How to Choose Energy Efficient Small Appliances
The Energy Guide program was created to assist in the rating of "white goods", but what about smaller items and electronics which have no such label program?
The Energy Guide program was created to assist in the rating of "white goods", but what about smaller items and electronics which have no such label program?
Frankly, it’s not normal to carry around an energy meter when you’re shopping for electrical appliances.
There aren’t many people who would be content with a home that is not equipped with major electrical appliances, entertainment systems and computers. It isn’t wrong to have and enjoy a large-screen TV (unless you watch it the whole day!) or air conditioning. Using the energy to run the equipment is not the issue. The issue is purchasing inefficient models and, worse still, employing polluting and non-renewable resources to run them.
As you cannot see electricity, it is hard to confirm the exact amount of energy available in a battery bank.
The output of smaller turbines is 12V, 24V or 48V direct current, with larger units outputting alternating current in 3-phase supply through a remote controller box. To get power from the tower there must be a connecting terminal to the turbine of "flying leads." This is a direct current system with two wires: positive and negative. It outputs 3-phase alternating current with three wires but no polarity or connection issues.
The power curve describes a unit's behavior with different wind speeds. Some important points revealed by the curve are:
There are more and more wind turbines filling the rural skyline today. Urban turbines or "urbines" face limitations that rural installations do not.
There are many possible foundations for a free-standing tower. The exact setup is affected by multiple factors such as tower weight and height, soil type and wind load.
Check with your turbine manufacturer for the right foundation for your soil condition.
If you're planning a solar thermal installation for a large building or a communal property such as apartments, you may need to consider a very large water storage tank. This is also true if your project is solar space heating – both of these installations require outsized tanks. Think big: we're talking between 300 and 500 gallons, here.
Working out how many PV panels you need to cover your electricity requirements is not a simple matter. Here's an example walkthrough so you can get a handle on your own calculations.
Walking around our imaginary house, we list every appliance, gadget and other plug load that uses electricity. Next to them, we write down the power use and the estimated number of hours they're switched on in summer and winter.
Our table looks a bit like this (though a lot longer):