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Career Centre-Based Certification Training Courses For Domestic Green Energy - The Inside Track
'Green Energy' is the use of resources such as wind, tides and geothermal heating to provide us with our everyday energy requirement. When 'Green', they are all thought to be replenishable and natural. It is easy to think that we may be travelling back in time when we think of items such as wind power and windmills. Generally, this is the result of using up to date ideas, specifically those that are planet friendly and eco-efficient.
In the home environment, one can see examples such as Solar Thermal and Solar Water Heating Collectors. To gain electricity from roof panels you would need solar electrical panels (PV's). Following on from this is a process known as Biomass Energy - which includes Boilers burning wood and other fuels. Then we have the ancient energy of the Sun and the heat that comes from it - now called Ground Source Heat Pumps. At the end there are two of the most mature forms of energy production in the UK - albeit renamed now to Wind Turbines and Hydropower.
Solar Thermal Energy Systems - Also known as Solar Energy, this mainly uses two, albeit different types of solar panels to get the desired results. To begin with, we have the concept of drawing energy from the Sun to heat water - known as Solar Water Heating Collectors. Added to this is the generation of electricity from solar radiation - known as Photovoltaism, or more commonly Solar Electrical panels. Solar Panels themselves need to be away from all light blocks, and should be on south facing roofs at angles of 30 degrees from the horizontal plane.
As a result, Solar Water Power is often considered the most common form of Solar Energy in the UK. Solar Water heating systems can provide over 50 percent of a household's hot water requirement during the year. Getting a professional fitting will cost around 2-5k, however, doing the job yourself could make it as low as 500 to 1500 pounds in total.
Biomass Energy Based Systems: Including all natural energy forms derived from plant and animal products - such as wood, straw, poultry litter and 'energy crops'. It is by using these materials in new ways to create energy that makes it so exciting. It is a useful point to make that the UK is one of the major producers of Biomass fuels within Europe. It should be borne in mind that the whole process is designed to produce energy without an impact on CO2. Having a tree planted in place of another (that is felled for energy production) helps overall.
By the growth of Short Rotation Crops (SRC), the UK is able to maximise the 'Energy Crops' return overall. Also producing high yields of dry matter are the perennial grasses. Equally significant within this practice sit Municipal and Agricultural waste products. One natural offshoot of agricultural work is Agricultural Waste. Of equal importance is Municipal Waste, which comes from recycled wood and food.
Geo-Thermal Energy: The constant energy of the Sun heating the Earth results in both warm water and electricity being produced. By using the ground source temperature of approximately 12 degrees, we can either heat or cool buildings within the UK. These heat pumps do need some power to operate; but for every one unit of energy they use, they generate four units of energy in return. By using energy from solar electrical panels or wind turbines to power them, heat source pumps can be almost 100 percent renewable in energy production.
Systems Based On Wind Energy: Wind Energy as a sustainable source of energy has been going on for millennia. That aside, the ability to generate energy and both transfer this into the home or the local grid has been a relatively new option. To be fair, the UK has the highest level of wind generation within Europe. The fact remains that in the UK, there exists the ability to realise 10 percent of our electricity requirement from wind power - as opposed to the current value of just 1 percent. Although electricity is still being produced from between 2-10 p per kWh, it could be generated from as little as 2p per kWh. Because of this, it is estimated that it takes between half a year to three quarters of a year to cover the installation costs.
Lastly, we have a discipline that the UK does well - namely Hydropower. Although new in its approach, the act of harnessing energy from water has been going on for a long time. It is this type of energy production that could meet 2 percent of all the UK's demand.
A hydropower system uses a turbine to create energy from moving water. Utilising natural river runs, or water drop-offs (through dams,) the turbines can work without a reservoir of water. It is by using the eroded national distribution systems, that allows for outdated sluices and dams to be used by techniques known as 'Micro-Hydro'. Although a lesser known form of electricity output, this process could supply 200mW of UK demand. The expected cost of installing a system such as this would be between 200 pounds and 3k per kW of output.
Due to the energy requirements worldwide, 'Green Energy' is naturally growing at a fast rate. To be fair, the UK domestic market is actually leading the resurgence, with a variety of schemes.
Electrician and Plumbers are thought to be key in providing expertise during domestic installations. It is the political view of this type of energy generation that results in grants and financial aid becoming ever-more prevalent. As a new industry, there are a range of new certificates to gain. Electrical or plumbing training that incorporates green technology could be very useful for the future.