Energy, both Acquired and lost in the body

BREATH FEEDS ENERGY

The strength and condition for all the activities of human life is the presence of energy.Energy is compulsory for every aspect of existence-every act uses energy-thinking, feeling, walking, eating, drinking, breathing, dreams, etc. we are born with reserve energy stored in all the cells that you want to be routinely replenished with breath at all times if stop breathing, death will occur within minutes.

BREATH REDUCTION

In sleep or coma breath is greatly reduced due to the use of cost-cutting energy compared to normal function.Close to the guest a condition in which several yogis, using some breathing techniques, are able to store enough oxygen in the cells alive, even if it has stopped all bodily functions, and will remain for a few months.

INHALED AIR And THIN ENERGY principle

According to yoga philosophy, air is inhaled, contains a subtle energy principle called "prana", which is an important principle necessary to sustain life; I understand how it works (I'm not sure I read it, or whether it came to me on intuition) is as follows:

The universe is filled with energy and basically it's the ultimate consists of energy and energy particles.Every atom has a Neutron, Proton and electron, rotating between them.Electrons, particle physics, but electric breach them even thin electrical particles, which some call lifetrons etc.

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COSMIC ENERGY

Now energy overall, undifferentiated is nevertheless possess inherent intelligence – this can be used or transferred to energy do special work-like electricity (form energy) can be used to enable motors, phones and electronics this space and a permanent universal unspecialized energy that permeates the universe comes and goes through all forms of life and matter in the universe. This energy enters into a form, say, for example, a tree, according to its design goals, needs and genetic structure tree absorbs and emits this synthesis is a universal energy and adapts or converts it to their own needs.The same applies to every kind of rocks, plants, fish, animals to humans.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

Process of life and alive in all organized by plant and animal origin form depends on the condition of some of the main very organic life element might be called the indwelling spirit or soul-that is transmitted during the process of birth.

AMOUNT of ENERGY available for use

Number of energy for use in time depends on the quality of blood, lymph, nerves and energy channels (meridians).

Energy AND BODY SUBSTANCES

These in turn depend on the presence of (a) the substance in the body, such as minerals, trace elements, vitamins, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, etc., b. and the correct amount of these nor excessive and shortcomings.

Energy And free House from toxins

There must be enough purity (c.) and the purity of the blood and lymph circulation free from obstructions such as metabolic body of toxins derived from activities and foreign unusable chemicals introduced without such as tobacco, drugs, pollution, etc.

Energy And SLEEP

Finally (d) must have sufficient rest and sleep necessary and critical time when the body of the battery yourself with eternal undifferentiated energy, energy contained in earlier intakes. whatever energy is absorbed from food is transmitted only in a sleep state, never directly during the Act of eating.

PROCESS OF MEAL-ENERGY costs

If energy can be met while you eat, then all we have to do when we are tired, eat more food we eat the stronger we become, thus making it unnecessary to sleep.

But in fact, true.

The more we eat, the more we become exhausted and drowsiness. Any energy we are immediately after a meal (such as candy), or the elevator, we get from drinking coffee or strong emotions-is our energy reserves, and costs, not energy their savings.

Energy HAS ACQUIRED EXPERIENCE DURING THE COSTS

Always felt and experienced its expenditure energy. accumulation is rarely considered as it occurs during periods of rest and mainly during deep dreamless sleep, when the mind is inactive.

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Connection to the Healing power

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I'm very focused on healing right now as I completely threw my back out in yoga a week ago. Isn't it ironic that the very practice that can bring one to healing is what caused my injury. Or did it?

Our modern western mindset has reduced illness and injury into an extremely myopic cause and effect framework. Everyone is up in arms about the Swine Flu and every time we hear someone coughing we're reminded that germs are all around us. So we have our first cause of illness being germs.

A germ is a pathogenic microorganism capable of causing disease. Those are some fancy words for a life form that can invade and cause disease in your Body. We defend ourselves accordingly by avoiding the germ or trying to kill it. Ranging from anti-bacterial wipes to antibiotics, we "attack" these invading organisms in an attempt to preserve our health.

In this, we envision our environment as containing germs that will invade our bodies upon coming in contact with us. But we should also turn this conceptual framework and imagine life from the germ's point of view.

As the germ, life is about finding a host to live in or facing death. Although we don't believe that germs have a consciousness, we can imagine that whatever awareness they have would be focused on survival. Like we find food for energy, the germ's existence is all about looking for energy in order to survive.

Of course, sometimes germs get it wrong and enter into a host that already has an immunity to the germ. As we are also focused on survival, we develop a resistance to germs once we have survived our first encounter with them. This model for resisting infection is the basis behind both homeopathic medicine and vaccines. The germs unknowingly enter our resistant bodies only to find antibodies ready to destroy them. Good for us, not so good for the germ.

One would think that the germs would adapt to this and avoid entering into organisms that are already equipped to defeat them. This would be akin to one animal avoiding another because of an awareness of their imminent defeat. In the wild, you only get one chance to get this equation wrong and thus we don't see a lot of experimentation going on in the survival of the fittest equation.

Thus we find through adaptation the winning combination of both characteristics and social patterns resulting in one species surviving over another. Yes, this is the foundational argument of evolution but it also smacks of a very fundamental concept of survival. The surviving life form passes on traits to their offspring through both genetics and learned behavior.

But our seemingly unconscious world of germs has only part of this equation mastered. They clearly adapt as is evident in germs becoming increasingly resistant to the drugs that we use against them. This is why we have a new flu vaccine every year and why cancer is so difficult to beat.

And thus we're back to the germ's view of life being one of seeking a host for survival and adapting to times when a choice didn't turn out too well (for the germ). In this, we have an organism that is constantly adapting and seeking energy for survival. Even when entry into the host is futile due to a built up immunity, we find that the germ blindly enters despite their imminent death.

Our Minds love this model of longevity because this is a logical battle that computes. If the Mind can find ways to build up the Body's immunity then the Body has a greater chance to survive. And so we have billions of dollars invested into pharmaceuticals as well as an insatiable craving for vitamins, supplements, healthy lifestyles and miracle cures. Admit it, you're sucking down those fish oil capsules to prevent dying from a heart attack. You're unconsciously entering into an agreement that will insure your survival. The same is the case with exercising, eating right and all the other approaches we take to increasing both the quantity of time we have left and the quality of that time.

