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The benefits of solar energy are great, before you understand of solar energy; you need to know about solar energy and the process of harnessing this energy.
There have two different categories of solar energy: thermal and light. Thermal energy is more commonly used and is the energy that is used to passively heat buildings through the use of certain building materials and architectural design. It is obtained from the sun and has a variety of purposes and applications, including the production of hot water, space heating and cooling.
The sun is an incredibly powerful energy source and is made up of hydrogen gas. There are a number of great uses for this energy; the most common use for being the storage and collection of heat and another use is the conversion of sunlight into electricity.
More on The Benefits of Solar Energy
When crude oil finally hit the $100.00 per barrel mark, we all groaned inwardly knowing that the price will just be passed onto us. Never mind our environmental conscience, now we have to try and cut down just because of our wallets!
The Labor Department has also released figures showing that unemployment benefits are at the highest level for two years. As the American dollar is at its lowest against other International currencies since comparison records began, we know that what we buy will cost more. We must buy less, spend less and use less to get through.
We can't help the big picture, but we can help our own situation. The average American home spends around $1300 per year on heat, light and cooling. Small economies can add up to big savings and here are some tips for saving energy when using appliances in your own home.
More on Time To Tighten The Belt - Part 2 - Saving Appliance Energy
We are all looking at the news and even the most optimistic of us are realizing that things may change for a while. We've been here before, we've seen the rising prices, the unemployment and the foreclosures - but for many of us the problem becomes more individualized. What can we do to preserve ourselves; to keep the roof over our own heads?
Home energy costs are a large monthly outlay for all of us at this time of year. Americans spend more than $160 billion a year to heat, cool, light, and live in our homes. This is about 21 percent of the national total and many households could save 20-30 percent on their household energy bills.
Small savings may seem futile when we consider the big picture, but many little savings will actually lower your bills. Things may be falling down around you, but you will know that you are actively taking control of your own expenditures. So let us look at some small energy savers.
More on Time To Tighten The Belts - Part 1 Conserving Energy in The Home
Tested Diesel Cetane Ratings Reach 63.6 in Comparison to the Norm of 51 With High Calorific Value Exceeding the European EN590 Standard
Global Energy (OTCBB:GEYI - News), an initiator of alternative energy projects focusing on the processing of organic solid and many kinds of hydro carbon wastes into usable alternative fuels, today reported on a number of tests on the diesel produced by the Company’s technology and plants supplier, AlphaKat GMBH, in Germany.
The first tests were conducted by the Institute for Neuwertwirtschaft GMBH (“IFN”) from a feed stock of household waste from the city of Liepzig on approximately 130 liters of synthetic diesel that were produced through the AlphaKat KDV process. The study concluded “this product can be used in CHP’s (combined heat and power plants). For use in the diesel engine area, which is subject to EN590 (The European Standard for Diesel for Vehicles), sulfur content and stabilization need to be adjusted for full scale industry plants. The refuse contained a maximum of 46% hydrocarbons from which the demonstration plant produced diesel from 41%, representing a conversion efficiency of 89%.”
ERRSA Energietechnic, a reputable test and regulation institute in Germany from Zitau, separately concluded, based on a test run on a 200KW diesel engine that the produced diesel held approximately 12,000 Kcal per kilogram compared to the EN590 standard of approximately 10,000 Kcal per kilogram. The Cetane rating 63.6 compared with the standard EN590. In summary, “the tested diesel is special fuel that could provide an alternative to vegetable oil with CPH and to fossil diesel fuel for vehicles. The high calorific value of the diesel would lead to reduction in the diesel engine’s fuel consumption and therefore reduction of emissions and logistics costs.”
