power and hot water. The types that are suited for a home varies depending on the situation and position of the house. For example: If a house is positioned on a hill, wind power may be the best option. However solar panels are a great option for sunny areas like Australia, and America, but may a little hindered in the United Kingdom.

The main Types are:

Solar Hot Water

Solar hot water is a great option. It is a solar thermal system that may be used to heat water for hot water for the home and warm water for swimming pools. All of these systems circulate cool water through pipes that have a large surface area exposed to the sun. Hot water systems for the home, to be used for showers and for washing, are pressured closed systems that circulate water through panels and back to the tank. Pool systems are low pressure systems that use the pool as the tank. The water is pumped through the multiple pipes on the roof of the home; the water is heated and is then mixed with the cool water of the large pool.

Other systems are under floor heating that are installed in the house concrete slab during construction. Then the water is heated by the sun and circulated under low pressure through the slab transferring the thermal energy from the sun into the slab and heating the house. Another hot water system is air to water heat exchangers. These use a small heat pump that sits on the top of the hot water tank and transfers heat from the air into the water, heating it for use in the home.

All of these options provide a financial saving for the home owner and depending on the system can cut heating bills by 40% to 80%. All of these systems will in fact pay for themselves and then provide free hot water for many years.

Solar Electricity

The uses of solar electric systems have been increase for many years. The use of solar electricity was mainly used for rural areas where grid connected power was unavailable. These systems used batteries to store the power that was generated by the solar panels. Unlike solar hot water systems that use the solar heat or radiation to heat the water. Solar electric panels use the sun light or photons to excite electrons in the layer of the solar cells to generate power. These power systems have no moving parts and will stand up to extreme weather conditions. These panels mostly come with a 25 years guarantee and will produce power beyond this.

Solar power systems can be connected to batteries for remote power or connected to the grid. In a grid connected situation the grid is used as a battery with the power meter turning backwards when the house power is not in use and then forwards at night or when power is required. This is called grid interactive and depending on the size of the solar panels and the power produced the home owner may not have a power bill at all and may be paid by the power companies.

Wind power

Wind power is also another part of the power generation system. These come in the form of massive wind farms that power the grid to power many thousands of homes. These also come in the form of small wind generators that sit on a 15 to 20 meter towers and provide power into batteries or into a grid interactive system. Unless a house in build in a very wind area small wind power is usually coupled with solar panels so that when the wind is not blowing the solar panels are still providing power. However wind turbines can also provide power day and night if the wind is blowing. Wind power is a great option if you have a large enough wind resource.

Micro Hydro

Micro hydro is a less common form in Australia of power generation. Micro hydro must have a fairly constant flow of water via a creek or stream. However, most people do not have a constantly running source of water to power the micro hydro system. Micro hydro systems have a small water driven turbine with an electricity generator on top. The water turns the turbine and power is generated. These systems provide constant power day and night if the water is flowing.