But in our zeal for survival, we're overlooking the very elemental part of the equation that the entire survival premise is built on: energy

It is that source of energy that fuels the survival of every organism. You require a certain number of calories in order to survive (somewhere around 1,000 a day). If you couldn't obtain that many calories in your environment you would move on to somewhere that 1,000 calories was available. Such is the case with germs.

The germs that we are so desperately trying to avoid and kill are simple life forms seeking energy. And in this simple quest for survival, the more energy available the better. This quest for energy is so essential that every organism will risk death in order to survive. You can see this in the wild when an older animal has lost its ability to hunt and will enter into situations that have a low probability of success (e.g. a polar bear attacking an adult walrus).

In our lives, we are constantly taking in and expelling energy. Not only in the form of calories from food, but also in the form of energy from God.

I know, I get it. I just freaked you out. You were OK with the whole germ needing energy to survive concept but energy coming from God is another thing all together. But what about those chakra meditations? And what about acupuncture freeing meridians that are blocking chi from flowing through your Body? Is the energy in these models obtained from the calories we eat?

I'm not going to weigh in on that topic, but I will offer that I've never heard of a chakra counselor or acupuncturist telling me that I'm eating too much or not enough. And I don't think my yoga instructor that asks me to visualize a fountain of white light emanating from the top off my head is implying that last night's meal is the source of the light. The energy that we're all referring to here is a life force energy. And that life force energy flows through us and powers us to live. In order to sustain normal metabolic processes, we also need energy in the form of food but not everything within you is powered by that Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

So you're sitting at your kid's sporting event when one of the children runs up and coughs all over you and the person sitting next to you. Twenty-four hours later you've got the swine flu and the person next to you is healthy as a lark. As a species, we have yet to develop a resistance to H1N1 so neither of your bodies were prepared to defeat the virus. Why did you get sick and the person next to you didn't?

There could be a host of reasons ranging from the germs not actually entering their Body or their vitamins were better than yours. But consider the energy equation and the efficient management of that energy. If you have an excess amount of energy stored up inside you, wouldn't that be an attractive host environment for the germ? If you were the germ, given the choice between not so much energy and lots of energy...which one would you choose?

As such, we can imagine the life force energy from God entering our Bodies to power us to fulfill our purpose. The strength we need to accomplish our hopes and dreams is propelled via this powerful form of energy. This energy is transferred to us via our own Spirit and channeled into the Mind and through the Body. In this, our Body, Spirit and Mind are aligned in fulfilling our purpose and applying this energy propels us on our path.

Of course, this is how it is supposed to work. But in our unconscious lifestyle we've lost the ability to tap into our purpose. We sometimes find life to be a struggle and we can't figure out how to turn things around. And when we do, it doesn't seem to last. One problem seems to be replaced with another and we conclude that life is chaotic. Bad things happen to good people and, worse yet, good things happen to bad people. Life can sometimes seem like you're rowing a boat in a blender.

And thus all that life force energy being transferred to you for your purpose finds itself clogged up. Instead of putting that energy to work, you stuff it down inside. To survive, you unconsciously store all that energy where you think you need it the most. If you're struggling to survive, you'll stuff that energy into your base. And if you're struggling with love and relationships, you'll jam that energy into your heart.

And so that energy just sits. Energy is meant to be used and instead it is building up within you. Day after day, year after year, you're storing more energy than you need and not employing it for achieving your purpose. This is all the more difficult if you don't even know what your purpose is.

And so you re-enter the myopic Mind and live your life seeking an advantage. Vitamins, supplements, jogging, yoga, homeopathic treatments and a host of pharmaceutical concoctions designed to check you out of reality (most notably anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs). But then illness strikes and you're blindsided. Even Wayne Dyer finds himself battling cancer. And I, yours truly, find myself stricken with a lower back injury.

Keeping the concept of energy present, we can find a correlation between infection and injury. When you tear a muscle, you've put more force into the muscle than it can handle. In practice, the muscle's possible elasticity was exceeded from too much force and the muscle pulls away. And when that muscle pulls away, it brings with it everything else that it is attached to. When this happens you find yourself in a great deal of pain.

Thus the management of energy is a fundamental component of health. But not only managing the energy that is within you, but making your life a balanced program for managing the energy that comes into you as well as putting that energy to work in fulfilling your purpose. This clearly requires investment and balance.

In conclusion, try to think of healing in terms of energy management. Do you need more healing energy to come into you to heal what is broken or do you need to manage the energy that you've already got? Do you need more energy to reach your hopes and dreams or do you need to focus that energy in the right direction? And are you storing too much energy within yourself and thus making yourself a wonderful host for an invading organism?

Healing is not an instant fix nor is the management of energy any insurance against illness or even death. One cannot merely think their way to health. But by becoming conscious of the energy that is flowing through you, it is possible to better manage the very energy that fuels both your survival and purpose.

Think About It

Before you dismiss the mismanagement of energy as the root cause of illness (the favored approach of the Mind), I would like you to consider the health related problems that you're experiencing. Instead of finding blame or cause, imagine the flow of energy within you as it relates to what you're experiencing.

Remember that your Spirit is connected to God and not confined by the dimensions of time and space. Your Spirit is eloquently aware of your purpose despite your Mind's ignorance of your path. As such, your Spirit is channeling to you exactly what you need for both discovering and achieving your purpose. As this life force energy is flowing from your Spirit, into your Mind and through to your Body...what are you doing with it? Where is it going? How are you using that energy?

Within this awareness, consider your health problems. Be they mental or be they physical, how does too much or too little energy correlate to your problem?

Is it possible that your Spirit is giving you exactly what you need? But without an awareness of your purpose, are you mismanaging or not managing that energy? And how is that energy manifesting?

Becoming present to the energy in your life is the first step in turning things around. Upon understanding energy as it relates to your health, you can begin to explore better energy management and sustainability practices. Your purpose is calling to you and you've already got all the energy necessary to achieve your purpose. You just need to put God's life force energy to work as it was intended.

