The main technologies are listed by type of green energy. Of course, the pace of technological development in this area is such that, in addition to the technologies listed here, it is worth keeping an eye on emerging new solutions.
Solar energy
Solar technologies are used to produce electricity, heat, light, hot water, and heating and cooling processes. There are different types of solar technologies that have been developed to benefit from solar energy such as Passive solar energy, Active solar energy.
The most common used technology is the photovoltaic panels or photovoltaic system. This is a photoelectric system that uses solar power to generate electricity. The system consists of solar cells made of semiconducting materials. When exposed to the sun, they collect the energy of solar radiation to convert it to electricity. Electricity generated in this way can be stored in batteries or used directly.
Today many homes around the world are designed to take advantage of passive solar energy. Passive solar design takes advantage of a building’s site, climate, and materials to minimize energy use. A well-designed passive solar home first reduces heating and cooling loads through energy-efficiency strategies and then meets those reduced loads in whole or part with solar energy.
Wind power
Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air. This energy has long been harnessed by mankind through various energy transfer methods. Apart from sailing ships, the oldest technology in this category is the windmill. Its more modern use is to convert the rotational energy of wind turbine blades into electricity. Wind turbines are now used on an industrial scale in large groups on wind farms by large power producers, but small individual turbine installations are not uncommon, and are particularly useful in environments far from the high-voltage electricity grid, where it would be costly to run power lines to the point of use.
Hydropower
In antiquity, it was discovered that tools powered by flowing water could also be used for work. The earliest example of a mechanical device created for this purpose is the water wheel. Essentially, these were (water) power machines that converted the kinetic energy of water into mechanical energy. The next ‘stage’ in the harnessing of hydropower is the conversion of mechanical energy into electricity, which is now done by various types of hydroelectric power stations. Traditionally, there are basically two types of hydroelectric power plants: run-of-river and reservoir power plants. The use of these power plants is mostly on an industrial scale, so their use is not so relevant for small-scale tourism developments.
Biomass
Biomass is anything that can be used as energy, be it plants, plant and animal waste, crops and all kinds of by-products. Some biomasses are combustible and have a very high calorific value. Gasified biomass is usually obtained from dead plants and animals by gasification. Assuming a tourism use, biomass is most often used as fuel.
Briquetting and palletisation are two known ways of recovering biomass, the products are compacted, pressed and chopped by special briquetting and pelletising machines until they are finally obtained in smaller or larger blocks. Both briquettes and pellets are made from natural materials, are excellent combustion products with a much longer combustion time than conventional firewood. They are easy to light and, as they are sold in blocks, do not take up much space.
Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy can also be harnessed on an industrial scale by building geothermal power plants. Here the investment costs are very high, and they are used to heat urban areas, gardens and thermal baths. On a smaller scale, geothermal energy can be extracted by heat pumps to heat and cool hotels, guesthouses and houses. Its operation is neither weather nor time of day dependent. There is no risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or explosion, and the heat pump system does not pollute the environment in any form, emitting no gas, smoke, soot or other harmful substances. Ground source and ground collector heat pump systems are highly efficient. They can produce 450-500% of the electricity used to run them as heating energy.
