Knowledge

7
Jan

How is power saving shaping the economy?

7 January 2020 Posted by ikhutchi Knowledge No Comments

Did you know the U.S. uses only less than 1/2 of its energy? The rest becomes rejected energy and never sees proper distribution. Ineffectively, billions of dollars are steered towards energy that essentially doesn’t contribute to anything.

Many of the government’s budget costs go directly to energy consumption. These can get quite expensive, especially in the commercial sectors. Over 70% of the electrical consumptions in the United States come from residential homes and commercial infrastructures. This obviously has an impact on the environment. A negative impact.

How does this affect the average citizen? It’s easy to put the math together. Every year national electricity costs increase 2,2% which, in the long run, is a significant change.

It’s safe to assume you should seek to save electricity.

What benefits would that bring?

Let’s start with the obvious:

#1: Helps out your wallet

Saving electricity through various means of renewable energy resources or cutting off unwanted power, can have a positive effect on your wallet. The U.S. is considered to use only 39% of efficient energy. Every year millions of Americans tend to spend thousands of dollars on misused electricity.

The meaning of these insights is that we’re not doing a good job with energy distribution. Therefore we must use only what is completely necessary. Some of the solutions are often quite easy and free. Stressing over excessive electrical bills can often be attributed to misuse of energy around the house. If you’d like to learn on how you can save electricity head on over to 4 ways you can save electricity at home.

#2: Fuels the economy with renewable energy.

Saving electricity is a great way to promote renewable sources of energy, solar panels, wind power, hydroelectric energy, and a few others. It’s important to note that adopting these alternative forms of energy can help cut costs for many Americans.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration; the three major fossil fuels — petroleum, natural gas, and coal — combined accounted for about 77.6% of the U.S. primary energy production in 2017. This equates to high annual expenditure that drains economical spending, drains natural resources and contributes to the greenhouse effect. In the long run, these issues will cause many expenses, not only for US government but towards its citizens who will pay the price.

When the chips are down, switching to renewable energy will stop being a luxury and start being a necessity. It’s important to stay ahead of the curve and save electricity as soon as possible in order to set the model for others. When everyone starts contributing, great things can come out of it.

We can observe with this graph by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, that renewable sources of energy only have a small impact on energy production in the United States (source: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/?page=us_energy_home)

#3: Investing in renewable electrical energy provides new opportunities

Smart, ecological investments can help generate fruitful outcomes for industries and residential areas. Investing and tactics that help save electricity can help thrive the economy. But ask yourself, why do people or corporations invest? Well, to generate larger incomes and to better their future outcomes.

Investing in renewable energy like solar panels or wind power helps cut down significant costs in monthly electric bills. In the span of a decade, you’ll have saved up thousands of dollars that otherwise would have been spent keeping the lights on. Commercial use in the private sector can acquire high gains from these initiatives.

It’s a fact that industries consume the most electricity in order to fuel offices and machines of all types. Cutting costs by investing in smart, more efficient alternatives is the best solution in today’s high energy demand.

Companies have entered the realm of eco-friendly solutions. Target Corporation, for example, currently has over 300 rooftops that utilize solar panels. Solar Energy Industries Association created a report stating that since 2012, prestigious U.S. businesses have significantly invested in solar capacity. These investments are up to over 200%. Eco-friendly investments help fuel many new jobs for Americans and simultaneously help to generate clean energy, free of pollution and carbon emissions.

These companies can cut energy costs and are now open to integrating change into other facets not thought of before.

#4: It’s the Stepping stone for the future…

The future has arrived. Other countries such as Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden have made heavy contributions to the environment with cities that support significant initiatives in the field.

It’s no surprise we are finding better solutions to our problems through the means of technology. The only way to guarantee this change keeps improving is by making your own mark. Saving electricity can have great contributions, not only for your personal gains but for your fellow citizens.

Saving electricity is associated with a chain of events that can elevate the prosperity in the economy. We can see how companies are taking actions in renewable energy. Residential areas and giant corporations are slowly learning that electricity is an expensive and high-energy commodity. In order to make sure the future is bright, alternative steps need to be taken in order to ensure it stays that way.

2
Jan

Your Quick Guide To Understanding Solar Energy

2 January 2019 Posted by ikhutchi Knowledge

We’ve all heard of solar energy, but do you know how it actually works? If you’re reading this you probably don’t or at least not entirely. Don’t worry, you’ve arrived at the right place.

Solar energy is a topic of great interest for those seeking a clean alternative to power their homes. Producing your own energy seems like the pinnacle of a science fiction novel or something straight out of the Jetsons.

Before explaining what solar energy is, we must talk about solar panels and how they convert that energy.So let’s start with what most people are familiar about when looking at solar panels: The panels themselves.

[heading header_type=”h2″]What is a panel?[/heading]

The panels are the translucent blue or black display most people are familiar with. These panels contain small units in them, called solar cells or photovoltaic cells. These cells are manufactured from silicon, which also serves as an efficient semiconductor.

The silicon is the one that absorbs the photons (the particle attributed to light and electromagnetic radiation). The color is due to the type of silicon or polycrystalline used, alongside the anti-reflective coating that allows a heightened absorbing capacity.

[heading header_type=”h2″]Converting Light into Electricity[/heading]

The photovoltaic cells, which just mean converting the sun’s light into electricity, link up together comprising the solar panel. Now, the process can sound a little complicated for those who aren’t well versed in physics, but basically put, solar panels divert the electrons from the atoms allowing electricity to flow. Let’s look into it in full detail.

The solar cells are made up of two semiconductors, the P-Layer, and the N-Layer. The positive layers or P-Layers have extra holes that allow the positive charges to flow. This layer adds atoms and is usually created using an element called boron. Due to baron’s lack of one electron needed to form a bond with the silicon atoms, the vacancy hole is made.

The N-Layer silicon is made by including atoms that can have a single electron more in its exterior level than the silicon. This is called Phosphorus. Phosphorus is a chemical element that contains 5 electrons in its exterior energy level instead of 4. This allows it to bond with the silicon minus one electron. Because of this process, the silicon is free to move in the silicon structure.

Through a slew of various operations each of the positive holes and excessive amounts of electrons from each semiconductor, it creates an area around the junction known as the depletion zone. In simple terms, the depletion zone is where the electrons fill the holes.

Now that the P-Layer contains negatively charged ions and the N-Layer contain positive ions, this causes an internal electric field that does not allow the electrons in the N-Layer to fill any holes in the P-Layer.

So now that we have a flow, the wires connecting the two layers are a pathway for the electrons to move freely towards the circuit to recombine with the holes. And this, ladies and gentlemen is now an electrical current which can now be diverted to power anything. The electricity can now be sent to a circuit.

This can seem a little complex to most people, don’t worry, it is. That is the science behind the morphing of something so casual as sunlight, into useable, clean energy to power buildings and electronics.

[heading header_type=”h2″]Benefits of Solar Energy[/heading]

Solar energy technology has existed since the 19th century and has only been improving over the years. Solar cells meet their current aesthetics by assembling them into panels, hence their name. This form of energy is clean and safe for the environment. It produces no noise, it’s efficient, modern and easy to use.

The most efficient way to place them in commercial infrastructures or residential homes is through the roof. Light can be absorbed and converted in real time or, it can be stored to be used later and even redistributed elsewhere.

Sources:
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/past-issues/archive-2013-2014/how-a-solar-cell-works.html

https://www.livescience.com/41995-how-do-solar-panels-work.html