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An enlightened approach to budgeting and targets for Energy Manager

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ABSTRACT

Every year energy managers need to report how much energy they saved and whether or not they met their energy savings targets. Most energy managers present reports comparing their current year's usage to energy usage from a previous year. Savings targets are typically a percentage of that previous year's usage. Setting targets and comparing in this manner usually does not generate an accurate estimate of energy actually saved. Inconsistencies arise from year-to-year fluctuations in weather, occupancy, production or other factors, which can interfere with savings results. Instead, an energy manager's performance should be determined by comparing current year usage to a normalized baseline, which represents how much energy the building would have used given current year weather conditions, production, occupancy, and base year usage patterns. Energy savings targets should be set based upon this dynamic baseline. Using dynamic targeting, variations in weather conditions, occupancy, production or other factors will not hinder the accurate measure of how much the energy manager saved, and whether energy savings goals were indeed met. This paper explains, with an example, the differences between using a static and dynamic (weather normalized) targeting to demonstrate energy savings.

INTRODUCTION

Every year, the typical energy manager will generate, or receive from management, a fixed energy budget. Throughout the rest of the year, he will be held to this static standard. He may also be asked to save 5% from prior year's energy usage, or may simply be provided with less money than the prior year. This method is simple for management to understand. Either the energy manager is meeting savings targets or he is not. Unfortunately, this method does not produce a realistic picture of how much energy the energy manager is saving.

Even though the building envelope, the building equipment, and the control set points themselves may not change from year to year in a static building, the energy usage may change drastically. This change may have nothing to do with the energy manager's performance -- there are simply other factors involved. A year with a hotter summer may require more air conditioning than a normal year. A year with a colder winter may require more heating than a normal year. Doubling the production in a manufacturing plant will increase the usage.

Energy Managers that allow themselves to be held to a static budget may succeed or fail as a result of factors that have nothing to do with their energy conservation efforts: weather, production or occupancy, for example. If even one of these factors is not in his favor, the energy manager may not meet his savings goal. How fair is that? There is nothing worse than knowing that you are doing a good job, but coming up short in the eyes of management because you are being judged by an arbitrary and inaccurate standard.

BUDGETING VS. TARGETING

It is understood that management needs to create budgets, and needs to make best predictions of future energy costs. No one can predict the future, but best guesses must still be made. The important point though, is that energy managers do not need to be held to these budgets when assessing and reporting on their job performance. The energy budget is a financial tool, not an energy management tool. Energy managers should set separate targets to which they can aspire. The Static Target, treated below, is just like a budget -- a number that is fixed, and has no relation to the unmanageable factors which actually do affect energy usage, such as weather, occupancy, hours of operation and production.

AN EXAMPLE OF THE FAILURE OF STATIC TARGETING

As an example, consider Joe, a first year facility manager in Lincoln, Nebraska who tried to meet his 5% energy reduction target by shutting off his air handlers during unoccupied hours during the summer months. He started the strategy in July and continued through October. During the cold months, he did not shut off the equipment.

Imagine his surprise when viewing the bills and finding that there were no energy savings in the summer months. "How could that be?" Joe wondered.

Unfortunately for our energy manager, the summer of 2005 was a hot summer for the Upper Midwest. As a result, energy managers might have had a difficult time meeting their energy savings targets, as the higher temperatures led to increased air conditioning usage, overriding any real energy savings gained. There was a large increase in cooling degree days for Lincoln in 2005 as compared to 2004.

What Joe perhaps didn't realize is that the hotter summer likely resulted in increased air conditioning usage, which obscured the savings he actually did achieve by shutting off the air handlers. But that doesn't really matter, since he was being held to a Static Target. His manager took the prior year's monthly usage, subtracted 5%, and held Joe to that standard. That sounded simple when Joe started the job. Unfortunately, due to the hot summer, Joe would have to save a lot more than 5% to offset the increased usage due to additional air conditioning.

This is only an example, but this is a real phenomenon that affects all energy managers whose buildings have space conditioning mechanical equipment. When using a static measure such as simple utility bill comparison, weather does affect how much savings you report. Hot summers and cold winters will eat into real savings. Conversely, cool summers and warm winters will exaggerate any true savings. For this reason, it doesn't make sense to set energy usage targets based upon a prior year's usage. A hot summer or a cold winter could preclude you from reaching your savings goal.

Since the bills already have the hot summer (and consequent additional air conditioning usage) already added into them, then it would be best if the target did as well. Then the affect of weather could be cancelled out from both the target and actual bills, leaving only savings. This is exactly what Dynamic Targeting does.

...AND THE SUCCESS OF DYNAMIC TARGETING

If Joe had used Dynamic Targeting, he would have seen savings. Shutting off the air handlers actually did save energy, and he was able to save 5.9% for the year. He (and his manager) just didn't know it.

STATIC TARGETING VS. DYNAMIC TARGETING

It is best to allow your savings target to fluctuate with changes in weather. This involves weather normalizing your utility bills, and is called Dynamic Targeting. Using this method, you compare what your target usage should be (based upon current weather conditions) with how much the building actually did use.

There are a few steps involved in this process. Implementing the steps is not that difficult, but the concepts may be difficult to grasp at first because it is so different from simply comparing current year usage to a past year's usage and applying a percentage.

This extra work is worth the effort, because the dynamic method results in a more accurate portrayal of true energy savings, and can save the energy manager from reporting failure when, in fact, he succeeded. In some cases, not using dynamic targeting could cost an energy manager his job.

The steps for Static Targeting are:

- Select a Base Year with which to compare future usage

- Set savings targets as a percent of usage

Then, each month...

- Compare current year usage to the target usage amount to see if you are meeting your goal.

- Convert the actual, target and deviance amounts into Dollars.

The steps for using Dynamic Targeting are:

- Select a Base Year with which to compare future usage

- Set savings target percentage

- Determine the relationship between weather data and utility usage during the Base Year

Then, each month...

- Determine how much energy your facility would have used during the current year given current year weather conditions

- Determine target usage amounts

- Compare actual usage to the target usage amount to see if you are meeting your goal.

- Convert the actual, target and deviance amounts into Dollars.

Dynamic Targeting can be done using spreadsheets, although utility bill analysis software greatly simplifies the task.

The remainder of this paper will detail the procedure involved in using Dynamic Targeting.

HOW TO PERFORM DYNAMIC TARGETING

The steps for Dynamic Targeting as presented above are now detailed in this section:

Step 1. Select a Base Year

Whether you are using static or dynamic targeting, you still have to choose a Base Year to compare to. A common approach is to use the prior year. Sometimes, a specific year is chosen, such as 1990 was chosen as the Base Year for the Kyoto Protocol. If significant changes or retrofits were made to the facility and you wish to see the effects of those changes on your budget, you should choose a year prior those alterations. In any case, you will need a full year of utility bills (12 months) for your Base Year.

