Tag Archives: electricity

Creating an Eco-Friendly Project Site

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Creating a worksite for construction is already a tough task, you have to get all the workers, tools, set up transportation of resources and materials, source the whereabouts of where this will take place, and more. It can be daunting at times, as you have a lot to plan and think about, plus the costs can be outrageous.

What’s even harder is planning it to be an eco-friendly site, as more people are in a rage about making things environmentally friendly; from power to materials, to transportation, they’d want it all to be as safe and protective of the ecosystem as possible. Luckily for you, you don’t have to look every to figure out how to do so, because you can look here.

Creating an Eco-Friendly Project Site

Finding Sustainable Materials to Work With

When you think of construction and building, you’ll often think of a workplace, workers, cement mixer, pallets of materials, and much more. While this is true, to create a more eco-friendly site, you’d want to start by thinking about what kinds of materials you are using and should you be using, and how to ensure responsible sourcing.

There are many different materials that you can use in place of concrete or commonly found materials that are not good for the environment thanks to the gases or pollution that they cause. These materials can include bamboo, straw, recycled plastic, and much more.

Manage Powered Equipment More Effectively

Powered equipment can take a great toll on the environment since it uses mass quantities or electricity to remain powered. What’s worse, is most worksites will keep their lights, tools, and everything else on while they are no longer working, or while on break. While this may not seem so bad, this can affect the use of electricity horribly and do damage to the environment.

If you want to become more eco-friendly, ensure your workers are managing their electricity correctly, shutting their tools and lights off when not in use, and opting for more eco-friendly ways to work. This can be difficult to do, but will greatly decrease the effect and use of electricity and harm on the environment.

Try to Conserve as Much Water as Possible

Water is one of the most overused and overlooked resources when at a job site. Water can be used for basic toiletries, cleaning materials, and many other ways. One of the best ways to conserve and repurpose water would be through the use of collected rainwater.

While it may seem a bit off, you can build rainwater collection systems that allow you to repurpose, irrigate, and use water that would have just been discarded or thrown away. This gives you a source of water that is usable but most likely shouldn’t be consumed.

Recycling from Construction Materials and Demolition

Let’s face it, you are going to have a lot of construction trash, broken materials, or unused materials left over from the job site, and you are most likely going to hire some person to quickly pick it up and haul it away. While this is a cheap and easy thing to do, the better choice would be to recycle or repurpose these materials.

Recycling of Construction Materials

You could hire a recycling company that will take these materials away, harvest what’s usable, and then repurpose them for future use. Or if that’s not your fancy, you could donate them to another work site yourself, and they can take these busted materials off your hands and purpose them themselves. Lastly, you could just repurpose a need or use of the material and not let anything go to waste.

Maximize Use of Natural Light and Energy

A way to conserve and maybe even build energy rather than just use it would be to think of your natural sources of energy and light. During the day you won’t need much light as the sun will give you natural light at all times it is out. And a way to use this energy to your advantage and even build a reserve would be to invest in solar.

Solar energy allows you to use the power of the sun, and as technology advances more companies are looking into creating tools and other ways to use solar or more eco-friendly energy conserves. A reserve of energy would not just help the environment but also save you money.

Solar Energy Guide for Students

Reduce Carbon Footprint on Transportation

Moving materials from one place to another can cause a huge increase in carbon production which would hurt the environment. To make the most out of becoming more eco-friendly, try to see if you can manage the use of transportations correctly, or switch to an eco-friendly fuel.

As time advances and many more eco-safe or eco-friendly companies start to come to fruition, more and more are looking into the use and design of more environmentally sound fuels for vehicles or tools. This could be solar power or bio-based fuels that can reduce this carbon footprint.

Planning for a Sustainable Work Site

There are a lot of things to keep in mind when planning or setting up your work site. More is added when you have to start considering all the different ways to make the job site more eco-friendly to appease a bigger crowd that is steadily growing in their desire for environmentally safe construction sites.

