Traditional and alternative sources of energy- A Comparison

It is a well recognised fact that the development and utilisation of alternative energy sources along with traditional or conventional sources of energy is necessary to meet the growing demands of energy in urban and rural areas of both developed and developing nations.

Conventional sources of energy are coal, petroleum and natural gas. The alternative sources of energy are solar energy, tidal energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, thunder bolt energy etc.

Comparison of conventional and alternative sources of energy:

Conventional sources of energy like coal and petroleum are exhaustible whereas the alternative energy resources are renewable and cannot come to an end.

Most alternative sources of energy are non-polluting as compared to traditional sources of energy that cause a lot of pollution.

Traditional sources of energy are centralised i.e. they are produced or are available at a central location from which they are distributed. They are not available everywhere. On the other hand, alternative energy sources are decentralised and are available for use in far flung and remote areas.

Alternative sources of energy are cheaper as compared to the traditional sources of energy. Also electricity can be generated from alternative energy resource at low costs whereas the production of electricity from traditional sources is very expensive.

The alternative energy companies use alternative energy sources which are readily and easily available as opposed to traditional sources of energy that are not easily available.

Because of the demerits of traditional sources of energy, alternative sources of energy have been developed. These sources of energy can be put to various uses and are very beneficial.

How alternative power works

Alternative power has been in use for several years. Alternative power was used in earlier times for the generation of electricity, grinding grains and to operate saw mills. However, alternative power as a source of energy was not completely developed and its potential was not realised. Today, however, alternative power is an important source of energy that can be put to several uses.

Alternative power works with running water in the form of hydro electricity. A dam is used to control the amount of water that can flow. This flowing water drives a turbine that is connected to a generator. The running turbine starts the generator that produces electricity.

When alternative power is used with sun, it is called solar power. Solar power can be used for heating water or keep buildings or homes warm. Solar power can also be used to generate electricity. It can also be used in devices like calculators, watches, cells etc.

The working of alternative power with wind is called wind power. When wind blows, the kinetic energy of the wind is used to rotate the blades of turbines. This movement results in running of turbines inside generators to produce electricity.

With tides, alternative power is called tidal power. When tides rise, water is collected and later used to rotate turbines. The turbines generate electricity which can be put to a number of uses.

Alternative power is becoming more and more popular as it is environment friendly and keeps the water and air clean and pollution free.

Geothermal Power Technologies

The earth’s interior is very hot because of the heat generated by the decay of radioactive particles. The heat so generated is used as an energy source called geothermal power. Geothermal power can be harnessed by either drilling the earth’s surface or by collecting hot water or steam in a geothermal reservoir.

The various geothermal power technologies used are:

1. Binary cycle power plants- In these, hot geothermal water is used to vaporize another fluid with a much lower boiling point. The vapor so formed drives turbines to generate electricity.
2. Enhanced geothermal systems- In these systems, wells are dug to the depth of hot rocks. A fluid is then heated from these hot rocks and is used to generate power.
3. Dry steam plants- These plants use geothermal steam to run turbines for the purpose of generating electricity.
4. Flash steam plants- In these plants, high pressure hot water are collected in low pressure tanks. The conversion of hot water into steam causes the turbines to rotate and generate electricity.
5. Direct Heat- Hot water near the earth’s surface is piped to keep buildings heated. This hot water can also be used to grow plants in a greenhouse, dehydrate onions, pasteurize milk and for fish farming.
6. District heating- These systems use hot water for heating buildings in communities.
7. Geothermal heat pump- The temperature at the upper ten feet of the earth’s surface is constant. Geothermal heat pumps are installed in buildings and consist of water pipes and heat exchangers. These are used to keep buildings warm in winters and cool in summers.

The geothermal power technologies help in the optimal utilization of geothermal power.

Alternative Energy

Non-renewable resources of energy can be collapsed any time but thanks to Alternative Energy Resources that they will never fall short of. One of the most commendable things in using Alternative Energy resources is that we will be saving fossil fuels to a great extent. Alternative Energy is a safe option for us as traditional resources of energy have a tendency to create pollution in the environment. Today the problem of global warming are faced by us, it is all due to excessive use of fossil fuels. Alternative Energy is a remedy to all this as this energy creates no pollution in the atmosphere. Alternative Energy is highly renewable so the resources of this energy can be restocked.

Different meetings on deteriorating quality of environment are held from time to time, scientists offer various suggestions in these meetings. Scientists have known this thing that Alternative Energy has great future ahead, and this is the main reason that they give more stress on using Alternative Energy Resources. Solar Energy is a form of Alternative Energy and through this energy one gets energy for performing various operations. Photovoltaic batteries are used for converting solar into that form which makes sense to human beings. Wind Energy is also a form of Alternative Energy and this energy is used to produce electricity. One can promise a great environment to future generations as Alternative Energy is only option left to protect the environment. So, Alternative Energy is a green energy that promises clean environment to future generations.