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Modern day energy conservation is imperative. The shortage of power, the rapid consumption of non-renewable energy, the ever-increasing demand for power supply, and the daily warnings about our environment are enough signs to tell us that it’s time we do something.

So, what can we do? For starters, how about living off the grid? If I have startled you with that proposition, let me tell you that living off the grid not only helps the environment and helps save power; it also cuts down or eliminates your electricity bill. Now, those are tangible benefits that will make you feel good about your role on this earth as well as the savings to the family budget.

Home solar power systems are being talked about more and more all over the world. The reason for this trend towards DIY-how to make your own energy is simple to see, using renewable energy will save you big bucks and it benefits the environment.

Another proactive step you can take today to make use of renewable energy is to begin your own wind powered energy project and build wind power turbines to produce electricity yourself.There are kits for building wind power turbines available, which can be costly, but with the right wind energy information it’s possible to make your own wind powered electricity. Clearly how handy you are will be the deciding factor for buying vs. building but also keep in mind the cost. Homemade wind power turbines can be built easily and cheaply.

Taking into account these advantages, it seems only reasonable that we would all undertake a DIY wind and/or home solar power systems project.

Renewable resources are accessible every annually, unlike non-renewable energy resources which are ultimately used up. A clear-cut comparison is a coal mine and a forest. Although the forest could be exhausted, if it is managed properly it represents a continuous source of energy, vs the coal mine which when it has been exhausted is gone. The largest part of earth’s available energy resources are renewable resources. Renewable energy resources total greater than 93 percent of all U.S. energy reserves. Annual renewable resources were multiplied times thirty years for contrast with non-renewable resources. In other words, if all non-renewable energy resources were uniformly used up in 30 years, they would merely account for 7 percent of obtainable resources every year, if all accessible renewable resources were developed.

In 2004, renewable energy provided roughly 7% of the world’s power use. The renewables area has been increasing drastically since the last years of the 20th century, and in 2005 the total new outlay was projected to have been 38 billion US dollars. Germany and China lead with investments of about 7 billion US dollars each, followed by the United States, Spain, Japan, and India. This resulted in an additional 35 GW (gigawatt is equal to one billion watts) of power throughout the year.

Solar power info:

Renewable energy sources are even bigger than the conventional fossil fuels and in theory can easily supply the world’s energy needs. 89 PW (petawatt is equal to one quadrillion watts) of solar power falls on the planet’s surface. Despite the fact that it is not possible to capture all, or even the majority, of this energy, using less than 0.02% would be enough to meet the current energy requirements. Barriers to advance photovoltaic production consist of the prohibitive price of making photovoltaic cells and reliance on weather patterns to generate electricity. Also, solar energy does not produce electricity at night, which is a specific problem in high northern and southern latitude countries; energy need is greatest in winter, whereas availability of solar energy is lowest. This could be conquered by buying energy from countries nearer to the equator during winter months. Globally, enrgy production is the greatest rising source of energy, considering an yearly average increase of 35% over the past few years. Japan, Europe, China, U.S. and India are the major growing investors in photovoltaic energy. Advances in know-how and economies of scale, along with demand for solutions to global warming, have led photovoltaics to develop into the most likely contender to replace nuclear and fossil fuels.

The obtainable solar energy resources are 120,000 TW (terawatt is equal to one trillion watts). Less than 0.02% of these accessible resources are sufficient to totally replace fossil fuels and nuclear power as our source of energy. Assuming that our rate of usage in 2005 remains stable, we will run out of conventional oil in 40 years, and coal in 154 yrs. In principle neither will actually be depleted, as natural constraints will make production to decline as the remaining reserves dwindle.

In 2007 grid-connected photovoltaic power was the fastest developing power source, with installations of all photovoltaics increasing by 83% in 2009 to bring the total installed capacity to 15 GW. Virtually half of the increase was in Germany, now the world’s largest user of photovoltaic electricity (followed by Japan). Solar cell production improved by 50% in 2007, to 3,800 MW (megawatt is equal to one million watts), and has been doubling every two years.

The world’s most powerful photovoltaic power plant is the 20 MW Beneixama photovoltaic power plant in Spain, even though a 116 MW plant is being built in southern Portugal, one of the sunniest places in Europe. The largest solar facility in North America is the 18 MW Nellis Solar Power Plant.

Wind energy information:

The accessible wind energy estimates range from 300 TW to 870 TW. Using the lower estimate, just 5% of the available wind energy would provide the present global energy needs. The largest part of this wind energy is accessible over the open ocean. The oceans cover 71% of the planet and wind tends to blow stronger over open water since there are less obstructions.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, the installed capacity of wind power increased by 27% from the end of 2006 to the end of 2007 to total 94.1 GW, with over half the increase in the United States, Spain and China. Doubling of power took about three years. The total installed power is just about three times that of the actual average power produced as the nominal power represents greatest output; actual capacity is generally from 25-40% of the nominal power.

Information for 100% off the grid power:

Photovoltaic energy is not obtainable at night, making energy storage an crucial matter in order to provide the nonstop availability of energy. Both wind power and solar power are sporadic power sources, meaning that all accessible output must be taken when it is obtainable and either stored for when it can be used, or transported, over transmission lines, to where it can be used. Wind power and solar energy can be balancing, in areas that experience more wind in the winter and more sun in the summer, but on days with no sun and no wind the deficit needs to be overcome in some manner.

Solar and wind solar systems that are completely disconnected from the electrical grid have usually utilized rechargeable batteries to store excess electricity. With grid-tied systems, extra electricity can be sent to the transmission grid. Net monitoring programs give these grid-tied systems a credit for the electricity they deliver to the grid. This credit helps pay for electricity provided from the grid when the solar and/or wind power system cannot meet demand, actually using the grid as a storage system. Credits are as a rule rolled over month to month and any outstanding surplus settled annually.

Make the future of your future generations secure by helping to give them a greener, healthier world. Cut down on the usage of non-renewable sources of energy.

If you are thinking it is not very practical to use 100% off the grid power, look for DIY wind and solar power system tutorials and you will be surprised to learn that these power resources are not only cost-effective but also really feasible to build yourself. For more information check out my Residential Solar Power – Build Home Renewable Energy blog.

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