Alternative Energy For Dummies

If you want to make alternative energy a part of your life, either through your car, home, or at work, you should understand some basic energy terminology and the various alternative energy sources being used and developed.

If you want to get involved in the alternative energy conversation (and understand what you read and hear), learning these basic terms about energy is a good place to start: Alternative energy: Energy sources that don’t include fossil fuels or carbon-combustible products such as gasoline, coal, natural gas, and so on BTU (British Thermal Unit): The basic unit of energy in the English system Energy: The total amount of effort, or work, it takes to accomplish a certain task Energy efficiency: The ratio of the useful work obtained from a process to the raw power taken to achieve that process First law of thermodynamics: A key physics principle stating that energy can neither be created nor destroyed (that is, energy is never used up; it simply changes forms) Joule (J): The basic unit of energy in the international system Power: The speed with which energy is being expended to achieve a task Renewable energy: Forms of energy that constantly replenish themselves with little or no human effort Second law of thermodynamics: The physics principle stating that the disorder of any closed system can only increase — that waste is unavoidable Sustainable energy: Forms of energy that are not only renewable but also have the ability to keep Earth’s ecosystem up and running in perpetuity Watt: Power is energy per time, and the standard unit of measurement is the watt.

Coming up with alternative energy sources is essential due to the energy demands of a growing population and dwindling supplies of fossil fuels. This list is an overview of available alternative sources of energy: Biofuels: Biofuels are made of biomass products and can be used to generate electric power as well as fuel transport.