Renewable Energy Articles

North Carolina is rapidly becoming one of the fastest growing solar energy markets in the United States. It has been reported that the state currently has more than 800 MW of solar energy project in development or under construction, which is third largest in the country, trailing only behind California and Nevada.

One of the reasons why solar energy is in the state's focus is because of the progressive renewable energy portfolio standard which obliges utilities to meet 12.5 % of their energy needs from renewable energy sources. In fact, North Carolina was the first state in the southeastern United States to adopt a renewable-energy portfolio standard.

Most solar panel manufacturers give 20 to 25 years warranty on solar panels, and this time period is what most people put into their equation when calculating the payback period and total profit.

The researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg say that this warranty primarily relates to „robustness of a brand-new sample with respect to extreme, short-term loading“.

They say that there are many environmental influences that cause material to fatigue over the years and that they must also be included into the equation in order to get precise results.

The researchers have explained that factors such as snow loads, temperature fluctuations, and wind gusts create mechanical stresses and associated strain and elongation in the solar panels which leads to leads to material fatigue in the long term.

In their study the researchers used complete solar panel with sensors that use changes in resistance to measure strains and elongations of the construction components which in turn allowed the mechanical stresses in the material to be calculated.

One of the most interesting conclusions from this study was that the brittleness caused by UV radiation plays significant role in material fatigue.

Reducing our energy consumption is not only greener and therefore better for the environment but it should also save us money on our energy bills too.

Here is a look at some ideas that could help you to use less hot water in your home.

Check your shower

A good way of reducing the amount of hot water you use is to check out the flow rate on your shower. If you have an old or inefficient shower head you could be wasting about one extra liter of water per minute compared to a more efficient shower head. Fit a shower head that has a flow rate of 9 liters per minute or less and you could still enjoy a great shower but also cut your hot water use by as much as 25%, which is a significant saving.

While you are looking at reducing your energy costs and reducing your water consumption you may want to consider shopping around to see whether you can get a better deal. However, by simply installing a more efficient shower head you could already be generating savings of around $150 per year.

Renewable energy technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines are still fairly expensive, because they are relatively young technologies in need of development, and thus require subsidies in order to remain competitive with fossil fuels in terms of costs. The subsidies for renewable energy technologies are growing in almost all countries of the world, because world wants more clean energy that doesn't harm our climate like fossil fuels do.

The latest report by the UK's TaxPayers’ Alliance says that renewable energy subsidies will rise from just under £2 billion this year to over £5 billion by 2018/19.

Other interesting findings from this study are:

More and more of us are becoming concerned about the environment and the world in which we live. We have taken on recycling by the bin load and are investing in solar panels like there is no tomorrow. However, there are a variety of other ways which we can help the environment, save energy and also save ourselves money that you may not be aware of. By implementing these products and changes you could save yourself a bundle on utilities as well as becoming an even greener home or business.

Water Efficient Toilet Systems

Within homes and businesses around the country, toilets can account for up to 90% of domestic water use. This is a huge amount and there can be significant savings made by using a more efficient system. There are a variety of toilets now which can save at least 25% of this water and will therefore save you a bundle on your bills. If everyone used these systems, we would save a huge amount of water. As water is a resource that could become extremely pressured over the next few decades as the population grows, this could make a significant difference.