While it may be a lot to consider, or even think about while trying to make your project site more eco-friendly, there are many ways you can start doing this. These include finding sustainable building materials that would be more environmentally friendly, conserving the use of electricity, saving water, and even maximizing the use of natural energy sources, recycling what you can from leftover materials or demolitions, and even reducing your carbon footprint by investing in eco-friendly fuel and ways of transportation.

While it is a lot to think of, don’t be afraid to plan this journey out slowly, and take small steps to become more eco-friendly at the job site. Even the smallest steps make a great impact and will slowly add up.

More Reasons To Check Out Alternative Energy Sources

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In recent years, the world has seen significant economic progress, which greatly relied on energy fueled by coal and petroleum among others. With the continuously growing demand for energy, it is a fact that these energy sources may be depleted in the near future. Apart from this, there are several other reasons why humankind already needs to find alternative energy sources.

Global Warming

It is a known fact that different manufacturing processes and human activities, such as using vehicles, cause pollution in the atmosphere by releasing carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide traps heat in the earth, and this phenomenon is known as global warming. Global warming has several harmful impacts such as stronger and more frequent storms, as well as drought and heat waves. Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass to name a few, all generate minimal global warming emissions.

Wind power, for instance, has the capability to supply energy with a significantly lower emission compared to burning coal for fuel. This is the reason why wind energy is more beneficial compared to carbon-intensive energy sources. Still, the emissions generated by wind power are even lower compared to other renewable energy sources such as solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric power sources. This makes a huge potential for wind power to sustain the world’s energy demands, while preserving the environment.

Public Health

It goes without saying that the pollution caused by burning coal and fuel not only has an environmental impact, but it also has a significant effect on public health. Various diseases and ailments can be attributed to pollution, which usually affects the respiratory tract. Contaminated water also causes various bacterial infections. Wind power, solar energy, and hydroelectric systems have the capability to generate electricity without emitting air pollutants.

Additionally, wind and solar energy sources do not need water to operate, thereby, eliminating the probability of polluting water resources. Clean air and water that is free from pollutants, will have a significant positive impact on public health.

Constant Energy Source

While coal and fossil fuels are on the threshold of depletion, renewable energy sources are inexhaustible. Wind can be a constant energy source and no matter how high the demand for energy will be, the wind will not be depleted. In the same manner, as long as the sun shines bright on earth, there will always be an abundant solar energy source.

Fast-moving water that can be translated into hydroelectric energy, the earth’s heat that can be converted into a geothermal power source, as well as abundant plant matter that can be used as biomass, can all be constantly replenished. These can never be fully exhausted no matter how great the energy demand will be. The utilization of a combination of each of these energy sources will prove to be even more beneficial. Additionally, with its continued use, there will no longer be a need for combustible energy sources.

Lower Energy Costs

The cost of electricity continues to be a burden on the earth’s greater population. The use of renewable energy sources to light up the earth is considerably cheaper and inexpensive compared to the cost of burning fossil fuels for electricity and other energy needs. Apart from a cheaper cost, renewable energy sources can help stabilize to cost of energy in the long run, with an unlimited supply being able to cater to greater demand. Don’t forget to obtain more information on the size of solar energy system you need for your home.

While it cannot be denied that setting up clean energy technologies comes with a cost, it can be noted that the cost of its operation is significantly lower. Conversely, the cost of coal and fossil fuels for energy consumption fluctuates over a wide range and is greatly affected by the economic and political conditions of its country of origin.

Economic Benefits

Fossil fuel technologies, often, revolve around the capitalistic market. Hence, the use of combustible fuels is often linked to unfavorable labor conditions, and even child labor and slavery. On the other hand, the use of renewable energy sources provides decent jobs, contributing to several economic benefits and aids in decarbonizing the future.

For instance, workers are needed to install and maintain solar panels. In the same manner, wind farms employ technicians for maintenance. Thus, jobs are created directly in parallel with the unit of energy produced. This means that more jobs will be produced if more renewable energy sources are utilized.

Reliability

Clean energy sources, specifically wind and solar power, are less susceptible to large-scale failures. The reason behind this is that both wind and solar power both employ distributed and modular systems. This means that electricity will not be totally cut off in instances of extreme weather conditions because the energy sources powering up the electricity is spread out over a wider geographical area. In the same manner, there will still be a continuous supply of energy even if certain equipment in the entire system is damaged because clean fuel technologies are made up of modules such as a number of individual wind turbines or solar panels.

