Outlines For Environmental Training Courses

In a nutshell, ‘Green Energy’ utilises natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat to provide our daily energy requirement. They are considered ‘Green’ because they are environmentally friendly. It is easy to think that we may be travelling back in time when we think of items such as wind power and windmills. However, it is the result of eco-efficient and planet friendly options that this process is maintained.

The home can use a range of new ideas to help with energy usage – including Solar Thermal and Solar Water Heating Collectors. Equally there is electricity that is generated through roof-installed panels. A further factor revolves around stoves and boilers – which are known as Biomass Energy. There is also the ground heat from the Sun – now known as Ground Source Heat Pumps. Considering items such as Wind Power and Hydro Turbines, we are finally getting to very old forms of energy production.

Solar Energy Systems: Often called Solar Energy, this is fact based on two types of solar panels each using different ideas to get their results. Initially, there is the process of obtaining hot water from the Sun via Solar Water Heating Collectors. Additionally, there is the method of converting solar radiation into electricity known as Photovoltaic – or simply Solar Electrical panels. Solar Panels themselves need to be away from all light blocks, and should be on south facing roofs at angles of 30 degrees from the horizontal plane.

For the UK, this is often considered the most popular form of ‘Green Energy’. Solar Water heating systems can meet the need for more than half of all hot water needs in the domestic market. Getting a professional fitting will cost around 2-5k, however, doing the job yourself could make it as low as 500 to 1500 pounds in total.

Biomass Energy Based Systems: This is a general term for all forms of plant and animal material e.g. wood, straw, poultry litter and ‘energy crops’. It’s the ability of this power source to generate diverse forms of energy, such as heat and electricity, that makes this so adaptable. The ability to generate electricity is one of the UK’s main green strengths – as it has one of the larger Biomass legacies within Europe. Added to all this, is the lack of C02 produced as a by-product of the whole process. Having a tree planted in place of another (that is felled for energy production) helps overall.

Within this field is the need for the use of ‘Energy Crops’, such as fast growing trees, e.g. Willow and Poplar or other entities grown on a Short Rotation Coppice (SRC). Of equal importance is the production of perennial grasses – because of their yield of dry matter. Other less known materials within this field are Agricultural and Municipal Waste. To begin with, Agricultural Waste is often produced as part of the agricultural process overall. Municipal Waste such as food or wood can also be utilised as a biomass product.

Systems Based On Geo-Thermal Energy: By naturally heating the Earth, the Sun has the potential to generate both warm water and electricity. Using the ground temperature of around 12 degrees in the UK – we can both heat and cool buildings. These heat pumps do need some power to operate; but for every one unit of energy they use, they generate four units of energy in return. This system can go even further – if energy efficient items such as wind turbines or solar electrical panels are used.

Wind Energy Programs: In use for milling grain or pumping water, wind energy has been with us for a very long time, although its modern uses are complex. However, in more recent times there’s been the option to recover the energy for its own sake – and deliver this either to a home unit or to the local power grid. The UK is considered as one of the best sources of wind generation within Europe. Potentially, we can produce 10 percent of our annual energy needs through wind power, although at present within the UK we still only use 1 percent. Frankly, electricity can be realised from as little as 2p per kWh – as opposed to the current level of 2-10 p per kWh. Recovery of the cost involved is somewhere between 6-9 months.

Then there is Hydropower – something within Europe that the UK excels in. Although new in its approach, the act of harnessing energy from water has been going on for a long time. In total, this could produce something like 2 percent of all electricity required in the UK.

By using a turbine, a Hydropower system can transfer the kinetic energy of moving water into another form. Turbines use either a water drop (e.g. through a dam) or by a natural ‘run of the river’ – thereby having no water storage reservoir. ‘Micro-Hydro’ however utilises old outdated sluices and dams. Although a lesser known form of electricity output, this process could supply 200mW of UK demand. The expected cost of installing a system such as this would be between 200 pounds and 3k per kW of output.

It can be seen that the route to ‘Green Energy’ is growing considerably, especially in light of the need for increasing energy outputs throughout the Western World. The UK domestic market appears to be one of the core beneficiaries of this technology.

Electricians and Plumbers in particular are expected to provide the main thrust of domestic installation expertise. With ‘Green Energy’ rising up the political agenda in Europe, a range of financial aids and grants are becoming available. This is a new industry – but getting the right certification can only improve job security and opportunities for the future. Electrical or plumbing training that incorporates green technology could be very useful for the future.

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