What Does Going “Green” Actually Mean?

A compiling of different influential factors in western society has thrown a new word into the regular verbiage of English speakers around the world. The word itself isn’t anything new in terms of speech or meaning but we’ve all been affected by its dramatic influence on society today. “Green” is the topic at hand; the simple color that has been exploited beyond its assumed traits to now encompasses growth, mother earth, and new beginnings for a changing planet. “Green” can be easily defined in its simplest terms, but the ideology that has been built around its presumed identity is sometimes rather confusing. Simply put, “green” refers to industry, product, and lifestyles have been created as a response to climate change. While a simple definition explains at the basic level, “green” is evolving into a much bigger idea. Our problem is that “green” is beginning to express more talk than it is action. “Green” is now used to push product rather than solve problems; creating an entirely new industry of clean energy and leaving behind the products and technology that improve the technology we already have. People around the globe view the issue of going “green” differently. Some nations and peoples will be big proponents of new energy technology while others see the answer to world problems in the form of simple improvements to the technology we have. It’s this very idea that complicates and eventually loses the public’s interest in being a part of the conversation of “green”. Let’s take a step back and remember that “green” is still a fairly new issue that hasn’t even been fully developed. The divisions caused by trying to define “green” is being created in large part because of businesses, who otherwise would never take an interest, are now trying to tap into this new and desirable market. The new “green” technology that is being invented and perfected to create clean carbon neutral energy is a huge step in the long term right direction for the planet but it doesn’t solve today’s problems. Even with clean energy sources many green businesses are still not addressing the real issue at play, energy efficiency. Increased energy efficiency is not a new concept or invention but has simply been hidden under the rug of the other predominant environmentally friendly technology today. As an example, our business of making waste heat recovery condensing economizers allows owners of natural gas and LP boilers to improve their preexisting technology which saves them money as well as precious natural resource. By improving your equipment to function at maximum efficiency, you are creating solutions to problems. It’s commendable that technology is being made that will one day replace polluting energy sources, but until that day comes it’s important that we make the most out of what we have, pollute less, and do so while saving you and your business money. In a world where “green” rules, the best thing to do is take a step back and see where you can improve and determine where true “green” values can start working for you and the planet. To find out more about how you can save money, reduce C02 emissions and conserve water with a Condensing Economizer visit www.SidelSystems.com. And while you’re there be sure to request our FREE Waste Heat Recovery Video and Info Pack – you’ll be glad you did! Read more on What Does Going Green Actually Mean?…

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What Does Going Green Actually Mean?

Wood Pellet Cost In Addition To Pellet Press In Addition To Fuel Quality

The choice of wood pellet storage can have a substantial impact on the wood pellets charge. For case biomass pellets in bags, are more expensive than bulk deliveries in either large bags or blown loose into a silo. The obvious reason for this is there is no fee associated by way of bagging the pellets. Though there is the initial fee of installing a silo. In the long term however the constant savings on energy costs will benefits the investment on the silo. Wood pellet manufactures are seeing more people opt for the pellet silo’s, and are thus changing their delivery methods more to pellet tankers, instead of pallet deliveries. For manufactures moving onto a more loose pellet delivery approach has benefits and compensation. The benefit is the reduced investment in pellet bagging machines along with the associated costs. Yet they have another price in the pellet tankers required. There will be a further market evolution, by means of pellet deliveries handled by separate companies. Making the process more efficient for the pellet manufactures, in addition to also cheaper for the end users. Learn more about Pellet Fuel Biomass pellet construction is a rapidly growing market. More people are interested in making pellets, plus hence how pellets are made. At PelHeat we produce small wood pellet mills. We have developed the Wood Pellet Construction Guide, to start the learning curve on how pellets are made. Biomass pellet residence heating energy has existed since the 1970’s. However it is only recently through concerns over global warming in addition to climate change that wood pellet fuel has been looked at as a serious replacement for oil in addition to gas systems. Pellets are simply compressed forms of the original raw material, for example biomass sawdust. Under high pressure in addition to heat in a pellet mill the raw material is produced into a pellet. A pellet resembles a colouring crayon. To create quality wood pellet, a range of aspects of the raw material and equipment need to be restricted. The Wood Pellet Construction Guide provides details on the required adjustments in these areas. Read more about Pellet Equipment There are multiple reasons in addition to benefits from compressing materials into pellet. By regards to energy pellets the main benefit is increased burning efficiency, uncomplicated energy loading, storage and lower maintenance through more complete burning. As demand increases more as well as more people are looking into producing wood pellet for sale. The most common form of wood pellet produced for sales are premium wood pellets. Premium biomass pellets contain very little ash and require very little maintenance. To be described as a ‘premium’ biomass pellet certain standards have to be meet by regards to ash content plus moisture content. For more information on Grass Pellet Read more on Wood Pellet Cost In Addition To Pellet Press In Addition To Fuel Quality… Energy Tags: solar power , clean energy

