ELECTRICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

What is Net Metering?   Net metering is a service to an electric consumer under which electric energy generated by that electric consumer from an eligible on-site generating facility and delivered to the local distribution facilities may be used to offset electric energy provided by the electric utility to the electric consumer during the applicable billing period.  continue.. How does Net Metering Works?   When your home is equipped with a renewable energy source (such as wind or solar power), it sends the excess energy that's generated back into the grid to power other homes. An electrical converter called an inverter turns the DC (direct current) power coming from your renewable energy source into AC (alternating current) power, which matches the voltage of the electricity flowing through the power line.  continue.. FAQ for Net Metering   Net metering allows customers of certain electric distribution companies (note:  check whether yo...

How solar cell works?   This diagram shows a typical crystalline silicon solar cell. The electrical current generated in the semiconductor is extracted by contacts to the front and rear of the cell. The top contact structure which must allow light to pass through is made in the form of widely-spaced thin metal strips (usually called fingers) that supply current to a larger bus bar. The cell is covered with a thin layer of dielectric material - the anti-reflection coating, ARC - to minimise light reflection from the top surface... continue.. Solar cells principles and applications   This diagram shows a typical crystalline silicon solar cell. The electrical current generated in the semiconductor is extracted by contacts to the front and rear of the cell. The top contact structure which must allow light to pass through is made in the form of widely-spaced thin metal strips (usually called fingers) that supply current to a larger bus bar. The cell is covered with a thin layer ...

What isTidal Power?   Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity. The first study of large scale tidal power plants was by the US Federal Power Commission in 1924 which would have been located if built in the northern border area of the US state of Maine and the south eastern border area of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, with various dams, powerhouses and ship locks enclosing the Bay of Fundy and Passamaquoddy Bay (note - see map in reference). Nothing came of the study and it is unknown whether Canada had been approached about the study by the US Federal Power Commission. The world's first large-scale tidal power plant (the Rance Tidal Power Station) became operational in 1966.. continue.. What isTidal Energy?   Tidal energy, or tidal power, is a little known and little used energy source. Yet it is a very old energy source, dating back to the middle ages in Europ...

What is Biomass Energy?   Biomass, a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste, (hydrogen) gas, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat. In this sense, living biomass can also be included, as plants can also generate electricity while still alive. The most conventional way in which biomass is used, however, still relies on direct incineration. Forest residues, for example (such as dead trees, branches and tree stumps), yard clippings, wood chips and garbage are often used for this. However, biomass also includes plant or animal matter used for production of fibers or chemicals. Biomass may also include biodegradable wastes that can be burnt as fuel. It excludes such organic materials as fossil fuels, which have been transformed by geological processes into substances such as coal or petroleum... continue.. How Biomass Energy Works?   To many people,...

What is Solar Energy?   Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available renewable energy on earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used.. continue.. What is Solar Power?   Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using the photoelectric effect.. continue.. Solar Basics: Energy from the Sun   The sun has produced energy for billions of years.  Solar energy is the sun’s rays (solar radiation) that reach...

What is Geothermal Electricity?   Technologies in use include dry steam power plants, flash steam power plants and binary cycle power plants. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 24 countries while geothermal heating is in use in 70 countries. Estimates of the electricity generating potential of geothermal energy vary from 35 to 2000 GW.[2] Current worldwide installed capacity is 10,715 megawatts (MW), with the largest capacity in the United States (3,086 MW), Philippines, and Indonesia. Geothermal power is considered to be sustainable because the heat extraction is small compared with the Earth's heat content. The emission intensity of existing geothermal electric plants is on average 122 kg of CO2 per megawatt-hour (MW·h) of electricity, about one-eighth of a conventional coal-fired plant.. continue.. What is Geothermal Energy?   Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is energy that determines the temperat...

What is Wind Power?   The Earth is unevenly heated by the sun, such that the poles receive less energy from the sun than the equator; along with this, dry land heats up (and cools down) more quickly than the seas do. The differential heating drives a global atmospheric convection system reaching from the Earth's surface to the stratosphere which acts as a virtual ceiling. Most of the energy stored in these wind movements can be found at high altitudes where continuous wind speeds of over 160 km/h (99 mph) occur. Eventually, the wind energy is converted through friction into diffuse heat throughout the Earth's surface and the atmosphere. continue.. Wind Power Technology   Wind power is produced by using wind generators to harness the kinetic energy of wind. It is gaining worldwide popularity as a large scale energy source, although it still only provides less than one percent of global energy consumption. The articles listed below explore wind power and its usage around the w...

Hydroelectricity   Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and has a considerably lower output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants. Worldwide, an installed capacity of 777 GWe supplied 2998 TWh of hydroelectricity in 2006.[1] This was approximately 20% of the world's electricity, and accounted for about 88% of electricity from renewable sources. continue.. How Hydroelectricity/hydropower works?   The theory is to build a dam on a large river that has a large drop in elevation (there are not many hydroelectric plants in Kansas or Florida). The dam stores lots of water behind it in the reservoir. Near the bottom of the dam wall there is the water i...