Step 2. Set Savings Target Percentage

Rather than have your supervisor give you a static list of usage or cost targets you need to beat, find out what percentage savings is expected of you. In our example, Joe, the energy manager, only had to save 5%. We call this percentage our Target Savings Percentage. The actual Savings Target can only be calculated each month after it happens, as the Savings Target varies with changes in weather (production, occupancy, etc.).

Step 3. Determine the Relationship Between Weather and Usage

This is the hard part. If your building has air conditioning equipment or heating equipment, then your building likely has a relationship to weather. In this step, all we are looking for is an equation that represents how your building uses energy. An example equation might be:

Baseline kWh =

(2064 kWh/Day * #Days )

+ ( 72 kWh/CDD * #CDDs )

The equation tells us that the building uses 2064 kWh for every day in the billing period, and for every Cooling Degree Day (CDD), the building uses 72 kWh. In other words, short billing periods, will have fewer days, and thus less usage, while hot months will have more CDDs, and thus more usage. The Baseline Equation was generated using Base Year billing data and Base Year weather data, and represents how the building uses energy based upon Base Year usage patterns.

The Baseline Equation can be simply generated using utility bill analysis software, and can be generated using spreadsheets as well (with a bit more effort). This normalization method is presented in more detail in papers and books cited in the References section of this paper.

Step 4. Determine How Much your Facility Would Have Used

Once you have the Baseline Equation, everything is simple from here.

For each month in your reporting period, you will need to get a current-year bill, and determine the number of days and Cooling Degree Days (CDDs) associated with the billing period. If you are normalizing for other variables like production, schedule or occupancy, then collect this data as well.

We know the Baseline Equation represents how the building uses energy based upon Base Year building usage patterns. How much would the building use given current weather conditions? To find this out, we plug into the Baseline Equation the current bill's number of days and CDDs, and/or other variable data. In this example, the billing period was 7/16/06 to 8/15/06, which is 31 days, 91,000 kWh usage, and 495 CDDs.

Baseline kWh =

(2064 kWh/Day * #Days )

+ ( 72 kWh/CDD * #CDD )

= (2064 kWh/Day * 31 Days)

+ ( 72 kWh/CDD * 495 CDDs)

= 99,624 kWh

Baseline kWh then represents what the building would have used based upon Base Year usage patterns, and Current Year weather conditions (and number of days).

This is a Dynamic Baseline. If it were much cooler, (i.e., there were only 100 CDDs), the Baseline kWh would have been much less.

Step 5. Determine Current Month Target

In our example, we expected a 5% savings Target. So we take Baseline kWh and multiply it by 95% to get what our target usage amount was.

Target kWh =

Baseline kWh * (1 - Savings %)

= 99,624 kWh * 95%

= 94,643 kWh

Step 6. Determine if you are Meeting Your Target

First, let's calculate energy savings.

Savings =

Baseline kWh - Actual kWh

= 99,624 kWh - 91,000 kWh

= 8,624 kWh

Now for Targets -- compare the current month bill to the current month target usage. If we are meeting the target, then Actual kWh will equal or be less than the Target kWh. Deviation is the difference between the two.

Target kWh = 94,643 kWh

Actual kWh = 91,000 kWh

Deviation = Target kWh - Actual kWh = 3,643 kWh.

For this month, our energy manager did indeed manage to meet his Target. However, if we just used a static target, then we would have seen,

Target kWh =

Base Year kWh *95%

= 81,800 kWh * 95%

= 77,710 kWh

Actual kWh = 91,000 kWh

Deviation = Target kWh - Actual kWh = -13,290 kWh.

Using Static Targeting, the energy manager would not have met the Target at all, but would have been showing a large increase in usage. August 2005 was hot compared to August 2004 -- it follows that there was an increase in usage from August 2004 to August 2005.

Step 7. Convert Energy Units into Dollars

Since management is usually interested in Dollars, you will need to convert your energy numbers into Dollars. There are many ways to handle this. The simplest way is just to use blended rates. From the current month's bill, divide total cost by total usage, and apply this ratio to your savings.

Current Bill kWh = 91,000

Current Bill $ = $7,587

Blended Rate = $ 7,587 / 91,000 kWh = $0.083 / kWh

Now convert the energy numbers into Dollars.

Savings $ = 8624 kWh * $0.083/kWh = $719

Target $ = 94,643 kWh * $0.083/kWh = $7891

Actual $ = $7587 (from bills)

CONCLUSION

In order for energy managers to provide reliable metrics for setting and meeting energy savings targets, a dynamic energy usage target should be established. Static Targets are typically a percentage of a prior year's usage. Variations in weather can drastically affect energy usage of HVAC equipment in current year bills, thereby rendering the comparison of current year bills to Static Targets useless. Dynamic Targets modulate in response to variations in weather (or other variables), thereby allowing the affect of fluctuations in weather (or other variables) to be removed from the energy savings equation. Dynamic Targets are established as a percentage of Baseline energy usage, which is determined using linear regression analysis. This process is described in the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol, and implemented in utility bill analysis software, and can be reproduced in spreadsheet applications.

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Plan for 2030

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Despite all of the recent negative publicity surrounding fossil fuels, crude oil and natural gas has been beneficial for the growth of our modern world. It has helped the population have life after dark, transportation of goods all over the world, and allowed technology to advance. However, the use of fossil fuels has also resulted in many negative consequences: it has created severe pollution, political conflict, economic control and total dependence of countries that lack this natural resource.

The supply of fossil fuels is limited, and it is only located in certain areas of the world. The demand for fossil fuels creates conflicts which threaten peace. Countries that have adequate fossil fuel supplies could potentially threaten the security and economy of countries that are dependent upon these countries. In addition, there have been many estimates made about the amount of fossil fuels left in the world. These estimates are dependent upon the population growth, and how much the actual fossil fuel consumption increases in the near future. These estimates state that there is enough for approximately another 35 years of oil, 37 years of natural gas, and 107 years of coal [1]. In addition to the negative environmental consequences of using these fuels, there is a finite supply of fossil fuels that will force the use of another form of energy. This limited supply and large demand will cause inevitable price increases. Therefore, the end of low-cost oil is rapidly approaching.

