Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Electricity Generation shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Electricity Generation offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Electricity Generation at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Electricity Generation? Wrong! If the Electricity Generation is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Electricity Generation then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Electricity Generation? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Electricity Generation and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Electricity Generation wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Electricity Generation then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Electricity Generation site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Electricity Generation, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Electricity Generation, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
Electricity generation is the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. The other processes are
electric power transmission and
electricity distribution which are normally carried out by the
electrical power industry.
, Washington: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Administration.
Fossil fuel power plant was the largest source.
was the main source.
History
Centralized power generation became possible when it was recognized that
alternating current power lines can transport
electricity at low costs across great distances by taking advantage of the ability to raise and lower the voltage using power
transformers.
Electricity has been generated for the purpose of powering human technologies since 1881, over 120 years, from various sources of energy. The first power plants were run on
Niagara Falls or coal, Pearl Street Station: The Dawn of Commercial Electric Power and today we rely mainly on coal, nuclear power, natural gas, hydroelectricity, and petroleum with a small amount from solar energy, Tidal power, wind generators, and Geothermal power sources.
Electricity demand
are able to provide large amounts of hydroelectric power.The demand for electricity can be met in two different ways. The primary method thus far has been for public or private utilities to construct large scale centralized projects to generate and transmit the electricity required to fuel economies. Many of these projects have caused unpleasant environmental effects such as air or radiation pollution and the flooding of large areas of land.
Distributed generation creates power on a smaller scale at locations throughout the electricity network. Often these sites generate electricity as a byproduct of other industrial processes such as using gas from landfills to drive turbines.
Methods of generating electricity
Turbines
Rotating
turbines attached to
electrical generators produce most commercially available electricity. Turbines are driven by a fluid which acts as an intermediate energy carrier. The fluids typically used are:
- steam - Water is boiled by nuclear fission or the burning of Fossil fuel power plant (coal, natural gas, or petroleum). Some newer plants use the sun as the heat source: solar parabolic troughs and solar power towers concentrate sunlight to heat a heat transfer fluid, which is then used to produce steam. Another renewable source of heat used to drive a turbine is Geothermal power. Either steam under pressure emerges from the ground and drives a turbine or hot water evaporates a low boiling liquid to create vapour to drive a turbine.
- water - Turbine blades are acted upon by flowing water, produced by hydroelectric dams or Tidal power,
- wind - Most wind turbines generate electricity from naturally occurring wind. Solar updraft towers use wind that is artificially produced inside the chimney by heating it with sunlight.
- hot gases - Turbines are driven directly by gases produced by the combustion of natural gas or oil.
Combined cycle gas turbine plants are driven by both steam and gas. They generate power by burning natural gas in a
gas turbine and use residual heat to generate additional electricity from steam. These plants offer efficiencies of up to 60%.
Reciprocating engines
Small electricity generators are often powered by reciprocating engines burning diesel, biogas or natural gas. Diesel engines are often used for back up generation, usually at low voltages. Biogas is often combusted where it is produced, such as a landfill or wastewater treatment plant, with a reciprocating engine or a microturbine, which is a small gas turbine.
Photovoltaic panels
Unlike the solar heat concentrators mentioned above,
Photovoltaics convert sunlight directly to electricity. Although sunlight is free and abundant, solar electricity is still usually more expensive to produce than large-scale mechanically generated power due to the cost of the panels. Low-efficiency silicon solar cells have been decreasing in cost though, and multijunction cells with close to 30% conversion efficiency are now commercially available. Over 40% efficiency has been demonstrated in experimental systems.
New World Record Achieved in Solar Cell Technology (press release, 2006-12-05), U.S. Department of Energy. Until recently, photovoltaics were most commonly used in remote sites where there is no access to a commercial power grid, or as a supplemental electricity source for individual homes and businesses. Recent advances in manufacturing efficiency and photovoltaic technology, combined with subsidies driven by environmental concerns, have dramatically accelerated the deployment of solar panels. Installed capacity is growing by 40% per year led by increases in Germany, Japan, California and New Jersey.
Other generation methods
Various other technologies have been studied and developed for power generation. Solid-state generation (without moving parts) is of particular interest in portable applications. This area is largely dominated by thermoelectric effect (TE) devices, though
thermionic converter (TI) and
thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems have been developed as well. Typically, TE devices are used at lower temperatures than TI and TPV systems.
Piezoelectric devices are used for power generation from mechanical strain, particularly in power harvesting.
Betavoltaics are another type of solid-state power generator which produces electricity from radioactive decay.
Fluid-based
MHD generator (MHD) power generation has been studied as a method for extracting electrical power from nuclear reactors and also from more conventional fuel combustion systems.
Electrochemistry electricity generation is also important in portable and mobile applications. Currently, most electrochemical power comes from closed electrochemical cells (Battery (electricity) World's Largest Utility Battery System Installed in Alaska (press release, 2003-09-24), U.S. Department of Energy.
"13,670 nickel-cadmium battery cells to generate up to 40 megawatts of power for about 7 minutes, or 27 megawatts of power for 15 minutes.", which are arguably utilized more as storage systems than generation systems, but open electrochemical systems, known as fuel cells, have been undergoing a great deal of research and development in the last few years. Fuel cells can be used to extract power either from natural fuels or from synthesized fuels (mainly electrolytic
hydrogen) and so can be viewed as either generation systems or storage systems depending on their use.
