What is Renewable Energy?

August, 2013 by Alma Abell

The words sound simple and self explanatory but the reality is somewhat different. We believe that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. However, it can be changed which, by implication, means it could be renewed.

Energy Use in Our Homes

Electricity is energy and, in the UK, it is mainly produced at large power stations where water is heated in boilers to produce steam which passes through turbines which drive generators to produce the electricity. The energy locked in the fuel is transferred first into heat, then into steam, then into rotary motion and finally into electricity. Reversing the process so as to put the energy back into the fuel is somewhat complex and impractical. In other words, electricity that we buy from the Electric Company is hardly renewable.

For winter heating purposes, we usually find the cost of using electricity to be prohibitive so we turn to other forms of energy. This usually means that we purchase and burn fuel. Wood, coal, oil and gas are our commonly used fuels. Like electricity, these fuels are not providing us with renewable energy.

Can We Improve Our Energy Efficiency?

A fully renewable energy source may be a theoretical dream but we can certainly take steps to improve on how we use energy. Through windmills and solar panels we can do much to reduce the amount of Power Station electricity used in our homes. Using the energy from the wind or that from the sun is not exactly renewing it but, at least, we are not depleting the planet’s resources and we are not polluting its atmosphere.

Additionally, we can investigate the manner in which we use energy in our homes. Do we have the most efficient equipment installed; are we wasting energy unnecessarily, etc? Unless we have the aptitude and time to be seriously inventive, we would be best advised to contact experts like Renewable Energy In Bolton for help in answering such questions.

Such specialist companies can advise on the latest energy efficient equipment and recommend solutions that will better use the energy we are paying for and, over time, will save us money above the initial outlay amount. Installation contractors like Renewable Energy Bolton are well versed in the latest technologies such as heat pumps which extract heat from the outside air and from the ground to make that heat available to your central heating water boiler. This is but one example of Renewable Energy Bolton providing alternative energy sources even if not strictly renewable.

Renewable Energy In Bolton

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