How We Became Dependent Upon Fossil Fuels

September 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
CHANGCHUN, CHINA - DECEMBER 28: Residents wal...
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Every nation all over the world is dependent upon fossil fuels. Whether it is a dependence on the oil and gas that make cars run or for coal that helps keep trains running or heat up a house; the world needs fossil fuels. It’s hard to even think of a time when fossil fuels weren’t so in bedded into our daily lives. It might be hard to think of but those times did exist.

Before the discovery of fossil fuels, humans depended upon other natural energies to help with their daily needs. Fire and wood were used to heat up houses. Animal lard was used as a form of oil to keep lamps burning through the evening. All of these items came from nature and were not a form of fossil fuels. If you had asked anyone about fossil fuels they wouldn’t even know what you were talking about. They didn’t exist.

While most of the world was relying upon natural means to survive throughout the day; fossil fuels were being created right under their feet. Many levels below the earth’s surface fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal were being created and lying in wait to be discovered. As technology advanced the ability to search below the Earth’s surface came about. Drills, mines and large digging equipment were invented and started a craze to see what could be discovered. Through the use of these types of equipment people were able to discover oil, gas and coal.

Once these fuels were discovered, scientists jumped on the opportunity to see what could be done with these substances. These scientists discovered that they could burn these substances and create a means to power things such as trains, planes or cars. These substances could even be burned to create energy that would heat a house. Since this type of energy made life simpler for people, we steadily began to become more dependent on fossil fuels.

While humans weren’t always dependent upon fossil fuels, we slowly started to develop a dependence and we have become the fuel dependent society we are today.

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Filed Under: Environment, Fossil Fuels, Solar Energy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Using Natural Light

August 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Sun, as seen from the surface of Earth thr...
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We know that the sun is one of the most powerful sources of energy in the universe. Farmers have been aware of it’s immense power and effect on their crops for centuries. As technology advances farmers have done what they can to use solar energy as a way to increase production as well as use it as an alternative fuel and energy source by the rest of the world. But what about using sun in its most base methods. For instance light can simply be used to light a house. The complete history of lighting is based off the idea of natural light. While things have changed since the Romans used lighting in the 6th century they are still using daylighting and solar lighting as ways to not only give a place an added beauty but also as a way to reduce the amount of fossil fuels that are being burned to create energy.

The systems of daylighting are that which collect sunlight and provide them to the inside of a room. This is considered passive technology that offsets energy use and replaces artificial lighting and offsets non-solar energy and can at times reduce the need for air conditioning saving once again on precious resources. There is also a psychological benefits to sunshine that ordinary lighting cannot provide.

However the idea of daylight design isn’t a simple as putting in a window. Like with most things involving the sun there is quite a bit of science that goes into it. There is a selection of window types that must be right for the positioning of the window and or course there must be a size that will allow maximum light in without being too overbearing. There is also a question of whether or not shading devices may be incorporated into the design in order to be able to cool off the area in the hotter summer months. The fact is that the use of natural light in the house is nothing short of a carefully planned scientific design.

Filed Under: Solar Energy Tagged With:

Solar Heating

August 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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We know how powerful the sun is and how much the world is beginning to put a premium on its ability to be used as the main source of renewable energy around the world but perhaps you aren’t aware of all it can do. You know by now that it’s most frequent responsibility is to be good to the crops in the field and that farmers use solar panels as well as other techniques in order to keep the sun hitting the crops as much as it possibly can. But did you know that the sun is always used for a variety of other ways. One is to heat water.

Solar hot water systems are used to in low geographic latitudes and there are generally 3 types of solar water heaters. There is the evacuated tube collectors and then there are the glazed flat plate collectors and those are used for the domestic hot water and the of course there is the unglazed plastic collectors but you won’t find those in your house. Those are usually used in the backyard to heat your swimming pool.

In many homes they are using solar energy in their heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. They can be used to offset a portion of the energy used by these systems. Thermal mass is any material that is used to store heat and that heat from the sun is the case in solar energy. Thermal mass includes stone, cement and water. These thermal mass principles are used in thermal mass have been used in arid climates and warm temperature places to keep building cool by absorbing all the solar energy and radiating stored heat at night. They can be used in cold temperature areas to maintain warmth as well. Thermal mass depends on several factors like climate, daylighting and shading conditions. The fact of the matter is that conditions used for cooling and heating are helped by the use of solar energy and have been for years. And with the way technology is advancing, solar energy is going to get stronger by the year.

Filed Under: Renewable Energy, Solar Energy Tagged With: ,

Other Uses for Solar Energy

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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So we know that government is very big on turning over to alternative fuels like solar energy or wind energy but how is that possible in this day and age? How can we use the immense power of the sun to make our lives better?
The first thing we must make sure that the term solar radiation is used it doesn’t only refer to the energy used from the sun but actually all renewable energies get their energy from the sun. The only ones that don’t are geothermal or tidal. So how is it used in today’s world?

It’s used in urban planning a lot. Sunlight has been a big part of building design since the beginning of history. Solar architecture and urban have been around for centuries as emperors used to orient their building south to be more toward the sunlight and warmth. This is a common feature of passive solar architecture and thermal mass. These features are tailored to the local climate and environment and produce well lit spaces that will end up staying in a comfortable temperature area. Recently solar design was used to tie together solar light and heating within an integrated solar design package. There are accessories that can enhance and compliment passive design.

There are also such things as urban heat islands that are in metro area and they contain high temps than the surrounding environment. The higher temps are a result of high absorption of the light and materials such as concrete and contain more head. These things are not simply accidents but rather planned out happenings that make a certain part of the city warmer and thus decreasing it’s need on regular electricity. These advancement are a big boon to the way the world is needed to rely on the electricity we currently use. Solar energy and solar power in general are becoming a more widely used source of alternative fuel. As the world begins to figure out that we are under using the sun there will be more solar power in the world as we know it.

Filed Under: Solar Energy

Cooking with Solar Energy

March 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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The next time you look up at the sun you might have to look at it in a very different way. You know that the sun is there to help the plants grow and it’s there to provide warmth in your home as well as it can do wonders for your mental state of mind but what you might not know is that the sun has been making your life better in ways you might never have imagined and it’s these ways that make the sun exactly what it is today.

Would you believe me if I told you the process of distilled water can be made with the help of the sun? Solar distillation is used for saline solution and brackish water portable. 1872 was the first time a solar distillation project was done on a massive scale. The way it works is it involves water filled plastic bottles to sunlight for several hours. It will take anywhere from either six hours to 48 hours. The 48 hours would be if it were fully overcast conditions. This is the popular method for water distilling in third world countries who don’t have the money for purification plants. Sometimes solar energy than may be used in stailisation ponds to help out waste water without chemicals. Further environmental advantage to this method is these ponds consume carbon dioxide in photosynthesis.

The sun can also be used for cooking. It can also be used for drying and some of the pasteurization. There are three sections for it. There is box cookers, panel cookers and reflector cookers. The simplest one is that of the box cooker. It has a container that is insulated with a lid. It can be used effectively with overcast skies and reach 150 C. Panel cookers have a light that reflects to direct sunlight and reaches the same temps that a box cooker would. Reflector cookers could reach up to 315 C but are dependent on direct light to function. These are just more ways that solar energy is used today.

Filed Under: Renewable Energy, Solar Energy
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