The use of fossil fuels to fulfill the world's energy needs is causing harmful side-effects for people, plants and animals. Waste products from these fuels heat the earth's atmosphere and pollute the earth's air, water, and ground. This results in decreased living conditions for all species of the earth. In addition to being hazardous to our ecosystem, and the health of many species, the pollution is also changing the atmosphere of the world. This trend is called global warming, and will continue to become worse due to the increase in the combustion of fossil fuels for electricity due to the growing world population. In the process of burning the gasoline, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and unburned hydrocarbons are released into the atmosphere. The catalytic converters reduce a large portion of the pollution, but they are not perfect. Many cities currently have dangerous levels of ozone in the air. The world needs a power source that has low pollutant emissions, is energy-efficient, and has an unlimited supply of fuel for a rising world population.

Many alternative energy technologies have been researched and developed. These include solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal energy as well as many others. Solar cells use the sun to generate electricity, wind power is obtained from the kinetic energy of the wind, bioenergy is extracted from plants and geothermal energy is energy from the earth. Each of these alternative energy sources has its advantages and disadvantages and all are in varying stages of development.

For most countries around the world, if the supply of fossil fuels were cut off -- the entire economy would come to a halt. There would not be a way for people to drive to work, or use electricity in their homes or workplaces. The global population consumes petroleum products at a rate 100,000 times greater than the rate that they are formed. The United States currently imports 70% of the oil, and it is still increasing. About 80% of the total energy in the world is provided by fossil energy sources [2]. The International Energy Agency [3] estimates that the primary world demand for energy is expected to grow by about 45% by 2030. The cost of meeting this energy demand is estimated to be $20 trillion U. S. dollars [2, 3]. Therefore, since so much money needs to be spent on the investment in energy infrastructure in the upcoming years, this enables an opportunity for replacing the fossil fuel infrastructure with a renewable energy infrastructure. U.S. coal and fossil fuel plants are already fairly old because at least half of the plants were built before 1970. If the oldest plants are retired first, it may be an easy progression to transfer the energy production to alternative energy without retiring the plant's prematurely.

Although the demand for oil is increasing, the world's oil production peaked in 2005 [1]. In 2006, countries that had a significant percentage of their power from renewable energy was Canada (16%), followed by France (6%), Italy (6.5%), Germany (5.6%), United States (4.8%), and the United Kingdom (1.7%) [8]. The global community has reached a point where future energy demands need to be balanced with future economic and environmental needs. We currently have a real opportunity to transform the way that our economy utilizes energy, prevent further pollution, and we can help to insure a safer and more secure future.

About Global Warming

For all you global warming naysayers - please keep reading!

Everyone is aware that the definition of global warming is a significant increase in the Earth's temperature over a short period of time due to the result of human activities. An increase in temperature of 0.4° Celsius is significant over a century, and an increase of 1° Celsius is considered global warming. Although 1° or 2° Celsius may not seem like a lot, small temperature changes can have significant effects. When you hear the term "ice age," you probably think of the world covered in snow and ice. Ice ages occur every 50,000 to 100,000 years, and the average global temperature was only 5 °C cooler than they currently are [4, 5, 6].

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a group of over 2,500 scientists from countries across the world that met in 2007 to advance climate research. One of the conclusions of this meeting was that the last 15 years have been the warmest since 1850. Some of their observations were that glaciers and snow have decreased in the northern and southern hemispheres, and average arctic temperatures have increased by twice the global average during the last 100 years. Rain has increased in the Americas, northern Europe and parts of Asia, and South Africa and the Mediterranean have been experiencing drying trends. Overall, hot days globally have become more frequent, and cold days have become less frequent and severe [4 - 7].

Natural changes in climate such as heating due to volcanic activity, radiation from the sun, and changes in the chemistry of the atmosphere sometimes take thousands of years to change only 1 °C. The current carbon dioxide concentration (CO2) determined from the ice cores (180 to 300 ppm) is far greater than the natural range found over the last 650,000 years. If the CO2 concentration rises to 400 - 440 ppm and stays there, the eventual rise in temperature would be around 2.4 - 2.8 °C [4 - 7].

In order to stabilize the CO2 level, it needs to peak, and then decline. The more quickly that this occurs, the lower the peak stabilization level. According to the IPCC, in order to stabilize the CO2-equivalent concentrations around 445 to 490 ppm, CO2 emissions would need to peak by 2015 (at the latest), and then fall to between 50 - 85% below the year 2000 levels by 2050. A later peak and higher concentrations would lead to larger increases in temperature.

A Future Vision

There is many ways to create a "bright future" with renewable energy. There is no single answer for our future energy system. The future energy economy will consist of many renewable energy technologies used in combination -- wind, solar, geothermal and fuel cell energy. The technology to accomplish this is either available, or already being developed. Some of the tasks that we need to accomplish include:

Build an industry based upon alternative energy technologies

Reduce energy costs

Reduce climate change

Increase energy security

Help to create conditions for long-term prosperity

In order to accomplish these tasks, we will have to:

Use a combination of wind power (both on and off-shore)

Use both concentrating and standard PV power systems

Use geothermal systems

Use fuel cell systems that generate hydrogen using electrolysis

Use biomass and municipal waste

In order to successfully have a society based upon renewable energy, there has to be a way to store energy because renewable energy (solar and wind power) is intermittent. Solar and wind energy are both excellent methods of obtaining energy from natural resources, however, the levels of sunshine, and the intensity of wind varies. When these sources are not available - electricity cannot be generated. When a large amounts of energy is being produced, hydrogen can be created from water. The hydrogen can then be stored for later use.

As far as fuels are concerned, hydrogen is one of the most powerful fuels. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe; however, it does not exist in its pure form on earth. Therefore, it has to be extracted from common fuel types or water. The process that is used most frequently for extracting hydrogen is the steam reforming of natural gas. It can also be extracted from coal, nuclear power, biofuels or even waste products. Hydrogen can also be produced using water through the process of electrolysis. Electrolysis splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. Renewable forms of energy such as photovoltaic cells, wind, hydro and geothermal are increasingly being used to produce electricity, and excess electricity can be used for the electrolysis process. The hydrogen can be used, or stored to generate electricity at a later time.