Sources by territory
Producers
In 2005, USA continued to remain as the top producer of electricity with a global share of at least 25% followed by China, Japan and Russia.
See also
References
External links
- Power Technologies Energy Data Book
Electricity generation is the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. The other processes are electric power transmission and electricity distribution which are normally carried out by the
electrical power industry.
, Washington: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Administration.
Fossil fuel power plant was the largest source.
was the main source.
History
Centralized power generation became possible when it was recognized that alternating current power lines can transport electricity at low costs across great distances by taking advantage of the ability to raise and lower the voltage using power transformers.
Electricity has been generated for the purpose of powering human technologies since 1881, over 120 years, from various sources of
energy. The first power plants were run on Niagara Falls or coal, Pearl Street Station: The Dawn of Commercial Electric Power and today we rely mainly on coal, nuclear power,
natural gas,
hydroelectricity, and petroleum with a small amount from solar energy,
Tidal power,
wind generators, and
Geothermal power sources.
Electricity demand
are able to provide large amounts of
hydroelectric power.The demand for electricity can be met in two different ways. The primary method thus far has been for public or private utilities to construct large scale centralized projects to generate and transmit the electricity required to fuel economies. Many of these projects have caused unpleasant environmental effects such as air or radiation pollution and the flooding of large areas of land.
Distributed generation creates power on a smaller scale at locations throughout the electricity network. Often these sites generate electricity as a byproduct of other industrial processes such as using gas from landfills to drive turbines.
Methods of generating electricity
Turbines
Rotating
turbines attached to
electrical generators produce most commercially available electricity. Turbines are driven by a fluid which acts as an intermediate energy carrier. The fluids typically used are:
- steam - Water is boiled by nuclear fission or the burning of Fossil fuel power plant (coal, natural gas, or petroleum). Some newer plants use the sun as the heat source: solar parabolic troughs and solar power towers concentrate sunlight to heat a heat transfer fluid, which is then used to produce steam. Another renewable source of heat used to drive a turbine is Geothermal power. Either steam under pressure emerges from the ground and drives a turbine or hot water evaporates a low boiling liquid to create vapour to drive a turbine.
- water - Turbine blades are acted upon by flowing water, produced by hydroelectric dams or Tidal power,
- wind - Most wind turbines generate electricity from naturally occurring wind. Solar updraft towers use wind that is artificially produced inside the chimney by heating it with sunlight.
- hot gases - Turbines are driven directly by gases produced by the combustion of natural gas or oil.
Combined cycle gas turbine plants are driven by both steam and gas. They generate power by burning natural gas in a gas turbine and use residual heat to generate additional electricity from steam. These plants offer efficiencies of up to 60%.
Reciprocating engines
Small electricity generators are often powered by
reciprocating engines burning
diesel, biogas or natural gas. Diesel engines are often used for back up generation, usually at low voltages. Biogas is often combusted where it is produced, such as a landfill or wastewater treatment plant, with a reciprocating engine or a microturbine, which is a small gas turbine.
Photovoltaic panels
Unlike the solar heat concentrators mentioned above, Photovoltaics convert sunlight directly to electricity. Although sunlight is free and abundant, solar electricity is still usually more expensive to produce than large-scale mechanically generated power due to the cost of the panels. Low-efficiency silicon solar cells have been decreasing in cost though, and multijunction cells with close to 30% conversion efficiency are now commercially available. Over 40% efficiency has been demonstrated in experimental systems.
New World Record Achieved in Solar Cell Technology (press release,
2006-12-05), U.S. Department of Energy. Until recently, photovoltaics were most commonly used in remote sites where there is no access to a commercial power grid, or as a supplemental electricity source for individual homes and businesses. Recent advances in manufacturing efficiency and photovoltaic technology, combined with subsidies driven by environmental concerns, have dramatically accelerated the deployment of solar panels. Installed capacity is growing by 40% per year led by increases in Germany, Japan, California and New Jersey.
Other generation methods
Various other technologies have been studied and developed for power generation. Solid-state generation (without moving parts) is of particular interest in portable applications. This area is largely dominated by thermoelectric effect (TE) devices, though
thermionic converter (TI) and
thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems have been developed as well. Typically, TE devices are used at lower temperatures than TI and TPV systems. Piezoelectric devices are used for power generation from mechanical strain, particularly in
power harvesting.
Betavoltaics are another type of solid-state power generator which produces electricity from radioactive decay.
Fluid-based MHD generator (MHD) power generation has been studied as a method for extracting electrical power from
nuclear reactors and also from more conventional fuel combustion systems.
Electrochemistry electricity generation is also important in portable and mobile applications. Currently, most electrochemical power comes from closed electrochemical cells (
Battery (electricity) World's Largest Utility Battery System Installed in Alaska (press release, 2003-09-24), U.S. Department of Energy.
"13,670 nickel-cadmium battery cells to generate up to 40 megawatts of power for about 7 minutes, or 27 megawatts of power for 15 minutes.", which are arguably utilized more as storage systems than generation systems, but open electrochemical systems, known as fuel cells, have been undergoing a great deal of research and development in the last few years. Fuel cells can be used to extract power either from natural fuels or from synthesized fuels (mainly electrolytic
hydrogen) and so can be viewed as either generation systems or storage systems depending on their use.
Sources by territory
Producers
In 2005, USA continued to remain as the top producer of electricity with a global share of at least 25% followed by China, Japan and Russia.
See also
References
External links
- Power Technologies Energy Data Book
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