Using natural energy sources
Have you ever thought about reducing
the cost of maintaining your home? Did you think that your daily activities can
contribute to improving the ecological environment?
Renewable energy is becoming more and
more popular by increasing demand of energy. The main energy sources are water,
sun, wind and biomass. Increasing demand for ecological energy sources, foster
building wind farms or photovoltaic farms with huge capacities, which are
completely self-sufficient and supply the nearest farmhouses.
Poland, as a member of the EU, is
obliged to implement modern technological solutions in the field of energy,
which involves ecological methods of energy production. In Poland we can
already see increasing popular windmills and photovoltaic farms. Their
development helps to modernize our power industry and reduce emissions of
harmful substances into the atmosphere.
WIND
Wind energy is an inexhaustible source of energy, turbines used in windmills convert wind energy into mechanical energy. Energy obtained from wind farms is considered to be one of the most ecological. Wind energy complements with solar energy, due to the more frequent occurrence of winds in autumn, winter and spring, when the electric energy produced from the sun is lower than in summer. Such an optimistic is idea of building an offshores wind farm, that is farm built at the sea. The construction of offshore wind farms has many advantages, one of them is the use of sea areas excluded from shipping, due to shallows and shoals. We also get rid of social protests, which could block the construction of these farms on land, and I leave you the visual aspects to subjective evaluation.
Source: https://www.pacificskysolar.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/shutterstock_759730900-1000x640.jpg
WATER
Poland, due to its geological
conditions, has forced the Polish engineering to develop hydroelectric power
plants that are able to produce electricity from terrain elevations of several metres,
it was quite a challenge, because other countries such as those located in
Scandinavia using tides, for egzample from mountain streams, which have much
higher elevations than Poland.
Water is also used as an energy
storage in periods of higher energy production from renewable energy sources,
which are less stable than conventional energy sources. An example is the
pumped-storage power plant Żarnowiec in Poland. This power plant is designed to
store energy during periods of it’s increased production, for example from
photovoltaics. During the period of excessive production of energy from
photovoltaic panels, water is pumped into the upper reservoir, and at night or
on cloudy days by pumping water into the water reservoir we can recover stored
energy. This is one of the most ecological and highly efficient forms of energy
storage, without the need to produce other less ecological energy storage.
Source: https://www.pkl.pl/data/posts/362/2.jpg
SUN
Solar energy is obtained through
photovoltaic panels, which convert stored energy into electricity, while solar
panels heat water in our farmhouses. Did you know that 40 sq meters of roof
with photovoltaic panels can cover the electricity demand for a 4-person
family? Another 8 meters with solar heat pipes will provide hot water for a
significant part of the year without unnecessary burning of non-renewable fuels
and environmental pollution.
Electric vehicles are increasingly
used by EU locals, which has a decisive impact on technological progress and
environmental protection. EU countries are introducing special government
programs, which support electric mobility, additionally Smart Grids allow for
much better integration of renewable energy sources with the power system.
The main problem of non-renewable
energy is its instability, so it is necessary to store it, which creates a huge
challenge for Polish engineers. A perfect supplement of energy mix in the
conventional power industry is atomic energy, which has a small inertia, and
modern forms of storage of waste from the surface of the power plant are more
and more optimistic, as the safety of their storage is increasing.
Sources:
[1] https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elektrownia_Wodna_%C5%BBarnowiec
[dostęp: sierpień 2020]
[2] http://www.urbanwind.pl/energia-wiatrowa/
[dostęp: sierpień 2020]
[3] https://leonardo-energy.pl/artykuly/wykorzystywanie-odnawialnych-zrodel-energii-i-wdrazanie-nowych-rozwiazan-technologicznych-konieczne-do-pokrycia-zapotrzebowania-na-energie/
[dostęp: sierpień 2020]
[4] https://depot.ceon.pl/bitstream/handle/123456789/10863/Magdalena%20Ignarska,%20Odnawialne%20%C5%BAr%C3%B3d%C5%82a%20energii%20w%20Polsce.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
[dostęp: sierpień 2020]
[4] https://leonardo-energy.pl/artykuly/energia-wodna-najintensywniej-wykorzystywane-zrodlo-odnawialne-na-swiecie/
[dostęp: sierpień 2020]
It seems to me that when it comes to renewable energy sources, the basis for using them is living in a detached house or on a housing estate that uses such solutions.
ReplyDeleteIf I had financial possibilities, I would definitely choose photovoltaic panels (first). In Germany, such technologies have been in use for 20 years. Devices rarely break down and run all year round.
For the environment, ecological energy is a salvation! Our authorities in Poland are not putting enough emphasis on changes towards environmental protection, but I hope that will change. Public awareness is equally important. You don't have to travel far beyond the borders of Warsaw to see the houses heated by burning r u b b i s h !
There are many ways to run an eco-friendly house and it’s worth starting with the basics - waste segregation, reducing electricity, plastic and chemicals. When it comes to ecological houses, I find it very fascinating to combine technology with architecture.
http://www.ecofriendlyhouses.net
I believe that if the world doesn’t „switch” to green energy sources, the climate catastrophe that is taking place will progress much faster.