Electricity for Residential and Business Use

Electricity for residential and business use can be produced using a combination of wind, solar, and hydrogen fuel cells. There will also have to be intermediate solutions and cooperation between corporations, utility companies, and individuals in order to successfully transition to a renewable, hydrogen, and energy-efficient economy. Corporations will have to manufacture energy-efficient electronics and appliances, which minimize energy consumption, and automatically turn themselves off when not in use. Utilities and governments need to give incentives for people to use less energy, and individuals need to be more aware of the amount of energy that they are using. There is significant proof that the growth in the electricity demand can be decreased through the use of creating appliances and devices that are more energy-efficient, implementing building codes, financial incentives and helping individuals to voluntarily decrease energy use.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently conducted a study that investigated wind power, and found that implementing 600 GW by 2030 was feasible. If this actually occurred, this would be an estimated 50% of the United States predicted power use in 2030. One advantage of wind power is that it does not take a lot of space -- the towers can be placed on farmland, (and just about anywhere else), without really getting in the way.

Solar photovoltaics (PV) are a technology that can be used immediately, and sales have been growing very strongly during the last decade. However, it still has a small market share due to the high costs of the solar panels. Concentrating solar power may be accepted faster than conventional solar technology because the costs are beginning to be competitive with traditional energy technologies. Concentrating solar power systems allow power plants to produce electricity from the sun on a larger scale, which in turn allows consumers to take advantage of solar power without making the investment in personal solar technology systems. Geothermal energy can also provide a significant amount of energy if it can be proven within the next few years.

Fuel cells have already been used for decades for business and residential use. Stationary fuel cells can produce enough electricity and heat to power an entire house or business, which can result in significant savings - and they also can make enough power to sell some of it back to the grid. Fuel cells can also help provide electricity by working with large power plants to become more decentralized and increase efficiency. Most electricity produced by large fossil-fuel burning power plants are distributed through high voltage transmission wires over long distances. These power plants seem to be highly efficient because of their large size; however, a 7 to 8 percent electric energy loss in Europe, and a 10 percent energy loss in the United States occurs during long distance transmission. One of the main issues with these transmission lines is that they do not function properly all the time. It would be safer for the population if electricity generation did not occur in several large plants, but is generated where the energy is needed. Fuel cells can be used wherever energy is required without the use of large transmission lines.

Fuel cells can power residences and businesses where no electricity is available. Sometimes it can be extremely expensive for a house that is not on the grid to have the grid connected to it. Fuel cells are also more reliable than other commercial generators used to power houses and businesses. This can benefit many companies, given how much money they can lose if the power goes down for even a short time.

In the future energy economy, individual households will be able to produce their own energy. This will help to redistribute power from global oil companies and governments to the people. Individual households can share their energy with the grid to help distribute energy to areas that may have less due to weather conditions.

Personal Vehicles

The Energy Information Administration [2] states that vehicles use 70% of the liquid fuels consumed by the U.S. The average fuel efficiency of current vehicles is about 22 miles per gallon. However, it should not be unrealistic for the average fuel efficiency to increase to about 45 miles per gallon by 2030. Hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles would all provide either lower or no oil consumption, and each can be useful in transforming to a hydrogen and renewable energy- based economy. All of the major automakers have already invested heavily in hydrogen fuel cell technology vehicles.

Many factors are contributing to the fuel cell push in the automotive market. The availability of fossil fuels is limited, and due to this, an inevitable price increase will occur. In addition, legislation is becoming stricter about controlling environmental emissions. One of the new pieces of legislation that will help introduce the fuel cell automobile market in the U.S. is the Californian zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires that a certain number of vehicles be sold annually in California. Fuel cell vehicles also have the ability to be more fuel-efficient than vehicles powered by other fuels. This power technology allows a new range of power use in small two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles, boats, scooters, unmanned vehicles, and other utility vehicles.

In the future, automobiles will be plugged into an outlet in homes and offices to help generate electricity for both the vehicles and the houses. Houses only require an average of 10 kW to power everything. And since automobiles can generate 40 kW of power, a car can become a power plant for the house or office. Cars can also be plugged into a pole when individuals go to work to power the building. This transition to a hydrogen economy provides an important challenge, and great opportunity of the 21st century.

Portable Energy

Portable electronics such as laptops, cameras and cellular phones can last 10 - 20 times longer by using hydrogen. In coming years, portable devices-such as laptops, cell phones, video recorders, and others- will need greater amounts of power for longer periods of time. Fuel cells are very scalable and have easy recharging capabilities compared to batteries. Cell phone technology is advancing rapidly, but the limiting factor for the new technology is the power. More power is required to provide consumers with all of the functions in devices they require and want. The military also has a need for long-term portable power for new soldier's equipment. In addition, fuel cells operate silently, and have low heat signatures, which are clear advantages for the military.

The Creation of Jobs with the New Renewable Energy Industry

The building of the alternative energy industry would easily create millions jobs during the next 10 years. These jobs would include construction and operation of new power plants, manufacturing of renewable energy technology (such as solar and wind power), R&D for new renewable energy technologies, and jobs that are created due to the money spent on these technologies.

In order to transform our oil economy, we need to make an investment in changing it. We need to make sure that we are planning how to power our world during the next 20 years and beyond.

[1] Shahriar, S. and Topal, E. (2009). When will fossil fuel reserves be diminished? Energy Policy, 37: 181-189.

[2] Energy Information Administration. (2008). International Energy Outlook 2008, Washington DC, November 2008 (No. DOE/EIA-0484(2008)). Retrieved January 25, 2009 from http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/index.html

[3] International Energy Agency, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2008). World Energy Outlook 2008. Retrieved from [http://www.sourceoecd.com/]

[4] Hegerl, G.C., F. W. Zwiers, P. Braconnot, N.P. Gillett, Y. Luo, J.A. Marengo Orsini, N. Nicholls, J.E. Penner and P.A. Stott, 2007: Understanding and Attributing Climate Change. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

[5] Bates, B.C., Z.W. Kundzewicz, S. Wu and J.P. Palutikof, Eds., 2008: Climate Change and Water. Technical Paper of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Secretariat, Geneva, 210 pp. Retrieved February 8, 2009 from http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/technical-papers/climate-change-water-en.pdf

[6] Le Treut, H., R. Somerville, U. Cubasch, Y. Ding, C. Mauritzen, A. Mokssit, T. Peterson and M. Prather, 2007: Historical Overview of Climate Change. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

[7] IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning,

[8] Sadorsky, P. (2009). Renewable energy consumption, CO2 emissions and oil prices in G7 countries, Energy Economics, doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2008.12.010.

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Russia as an effective and clear global energy supplier

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Russia as an efficient and clean global energy provider

Russia has enormous potential to be both an efficient and clean global energy provider. Although Russia has a global image as an oil and gas supplier, the "tide is turning" as clean energy initiatives and strategies give rise to investment opportunities and a New Energy Russia.

