Renewable Sources of Energy for the Home

 Renewable Sources of Energy for the Home

The movement toward the use of renewable energy sources to power residential properties, such as wind turbines, solar collecting cells, hydrogen fuel cells, and biomass gas generators, is one that should be encouraged far into the 21st century and beyond. We have a pressing need to achieve greater energy independence so that we are no longer reliant on the supply of fossil fuels coming from unreliable states that are frequently antagonistic to both us and our interests. But even beyond this point, we as individuals need to get "off the grid" and also stop having to be so dependent on government-lobbying giant oil corporations who, while they are not really involved in any covert conspiracy, nevertheless have a stranglehold on people when it comes to the issue of heating their homes (and if not through oil, then heat usually supplied by grid-driven electricity, another stranglehold).

According to Remi Wilkinson, Senior Analyst at Carbon Free, the expansion of distributed generation would unavoidably result in the restructuring of the retail power market as well as the production, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. If power companies want to make up for the money that they are losing due to consumers generating their own electricity at home, they might have to diversify their business. She is speaking in reference to the findings that were compiled by a group of UK experts who call themselves Carbon Free. She is also a member of this group. Carbon Free has been looking at the ever-increasing pattern of people in England and the West switching their houses to run on alternative forms of energy. The rising cost of oil and other fossil fuels, growing concern about environmental degradation, and aspirations to achieve energy independence are some of the factors that are driving this trend. The government is also playing a role, as it is increasingly recommending and, in some cases, financially supporting the research and development of alternative energy sources. Carbon Free has arrived at the conclusion that, assuming traditional energy prices remain at their current level or rise, microgeneration (meeting all of one's home's energy needs by installing alternative energy technology such as solar panels or wind turbines) will become to home energy supply what the Internet became to home communications and data gathering, and in the long run, this will have profound effects on the businesses of the existing energy supply companies.

According to the findings of Carbon Free's research, energy corporations are also becoming involved in the competition. These firms want to use microgeneration to their own benefit in the hopes of opening up new markets for themselves. Carbon Free cites the example of electricity companies (in the UK) reporting that they are seriously researching and developing ideas for new geothermal energy facilities. These companies see geothermal energy production as a highly profitable wave of the future, which is why Carbon Free cites this example. Although it is initially rather pricey to install, one more of Carbon Free's findings is that solar energy hot water heating technology is an effective method for lowering the expenses of water heating in the home over the long term. However, solar energy is not yet an economically viable option for businesses since solar energy hot water heating requires too much in the form of specialised plumbing to be implemented in commercial buildings at this time. Last but not least, Carbon Free informs us that placing wind turbines in one's home is an effective method for lowering one's monthly power bills while also increasing one's level of autonomy. However, this is another thing that is initially highly pricey to have installed, and businesses would do well to begin lowering the rates that they charge for these devices. If they do not, they run the risk of seeing their share of the market decrease.