Part 6 of How Can A Flood Damage Your Home. Floodwaters can pick up and carry objects of all types – from small to large, from light to heavy – including trees, portions of flood-damaged buildings, automobiles, boats, storage tanks, mobile homes, and even entire homes. In cold climates, wintertime floods can also carry large […]
Part 6 of Buying and Using Renewable Energy at Home. All wind energy systems consist of a wind turbine, a tower, wiring, and the “balance of system” (BOS) components: controllers, inverters, and/or batteries. Home wind turbines consist of a rotor, a generator mounted on a frame, and (usually) a tail. With the spinning blades, the […]
Part 4 of Buying and Using Renewable Energy at Home. The following briefly describes renewable energy technologies that might be offered in green pricing programs or competitive markets in your area. If you do not currently have the option to choose your electricity supplier, contact your utility to find out what their plans are regarding […]
Part 8 of Wind Power for the 21st Century. For the past two years, the wind industry has enjoyed record-breaking growth, and industry experts predict that with the extension of the PTC through 2008, the next two years will be record-breakers as well. The challenge for industry is to maintain the long-term wind energy growth […]
Part 6 of Wind Power for the 21st Century. Southwest Windpower conducted performance optimization and blade-fatigue tests at the NWTC on its new Skystream wind turbine. The 1.8-kW turbine, developed in partnership with DOE, won the Best of What’s New Award from Popular Science Magazine and was listed as a best invention for 2006 by […]
Part 5 of Wind Power for the 21st Century. One program R&D project that shows potential for demonstrating a significant increase in overall system performance is the 2.5-MW Liberty wind turbine developed by Clipper Windpower. Clipper completed its prototype in 2005 after only 3 years of R&D. The new machine’s innovative distributed-path powertrain design incorporates […]
Part 7 of Wind Power for the 21st Century. Large Wind Technologies Although research efforts for the past two decades have led to dramatic reductions in the cost of wind energy, continued incremental improvements to wind turbine performance will lower system costs even further while improving system integration and enhancing technology acceptance. The Wind Energy […]
Part 4 of Wind Power for the 21st Century. Systems Integration The natural variability of the wind resource can present challenges to grid system operators and planners with regard to managing regula-tion, load following, scheduling, line voltage, and reserves. While the current level of wind penetration in the United States and around the world has […]
Part 3 of Wind Power for the 21st Century. In support of Advanced Energy Initiative objective to expand the use of wind energy, the Wind Energy Program is increasing its efforts to overcome near-term deployment barriers to wind by enhancing public acceptance, promoting supportive public policies, engaging key stakeholders, and addressing siting and environmental issues. […]
Part 2 of Wind Power for the 21st Century. The DOE Wind Energy Program is one of 10 clean energy technology programs within the Department of Energy. It is managed by program staff at DOE Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and its Project Management Center (PMC) in Golden, Colorado, manages the financial assistance, provides program support, […]
Part 1 of Wind Power for the 21st Century. Wind energy technology has come a long way over the past decade. In 1996, the average utility-scale wind turbine was almost as tall as a 12-story building and it produced enough electricity to power about 125 average American homes. At the time, these turbines were considered […]
Part 4 of Landscaping for Energy Efficiency. A well-informed and well-designed home admits low-angle winter sun, rejects overhead summer sun, and minimizes the cooling effect of winter winds. If you are building a home, pay attention to its orientation. In the northern hemisphere, it is usually best to bring home long axis in an east-west […]
Part 2 of Cooling Your Home Naturally with Fans and Ventilation. Natural ventilation relies on the wind and the “chimney effect” to keep a home cool. Moving air ventilates your home by entering or leaving windows, depending on their orientation to the wind. When wind blows against your home, air is forced into your windows. […]