Electricity is one of the most widely used forms of energy and has become a basic part of nature. As a secondary energy source, electricity is produced from the conversion of other sources of energy such as coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear power (Bellis par, 2)
Wind: When wind energy is converted into electrical energy, electricity is produced. "Wind mills and wind turbines are used to churn up enormous amounts of wind energy which is then converted into electrical energy" (Diva par, 6)
Employment Patterns are Changing and More People are "Telecommuting." With more people working from their homes, there will be less demand than previously for commutes between home and work, as well as an increased demand for reliable electricity in the home for computers and peripherals (Kaul & Tomaselli-Moschovitis 1999)
Previous efforts to persuade American consumers to use electricity have not been successful, and have been enormously expensive. Electrical utility's estimated cost of reducing electricity usage through promoting user efficiency has frequently been near half the cost of new generating capacity (Mayer 1995)
The rationale for this decision is outlined below. Americans are becoming increasingly reliant on electricity to support their lifestyles and livelihoods (Schurr 1990)
, by the historic steam-based rotating shaft system) or when energy is transferred as heat (Schurr 1990). Electricity is ready for use on demand: "Think cold beer and the Web" (Tomain 2002:435)
1). Finally, binary cycle power plants, which are the world's most recent development in geothermal energy, can accept fluid temperatures as low as 57°C to drive turbines (Benoit, Blackwell and Holdman, p
3). When there is higher demand, water is released back into the lower reservoir through a turbine, and in this manner, pumped-storage systems currently provide the most commercially important means of large-scale grid energy storage and improve the daily capacity factor of the generation system (Blakeway, p
Such power is created in conventional stations, otherwise referred to as dams. With pumped-storage hydroelectricity, electricity is produced by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations, with times of low electrical demand yielding to the pumping of water into the higher reservoir (Brennan, p
Finally, with an underground power station, the facility makes use of large natural height differences found between two waterways that occur in nature. Such facilities are generally found near features such as a waterfall or mountain lake, and are constructed with an underground tunnel that takes water from the high reservoir to the generating hall built in an underground cavern near the lowers point of the water tunnel and a horizontal tailrace taking water away to the lower outlet waterway (Graham, p
1). Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project yields no direct waste, and has a considerably lower output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide than fossil-fuel-powered energy plants (Tenner, p
In understanding how each mode of electricity production works, one can begin comparing and contrasting the two in order to understand which modes of production are best utilized in certain situations, as well as to understand the future prospects of each form of production. Hydroelectric Electricity Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower, which is the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water, which is the most widely used form of renewable energy (Wade, p
A varactor, or variable capacitor, which is initially charged, will separate its plates by vibrations; in this way, mechanical energy is transformed into electrical energy (Yildiz 2009). This technique uses a magnetic field to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy (Amirtharajah & Chandrakasan 1998)
14). The introduction of e-book readers such as Kindle and Nook have added to the proliferation of battery-powered handheld devices in recent years as well (Ardito 2009)
As the unit accelerates, the mass is pushed in the direction opposite the acceleration, producing a pressure on the crystal. The pressure on the crystal produces a voltage proportional to the amount of force applied, providing a measure of the amount of acceleration (Barfield & Caudell 2001, p
96 ?W/ (Rabaey, Ammer, Da Silva Jr., Patel, & Roundy, 2000) Temperature Variation 10 ?W/cm3 (Roundy, Steingart, Frechette, Wright, Rabaey, 2004) Ambient Radio Frequency 1 ?W/cm2 (Yeatman, 2004) Ambient Light 100 mW/cm2 (direct sun) 100 _W/cm2 (illuminated office) (Yildiz 2009) Thermoelectric 60 _W/cm2 (Stevens, 1999) Vibration (micro generator) 4 _W/cm3 (human motion -- Hz) 800 _W/cm3 (machines -- kHz) (Mitcheson, Green, Yeatman, & Holmes, 2004) Vibrations (Piezoelectric) 200 ?W/cm3 (Roundy, Wright, & Pister, 2002) Airflow 1 ?W/cm2 (Holmes, 2004) Push buttons 50 _J/N (Paradiso & Feldmeier, 2001) Shoe Inserts 330 ?W/cm2 (Shenck & Paradiso, 2001) Hand generators 30 W/kg (Starner & Paradiso, 2004) Heel strike 7 W/cm2 (Yaglioglu, 2002) (Shenck & Paradiso, 2001) The stated values in Table 1 above were based on data presented in archived studies, textbooks, as well as empirical research conducted by Yildez et al
Electrostatic produces higher and more practical output voltage levels than the electromagnetic method, with moderate power density (Yildiz 2009). The induced voltage is inherently small and therefore must be increased to become a viable source of energy (Kulah & Najafi 2004)
87). This method depends on the variable capacitance of vibration-dependent varactors (Meninger, Mur-Miranda, Amirtharajah, Chandrakasan, & Lang 2001)
This technique uses a magnetic field to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy (Amirtharajah & Chandrakasan 1998). Operating principle The production of electric charges on the faces of certain asymmetric crystals when they are subjected to mechanical stress (Michels 1956, p
96 ?W/ (Rabaey, Ammer, Da Silva Jr., Patel, & Roundy, 2000) Temperature Variation 10 ?W/cm3 (Roundy, Steingart, Frechette, Wright, Rabaey, 2004) Ambient Radio Frequency 1 ?W/cm2 (Yeatman, 2004) Ambient Light 100 mW/cm2 (direct sun) 100 _W/cm2 (illuminated office) (Yildiz 2009) Thermoelectric 60 _W/cm2 (Stevens, 1999) Vibration (micro generator) 4 _W/cm3 (human motion -- Hz) 800 _W/cm3 (machines -- kHz) (Mitcheson, Green, Yeatman, & Holmes, 2004) Vibrations (Piezoelectric) 200 ?W/cm3 (Roundy, Wright, & Pister, 2002) Airflow 1 ?W/cm2 (Holmes, 2004) Push buttons 50 _J/N (Paradiso & Feldmeier, 2001) Shoe Inserts 330 ?W/cm2 (Shenck & Paradiso, 2001) Hand generators 30 W/kg (Starner & Paradiso, 2004) Heel strike 7 W/cm2 (Yaglioglu, 2002) (Shenck & Paradiso, 2001) The stated values in Table 1 above were based on data presented in archived studies, textbooks, as well as empirical research conducted by Yildez et al