As the planet’s non-renewable energy sources start to run dry, everyone needs to do their part in making more use of abundant renewable energy instead.

Currently there are 4 major types of renewable energy available at our disposal: solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, and geothermal energy.

Wind Energy:

Wind turbines have been around for millennia, further back than the birth of Christ. Over the years they have been used to pump water, drag boats and grind flour. But at the turn of the industrial revolution, wind turbines were made to produce electricity.

Some people still imagine windmills as the ornate ones found in the Netherlands, or the small wind pumps on farmland, but wind power technology has come a long way. Today, massive windmills, better known as wind turbines can generate millions of watts of electric energy, and smaller ones can be used at home as a substitute to grid-tied power.

Solar Energy:

Sunlight is the most abundant form of energy we have available, so there is no excuse for us not using more of it. But thanks to extensive research and development, we can make use of the sun in various ways – solar heating and passive solar design, solar electric power, and solar cooking and solar drying.

Solar water heating, solar electricity, and passive solar design are some the simplest and cost-effective ways to reduce your conventional energy use. They do not need much maintenance, and are really environmentally friendly. With solar cooking, no gas or electricity is needed, just some good sunshine. making it very popular for campers and travelers alike. Also, the food is cooked at a much lower temperature, which helps to stop vital nutrients from being lost.

Hydro Energy:

Like the ancient windmills, the power of the water was once used to grind flour or to power machines for irrigation.

In modern times the power of water is mainly used in to generate hydro-electricity. This is mainly done is large dams, where water is stored and released through small channels. The force of the water through these channels is extremely strong and capable of spinning large turbines, that then generate electric power. An example would be the Hoover Dam that is used primarily to supply Las Vegas with electricity. Over 90% of our renewable energy is generated with hydro-electric dams.

Many environmentalists and socialists are against hydro-electric dams, since they affect the natural forna and flora and can cause the forced removal of entire cities.

Geothermal (Volcanic) Power:

Most of the time Geothermal energy is harnessed in volcanic regions, where molten lava is rather close to the earth’s surface. An good example would be in Iceland, an extremely volcanic island that generates a lot of its power in this way.

How geothermal energy basically works is the lava heats a lot of underground water, creating geysers with hot steam. The pressure from the steam is used to spin turbines and generate power. Power plants are usually built right over these geysers, where they reuse the water by pumping it underground to produce more steam. And so the process continues…

This brings us to the end of the various types of renewable energy explored. To find more in-depth information on each source, you can visit our website at DIY-Renewable-Energy dot com.