Why should Russia be interested in efficient and clean energy and what are the benefits?

Russia is one of the largest energy providers in the world and also one of the world's most inefficient energy users and producers. Increasing efficiency will lead to cost savings which can then be channeled into clean and alternative energy projects to capture new and growing market share in the global energy market.

The global demand for alternative and clean energy is growing every year and Russia has a chance to capitalize on this demand with a country full of opportunities to provide clean energy not only domestically, but globally. To do this Russian companies and the Russian government must reverse the relaxed and short-sighted view that Russia will forever live and prosper from the sale of oil, gas, and coal.

Russia can also benefit from positive PR as being a reliable, efficient, and also clean energy provider which is well positioned for life after oil.

Implementation Strategies for clean energy in Russia

Knowledge and technology exchange - This can include scientists, engineers, companies, and governments sharing information and collaborating together to create new energy solutions and technology. As the Russian government plays a key role in Russian energy, their support is the key to driving growth in the market.

Funding of projects, companies, and research - Long-term capital and funding for alternative energy projects and companies is a major necessity as new energy projects can require large up-front investments. Again, the Russian government will be crucial for this strategy as it controls a large share of the Russian energy market.

Public awareness and acceptance including subsidies and tax incentives - The average Russian person, much like the average Russian company and government official, is indifferent at best to implementing clean energy solutions. The best way to change this perception would be a PR campaign aimed at creating awareness and a call to action for citizens and companies to implement clean energy solutions. The Russian government could also offer subsidies and tax incentives for investors to promote the growth of new companies, technology, and production of clean energy in Russia.

Legal Restructuring - Re-working and re-writing laws in Russia to support clean energy initiatives is essential for opening the energy market for growth in clean energy solutions.

Alternative Energy Options

Biofuel - As Russia has a large and growing timber industry, companies can process timber waste as bio-fuel. Russia can also exploit wheat, rye, and corn and utilize it's large land resources to supply bio-fuel. The demand for bio-fuels is growing and the price makes it competitive with less clean alternatives such as diesel oil. Russia's Biotechnology Corp believes that Russia is capable of exporting nearly 40 Million Tons of bio-fuel per annum, with up to 7 Million Tons after the processing of Russian timber.

Wind - Russia's seaside areas such as Sochi provide ample area for large wind farms. Greta Energy of Canada has an ambitious program to develop wind farms across multiple regions of Russia with an expected capacity of 394 MW.

Geothermal - This is one area where Russia has already implemented successful projects and has had the most development. There is vast potential in Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands for geothermal projects. Geothermal energy is utilized for heating and electricity production in the Northern Caucasus and the Russian Far East.

Water - Untapped Siberian rivers could be utilized for hydro-electric power stations and tidal projects along the Pacific coast could make this a very natural progression for companies such as RusHydro. In fact, RusHydro is Russia's largest hydro-generating company and the second biggest in the world. They are also utilizing renewable energy sources such as water flows, wind, tidal, and geothermal energy to generate a total capacity over 25,000 MW.

Solar - Although many do not consider this as a viable option for Russia, consider Rusnano, which is currently investing in the production of high-efficiency solar power plants in Russia. Also, the Russian company Nitol is hoping to increase its' production silicon wafers to a capacity of 60 MW. Russia is the largest country in the world and has ample land for solar energy generation and production facilities.

Nanotechnology - The Kremlin's bet for the future of Russian energy lies with nanotechnology and the Russian government has invested billions of dollars for the development of this sector. "Nanotechnology will be the (foundation) for all industries in a science-driven economy," said Mikhail Kovalchuk, director of Moscow's Kurchatov Institute. "Nanotechnology will be the driving force of the Russian economy - if it can overcome the legacy of the recent past."

Efficiency Strategies

Oil well and refinery efficiency - Not only can Russia become more efficient with this expensive process, but it can also sell the added energy to the markets and keep pace with the ever increasing global demand for oil and gas. New technologies, drilling techniques, and equipment can improve the efficiency, but usually requires large capital investment.

Natural gas and subsequent distribution efficiency - As gas is transported along hundreds of kilometers much of it is lost in transit. Here again, a large up-front investment is required.

Improving domestic heating and electricity transmission - Russia has one of the largest energy intensity ratings in the world, and 2 times more than the US. This inefficiency can affect economic growth and is partly due to the harsh climates experienced in many parts of Russia. The savings can be used to fund alternative energy programs or further increase efficiency of domestic resources. As an example, Russia's heat production loses half of the available energy during the creation and transportation process.

Program and incentives for energy efficient consumers - PR, tax incentives, and the availability of energy efficient products and technologies can push Russian consumers to start being more energy conscious. This can offset the gradual increase of domestic energy prices.

Barriers

Energy Efficiency - Currently Russian's enjoy artificially priced energy far below the level of world market prices and the costs are subsidized by the Russian Government. Inefficient infrastructure such as central heating for the majority of Russia's population also complicates the problem of creating more efficient domestic energy production

Alternative Energy - Lack of public support and a relaxed, short-term view of Russian Government officials and Russian energy companies regarding energy and natural resource utilization. As strong public policy is required from the Russian Government to implement sweeping changes to legislation, investment, taxation, and public support, alternative energy could be on a very slow growth path in Russia.

Outlook for Investors

With the exception of a few companies such as RusHydro and Rusnano, the Russian alternative energy market can certainly be considered in an infant stage. The growth of Russia as an efficient and clean global energy provider is almost certain to present investors with a wealth of opportunities.

What do you think about the future of Russia as an efficient and clean global energy provider? Send us your comments.

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You can use the renewable industry for their energy needs?

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The US is gradually realizing that fossil fuel is no longer a viable energy option, not just due to its impact on the environment, but the economy as well. According to the Environmental Law Institute, subsidies for fossil fuel, from 2002 to 2008, totaled a whooping $72 billion. With the US economy deeply dependent on fossil fuel, moving towards cleaner, cost effective and sustainable renewable energy sources can be challenging.

Industry needs reliable and affordable energy to stay productive and competitive. At the same time, it needs to balance between its growing demand for energy and the urgent need to protect the environment.

