Alternative Energy for the Home
The trend toward homes that are powered by
alternative energy sources, ranging from wind turbines and solar
collection cells to hydrogen fuel cells and biomass gases, is one that
needs to continue into the 21st century and beyond. We have great need
of becoming more energy independent, and not having to rely on the
supplying of fossil fuels from unstable nations who are often hostile to
us and our interests. But even beyond this factor, we as individuals
need to get “off the grid” and also stop having to be so reliant on
government-lobbying giant oil corporations who, while they are not
really involved in any covert conspiracy, nevertheless have a
stranglehold on people when it comes to heating their homes (and if not
through oil, then heat usually supplied by grid-driven electricity,
another stranglehold).
As Remi Wilkinson, Senior Analyst with Carbon Free, puts it, inevitably,
the growth of distributed generation will lead to the restructuring of
the retail electricity market and the generation, transmission and
distribution infrastructure. The power providers may have to diversify
their business to make up for revenues lost through household energy
microgeneration. She is referring to the conclusions by a group of UK
analysts, herself included among them, who call themselves Carbon Free.
Carbon Free has been studying the ever-growing trend toward alternative
energy-using homes in England and the West. This trend is being driven
by ever-more government recommendation and sometimes backing of
alternative energy research and development, the rising cost of oil and
other fossil fuels, concern about environmental degradation, and desires
to be energy independent. Carbon Free concludes that, assuming
traditional energy prices remain at their current level or rise,
microgeneration (meeting all of one's home's energy needs by installing
alternative energy technology such as solar panels or wind turbines)
will become to home energy supply what the Internet became to home
communications and data gathering, and eventually this will have deep
effects on the businesses of the existing energy supply companies.
Carbon Free's analyses also show that energy companies themselves have
jumped in on the game and seek to leverage microgeneration to their own
advantage for opening up new markets for themselves. Carbon Free cites
the example of electricity companies (in the UK) reporting that they are
seriously researching and developing ideas for new geothermal energy
facilities, as these companies see geothermal energy production as a
highly profitable wave of the future. Another conclusion of Carbon Free
is that solar energy hot water heating technology is an efficient
technology for reducing home water heating costs in the long run,
although it is initially quite expensive to install. However, solar
power is not yet cost-effective for corporations, as they require too
much in the way of specialized plumbing to implement solar energy hot
water heating. Lastly, Carbon Free tells us that installing wind
turbines is an efficient way of reducing home electricity costs, while
also being more independent. However, again this is initially a very
expensive thing to have installed, and companies would do well to begin
slashing their prices on these devices or they could find themselves
losing market share.
About the Author: D. Benjamin is the owner of
iapsales.com LLC - a family business specializing in HVAC products. We
are distributors of
Qmark Heaters,
electric tankless water heaters,
bathroom heaters,
patio heaters, electric heaters, portable air
conditioners & electric towel warmers. Shop online at
www.heateroutlet.com for these great home improvement products.
Iapsales.com LLC was established in 2003 and is the sister company to
Innovative Air Products located in historical Exeter, NH. We are a 2nd
generation manufacturers’ rep firm dedicated to providing residential &
commercial heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment. We offer
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