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Wood Pellet Cost In Addition To Pellet Press In Addition To Fuel Quality

Pellet Range Along With Heating As Well As Gas Alternatives

Pellet stove heating is seeing impressive growth in the 21st century. The growth of the pellet market is being driven by means of two factors. Firstly the growing charge of fossil energy fuel such as oil and gas. The prices of these fuels is driven by unstable supply in addition to limited resources to meet growing global demand. Fossil fuel prices are also set to rise due to increased taxation because of the carbon emissions shaped. The continued rise in fossil fuel heating solutions will continue to make pellet stove heating solutions more affordable along with appealing. Pellet Fuel is also most wanted to fossil fuels, are pellet fuels from wood resources are a carbon neutral form of energy. As biomass in addition to other wood materials are already part of the current carbon cycle, their burning does not place any additional carbon into the atmosphere. Biomass energy pellets can even be carbon negative, by using the ash produced as a soil conditioner. Learn more about Wood Pellet Stoves By way of far the most common type of energy pellet used for abode heating is the wood pellet, or more specifically the premium wood pellet. Premium biomass pellets manufacture around 0.5% ash, in addition to are therefore the lowest maintenance pellet energy obtainable. Though you will obviously have to pay for this convenience, as premium pellet fuels are the most expensive pellet fuels on the market. Other grades of biomass pellets are accessible, yet as they generally contain small brush residue in addition to bark, their ash percentage is usually more around 2%. No contaminated biomass residues should be used for fuel pellet use, as the contaminates during burning could manufacture a health along with environmental risk. If you obtain energy pellets which generate a strange smell during incineration, contact you local authority to have the pellets tested. Other biomass materials such as switchgrass plus straw can be used to produce energy pellets. In fact one of the most promising raw materials is hemp. Hemp energy pellets are very low ash, along with pose no increased corrosion risk or form clinker formations in the pellet stove. Read more about Harmon Pellet Stoves Not all pellet stove heating solutions are equal, far from it. There is a wide collection of abilities in the pellet stove market from product to product. However these differences are not well known or understood. The core focus of these differences related to the stoves abilities to handle different types and grades of energy pellets. The main differences in stove design which affect these issues is the design of the burn pot and pellet feed system. These features when choosing a pellet stove heater are over looked, on the other hand impact directly on the efficiency in addition to reliability of the pellet stove. Most pellet stoves are built around a drop down burn pot. Manufactures prefer this design, as it is the cheapest to create, though has running issues with all but perfect pellet fuels. More information on Pellet Stove Heating Read more on Pellet Range Along With Heating As Well As Gas Alternatives… Energy Tags: energy , wind power

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Pellet Range Along With Heating As Well As Gas Alternatives