With all the reasons to check out alternative energy sources, it still holds true that there remain several barriers that hinder the full implementation of renewable energy technologies. Some of these challenges are capital costs because of reliability misconceptions, as well as a difficult market entry due to an unequal playing field.

Because renewable energy sources are cheap to operate, the bulk of the expenses in its implementation is building the technology. Thereby, the rate of return for capitalists and investors in the market entails a longer waiting period. Adding to this barrier is the hidden political agenda that most governments need to overcome. Many governments offer grants to help with this growth and rate or return.

Economic progress and advancement in technology are not at all bad. On the contrary, it has brought forth a lot of benefits such as cures for ailments and diseases, resources for deep-sea or space explorations, as well as meaningful collaboration and communication. However, this progress came with a price, and unfortunately, it’s the world’s energy resources that are on the brink of exhaustion. Hence, mitigation has been already necessary and finding alternative energy sources is just one of the probable solutions.

Solar-Powered Pumps are Game-Changing for Agriculture

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The first thing that comes to mind when you hear solar power is a solar panel placed on a rooftop for creating electricity for commercial or residential use. However, solar power has another important function – to mine and deliver water to improve productivity. This is especially applicable in sunny nations like Australia and most countries in Africa since its main industry is agriculture. Still, their productivity is suffering since their fields don’t get sufficient irrigation. Though, using solar pumps, they can double or even triple their profits. These economic gains can improve the lives of many farming communities.

Importance of Water in Agriculture

Our lives depend on clean water. The developed countries can sometimes take water for granted, but the evolving economies understand the significance of this commodity. A solar pump is an ecological option to get water for the crops and deliver drinkable, clean water.

The founder and CEO of the British-American company Ignite Power, Yariv Cohen, confirmed that solar pumps brought more efficiency, leading to bigger disposable income and more employment. Farmers can now grow three seasons per year instead of one. So, disposable income increased by 20% to 30%.

60% of the Sub-Saharan Africa population is employed in agriculture. Therefore, agriculture is accountable for 60% of economic output. This is less productive than the other regions in the world since only a part of the farmland gets constant irrigation – just 6% across Africa. Most farmlands go without irrigation, so most farmers in Africa rely only on rain for the larger lands, while they take care of the smaller areas with manual effort.

What is Solar-Powered Pumping System

The solar-powered pumping systems include a solar panel array, which fuels an electric motor. The motor, in turn, fuels the surface pump. The water is pumped from the stream or ground into a storage tank, utilized to water crops. If the farmland is irrigated consistently with solar pumps, the farmers will double the production compared to farmlands irrigated by rainwater or with manual effort.

Life-changing mechanism

About 600 million who live in Africa don’t have consistent electricity access. This is damaging the economic health of the continent. Everyone knows the ideal solution is to expand the electrical grid, but financial and geographical considerations prevent that. Ignite Power provides off-grid solutions to African countries in rural places like Nigeria, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone.

Cohen explains how solar pumps allow the farmers to irrigate their lands by using the sun. They first connect the homes, and then they utilize the same solar panels to water the fields. Using solar power, the pump enables a big area to be regularly irrigated. This improves the yield affordably.

Ignite Power has 1.1 million customers in Africa. So, there is room for enormous growth for his company and other providers of solar power in the continent. Cohen aims to reach 500 million houses.

They work with the bank and try to find the ideal solutions. They want to provide the best solution for the country with the help of the government. They can connect any payment providers or manufacturers to their system. They can connect all the suppliers, so many people could join.

The case of the two Rwandan women Grace Uwas (23) and Tharcille Tuyisenge (20) is admirable. They started working with Cohen’s company and bought solar systems for homes in Rwamagana, so people there have sustainable and safe electricity. Until now, they have installed twenty-five solar systems and more are coming!

Bottom Line

Electricity is the quintessence for any country. The solar power is game changing for African evolving communities to get access. In this way, they won’t just keep their lights on, but their agricultural productivity will be improved.