Industry accounts for more than a third of total energy consumption in the US, and 70% -80% of this sector's energy demand is for heat production. Given the current concerns of global warming,environmental pollution, energy security and industrial competitiveness, there is increasing pressure on industry to use modern, clean and efficient sources of energy. Till 2007, just 8.5% of the total energy demand in the US was fulfilled from renewable energy sources. However solar, wind and biomass-based technologies have shown considerable potential and are waiting to be tapped not just for domestic use but industrial energy purposes as well.

Introduction

Energy is the largest industry in the world. It fuels both the manufacturing and service sector and is estimated to be about $ 7 trillion TWh in size.The fallout of excessive dependence on fossil fuel for energy is having an impact on the environment and people alike. With growing acknowledgment of the negative effects of the use of fossil fuel, research and development in the renewable energy sector is getting some serious attention.

According to market studies, investment in renewable energy is growing at 45% a year - essentially doubling every two years. It is expected that energy generated from alternate sources will become cost competitive compared to energy generated from fossil fuel, especially with the costs of pollution from fossil fuels factored in. This is increasingly becoming the case with the tax on CO2 production.Despite the thrust towards alternative energy, U.S used renewable energy sources such as water, geothermal, wind, sun, and biomass to meet just 8.5% of its total energy needs in 2007.

Alternative Energy Resources

While there are numerous alternate energy resources, not all of them can be harvested on a large scale while others, have reliability issues.

Solar energy

Direct conversion of sunlight to electricity using solar cells is a promising technology, and already has been used widely. Solar energy is especially helpful for remote places that keep falling off the energy grid and face constant blackouts.

Wind energy

Wind has the potential to be a significant electric power source. Its viability, however, depends on the location of wind mills. The development of wind power in the US is currently the highest in the world.Wind is also a clean, low maintenance, cost effective way to generate energy, but like solar energy, storage problems of large amounts of wind generated electricity remain of much concern.

Geothermal energy

Geothermal sources allow for continual energy generation, which contrasts with alternative energy sources like wind or solar. Geothermal energy boasts of the best base load percentage, namely power availability 95% of the time. The footprint of a geothermal power plant is minimal and the resource is long lasting; the original geothermal power plant which is over a century old continues to produce electricity to date. Geothermal power produces energy with little or no emission. It is also a proven technology, with low operating costs; no fuel requirements once the plant is built, and insulates producers from commodity shocks, unlike fossil fuel.

Three aspects of the alternate energy system

While alternate energy seems to be increasingly feasible, its distribution and consumption cannot become a reality without certain infrastructure. The first infrastructural requirement is energy storage systems - this is especially important as renewable energy like solar and wind are not constantly produced. The second requirement is the Smart Grid that can be used to distribute not just energy produced from alternate energy sources but from fossil fuel as well. The smart grid has to be extremely responsive to fluctuations in energy supply, leakages during transmission and breakdowns. The third infrastructure requirement is the smart meter which allows people to monitor their energy consumption and regulate its use, especially during certain times of the day when the price of energy may change. The fourth infrastructure requirement is energy efficient transformers that reduce energy wastage during distribution.

Energy storage systems

The concept of storing electricity generated in a utility grid has been tried since the 1960s, these large scale storage projects were, however, more common at nuclear power plants. From 2005 onwards, the American Electric Power (AEP) took the lead in adding large amounts of battery energy storage in substations. The distributed energy storage approach was used to test peak load management and improve system reliability by deploying systems in sizes of 2 MW. Battery systems provide a new alternative for utility power management in a distribution substation, and during an outage,customers can have power restored as the substation runs on battery energy.

Smart Grid

Simply put, the smart grid is dynamic and has constant two-way communication. It represents a significant move away from aging, utility-owned electricity distribution infrastructure to networked infrastructure that directly connects utilities with customers. The smart grid puts renewable energy online, and makes the distribution system efficient, reliable and flexible.

Smart Grid introduces a complete change in perspective and moves away from technicalities like production and distribution of energy to dawn a human face, that of the consumer. The consumer becomes part of the smart grid and is able to use energy more efficiently. Smart Grid also enables consumers to reduce demand, enables utilities to use efficient generators, and allows for more renewable power sources to be used. Smart Grid is a key enabler of solutions to reduce global warming.

Smart meters

The heart of the Smart Grid are "smart meters" that establish 2-way communication between utilities and the customer. The meters give consumers a great variety of information about their energy consumption - and therefore, some control over their energy savings. Because a utility has different costs to generate power at different times, everybody can save if electric usage is cut during highest-cost times. Utilities can transmit different rates/kWh at different times of the day or week, and customer can use this information to take advantage of the cheapest rates.

Smart meter also track usage at different times and tally up a bill without meter readers. Smart meters can tell a utility when power has been lost at a location, so the utility can know immediately when and where a power outage occurs.

Energy Efficient Transformers

Old and inefficient energy transformers waste hundreds of TWh of energy each year; the reasons for the losses are many, including inefficient cores.

Compliant transformers are able to maintain National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Class 1 efficiency levels at 35% load. This is accomplished by using higher-grade grain-oriented steel in the core rather than standard non grain-oriented steel. Grain-oriented steel offers thinner gauge and purer metallic material quality, reducing heat caused from eddy currents by limiting the direction in which current flows. Narrowing of the magnetic field into a thinner profile also reduces the canceling effect of opposing currents. Increasing energy efficiency of a transformer allows an organization to operate at the same level of efficiency with less energy.

Compliant transformers cost more than their lower-efficiency predecessors due to the higher price of grain-oriented steel, additional labor and higher raw material costs. While compliant transformers add to construction and maintenance costs, end users save over the life of the transformer.

Can industry rely on renewable sources for its energy needs? The popularity of renewable energy is increasing rapidly and prices are dropping such that renewable energy will soon be cost competitive compared with fossil fuel. Most industries rely heavily on steady supplies of energy, and with costs of fossil fuel constantly increasing and fluctuating, renewable energy seems to be the answer. Numerous companies like Pacific Crest Transformers are in the process of making renewable energy reliable enough for industry.

Much like rectifier transformers, Wind Turbine Step-Up Transformers are designed for harmonics, additional loading, and have electrostatic shields to prevent transfer of harmonic frequencies between the primary and secondary windings.

Renewable energy still has a long way to go in terms of reliability and cost effectiveness before industry can fully rely on its supply, but till then industry needs to take smaller steps that will help make the big switch. The US leads the world in generating wind energy, and it's time that industry backed this effort by using wind energy to part meet its requirements.

READ MORE - You can use the renewable industry for their energy needs?