Big business taking climate change more seriously

This post is brought to you by ? Curt Rosengren ~ Passion Catalyst TM ? ? “Love your work. Change your world.” A recent report shows that the largest companies are paying increasingly more attention to their energy use and carbon emissions. The world’s biggest companies are making climate change a higher priority, in part through more widespread disclosure of carbon emissions, according to an annual report released Monday by a nonprofit group. The report from Carbon Disclosure Project tracked how companies plan to deal with the risks and opportunities associated with greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. “The big thing this year is the huge increase in the level of seriousness with which climate change is being incorporated into the corporate strategy of companies,” said Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Chief Executive Paul Dickinson. Not so surprisingly, the more they’re addressing the issue, the more they seem to be willing to talk about it… Among the 500 companies ranked by the Financial Times newspaper as the world’s largest by market capitalization, 75 percent responded to this year’s survey, up from 47 percent when the survey started four years ago. The response rate by companies in North America rose in all industry sectors, and nine of 10 sectors had a response rate of more than 50 percent. The increased willingness by companies to disclose their carbon emissions and find ways to reduce them reflects the changing political and regulatory landscape over energy efficiency. Of the companies that responded, 76 percent implemented programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, compared with 48 percent last year. —

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Big business taking climate change more seriously

VC investors clean up with clean energy

This post is brought to you by ? Curt Rosengren ~ Passion Catalyst TM ? ? “Love your work. Change your world.” Here’s a good sign that we’ll be seeing continued interest in the clean energy industry from the VC community… Venture backers of European clean energy startups reaped a 55 percent annualized return on their investments from 1998 to 2007, the London-based research group New Energy Finance said Tuesday. The analysis, which was commissioned by the European Energy Venture Fair to take place this weekend in Zurich, looked at returns earned by 37 venture capital and private equity investors in 129 early stage companies dealing in low-carbon technologies such as renewable energy, fuel cells, power storage since 1998. —

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VC investors clean up with clean energy

Brief Analysis of Climate Change Report

Heres my brief analysis of and comments on the recent IPCC working group report on Mitigation of Climate Change released from Bangkok, Thailand as it relates to alternative energy. Energy Efficient & Net Zero Energy Buildings Energy efficiency and renewable energy are rightly held to be a key ways to reduce carbon emissions. Buildings, both residential and commercial, are a significant emitter of greenhouse gasses. Solar hot water heating can be used to provide up to 70% of annual hot water needs for homes, it can also be used in commercial buildings that require significant hot water such as gyms and nursing homes. Geothermal (ground source heat pumps) is a lesser known source of alternative energy which can be used to both heat and cool buildings in a highly efficient way and is suited both to residential and commercial buildings. It can also be used to provide hot water. As bore holes and/or trenches need to be dug for geothermal to be installed, it is particularly suited to new builds. Electricity can be provided from renewable sources via the grid (e.g. wind power) or off-grid it can be generated using for example solar photovoltaic panels (PV). The use of insulation, natural light & shade, low energy lighting, motion detection lighting etc. can further reduce energy usage. As noted in the report appropriate building codes can minimise carbon emissions from buildings. Alternative Energy = Energy Security The report notes that nations seeking energy security (security of supply) can help achieve it using alternative energy. Nations lacking their own fossil fuels resources should be concerned with the negative impact reliance on fossil fuels can have on their economies. By increasing utilisation of alternative energy resources, nations can increase their energy security. Transport Policy & Fossil Fuels Subsidies I was disappointed by the reports lack of vision on transport. It correctly notes that past increases in efficiency in internal combustion engine (ICE) design have been used to increase power rather than fuel efficiency meaning vehicle carbon emissions have continued to climb. This trend has even continued into hybrid vehicles with performance being favoured over fuel economy (e.g. Lexus hybrid cars). Mention was made of making increased use of biofuels, which can actually significantly increase carbon emissions (see this post on Palm Oil Biodiesel ). The glaring emission, is the need for a fundamental shift from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles. I got the impression the report in trying to build consensus was avoiding treading on any toes. Perhaps thats why it recommended only reducing rather than eliminating the subsidisation of fossil fuels. Research and Development + Technology Transfer India and China will soon be at the top of the list of carbon emitting nations. The report wrongly suggests that because many new power stations are being built in developing nations, they will be using new energy efficient designs and technologies. While new power stations may be more efficient than those built decades ago, for cost reasons less efficient technology is usually used (for more details see this post on Clean Coal ). The report notes there have been low levels of investment in research and development. Investment is needed now and much more should be done to aid the transfer of the most energy efficient technologies between nations. IPCC working group report on Mitigation of Climate Change (pdf link)

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Brief Analysis of Climate Change Report