Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) was conceived of by the French engineer Jacques D’Arsonval in 1881. However, at the time of this writing the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii is home to the only operating experimental OTEC plant on the face of the earth. OTEC is a potential alternative energy source that needs to be funded and explored much more than it presently is. The great hurdle to get over with OTEC implementation on a wide and practically useful level is cost. It is difficult to get the costs down to a reasonable level because of the processes presently utilized to drive OTEC. Ocean thermal energy would be very clean burning and not add pollutants into the air. However, as it presently would need to be set up with our current technologies, OTEC plants would have the capacity for disrupting and perhaps damaging the local environment.

There are three kinds of OTEC. Read more »

Do you want to stop sending money to the power company?

Every year people like us are sending thousands of dollars to the power companies. We’re sending them money so that they can supply us with power. That’s a fair deal right?

It would be if it wasn’t for the fact that they are ripping us off! Read more »

Although I’ve been talking a lot about renewable energy for the past few days, there are other ways to go green in your household. Many of the approaches you can take to going green are simple and easy to implement, a lot of them, you can start doing today. The most common excuse people use for not going green is that it’s complicated and expensive, that’s simply not the case.

Many of the options you have for going green do come with a huge price tag. However, there are plenty of things you can start doing today. Many of those things will both help the environment and save you a bundle. Let’s take a look at a few of them. Read more »

Since I’m running an alternative energy theme this week I thought it would be fitting to find a solar power related video for this weeks Friday Flick. Scott Meyer and Bruce Hatchett takes you through some important considerations in this short 2 minute video. I would strongly encourage you to take a look at some of their other videos, which you can find at expertvillage.com. The quality of these videos is simply outstanding. Read more »

As you have probably heard, unless you have been hiding under a rock, most of the energy we are using today comes from non-renewable energy sources. One of the big problems with non-renewable energy sources are that once they are gone, they are gone. That wouldn’t be such a big problem if it wasn’t for the fact that we are running out of non-renewable energy. That’s why a lot of research is being done into renewable energy sources. However, using renewable energy sources can be somewhat more difficult than using non-renewable sources. On the other hand, they do provide a lot of benefits when they have been implemented. Read more »

When you decide that you want to create your own electricity for your home, there are several things you need to consider. First of all, you need to consider your needs. Then you need to decide what you are trying to achieve.Think about what you need the power for and try to consider if you could use a little less than you are using today. Read more »

By Robert K.

The DIY windmill is the modern type of windmill which is made from stronger base materials and a lot lighter top materials, to facilitate spinning at incredible speeds even when the wind is blowing softly. People use a DIY windmill to obtain free wind energy that is often used directly in near by locations, as electricity. Read more »

Solar power is a source of renewable energy that is attractive to a lot of people. Unlike windmills and many other green energy sources solar energy is a passive source of energy, and it can be easily implemented in almost any environment. To most people a windmill in their garden would seem like an outrageously ridiculous idea. Solar panels don’t come with the same reservations. The simple fact that once you have the panels installed on your roof you never have to worry about them again is attractive to a lot of people. Read more »

I hope you had a great Christmas and new year. As the 2009 is coming to life it is time to start planning your home improvement projects for the year. It’s time to take a look at what kind of projects you should think about doing this year. You might also be wondering if it’s even a good idea to start a home improvement project during a recession. These are all questions that will be answered in this first post of the year.
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Dependency on foreign energy resources is a hot topic these days. Everybody is talking about how to become self sufficient. We’ll not talk about how to make your home self sufficient today. However, we’ll go into what you can start doing today to save energy and heat. That will not only make your home more energy efficient, but will also help you save quite a bit of money.

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Green home improvement is all about saving the planet right? Well, that is a big part of it, but here’s something you might not be aware of. Green home improvement is also a great way to save money. This post is all about what you can do to save a bit of extra cash while doing your part to save the planet. Needless to say we’ll be discussing both alternative sources of energy, but also ways to decrease your use of the sources you are using today. We’ll talk a bit about water and how spend less of that without even noticing and finally we’ll get into some of the bigger projects you can consider getting started with.

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