Advtantages & Disadvantages of Solar & Wind Energy

I bought 120 square feet of used collectors that heated a workshop in Iowa for thirty years.

Design Tanks from South Dakota makes a sectional fiberglass tank. They get through a 30 inch door and can be up to 450 gallons. I insulated the tank with layers of foil-faced bubble wrap with air spaces. We have a closed-loop antifreeze system that uses a PV circulating pump.

This summer, we rarely used natural gas to heat domestic water. The back-up water heater drew water from the solar storage tank that was 10-20 degrees hotter than its 120 degree setting.

Now that the heating season is beginning in Lake Wobegon, we will use some of the solar to warm the floors of our house. The tank will not get to 170 until the spring, but any amount of preheating we can do for our water heater saves natural gas and carbon dioxide.

I know several people who use both wind and solar power; in the summer they do solar, and when the season changes they begin to use wind power. Everybody seems very pleased with their two-fer power arrays.

I know several people who use both wind and solar power; in the summer they do solar, and when the season changes they begin to use wind power. Everybody seems very pleased with their two-fer power arrays.

How much space is required for this? Would it be possible to do this in a small house in a crowded street?

The majority of the solar panels are on the roof; one of my friends have an array of panels also in the back yard which was kind of a small yard. The other folk also have the array on their roof as well, but I don’t know if there were anymore in the back yard; I didn’t see if they did or not. These houses were what I would call a middle size to a little larger than normal house without a lot of yard space. I hope that helps; I’m not that great on dimensions.

I think wind turbines may be a good option in certain locations, but I’ve heard frightening stories about birds being sucked in, and I heard a report the other day about people who didn’t live far from the turbines and who weren’t getting much sleep. They felt like the vibrations were going through their jaws and their heads!

Another disadvantage of link is low energy production–large numbers of solar panels (and thus large land areas) are required to produce useful amounts of heat or electricity.
Wind turbine construction can be very expensive and costly to surrounding wildlife during the build process.

I think wind turbines may be a good option in certain locations, but I’ve heard frightening stories about birds being sucked in, and I heard a report the other day about people who didn’t live far from the turbines and who weren’t getting much sleep. They felt like the vibrations were going through their jaws and their heads!

I don’t think they can be put too close to housing, but people get used to wind turbines and they become more supportive of it when they get used to seeing the turbines in the landscape.

Do you have favorite sites that have information about solar and wind energy?

Hi there,

I am agree with your views.
There are many advantages and some disadvantages associated with the use of wind energy. May some of these seem obvious, others not yet thought. If you are considering a wind energy system is a good idea to weigh the advantages and disadvantages.;)

Advantages of Wind Energy
Wind energy is friendly to the surrounding environment, as no fossil fuels are burnt to generate electricity from wind energy.Wind turbines take up less space than the average power station. Windmills only have to occupy a few square meters for the base, this allows the land around the turbine to be used for many purposes, for example agriculture.

Disadvantages of Wind Energy
The main disadvantage regarding wind power is down to the winds unreliability factor. In many areas, the winds strength is too low to support a wind turbine or wind farm, and this is where the use of solar power or geothermal power could be great alternatives.Wind turbines generally produce allot less electricity than the average fossil fuelled power station, requiring multiple wind turbines to be built in order to make an impact.

Advantages of Solar Energy
Solar cells are long lasting sources of energy which can be used almost anywhere.They are particularly useful in areas where there is no national grid and in areas where there is less population, such as in a remote site.

Disadvantages of Solar Energy
The initial cost is quite high.Most types of solar cells require large areas of land to achieve average efficiency.

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