Understanding Alternative Energy, Benefits, Types and Advantages

Education. Co. ID – This opportunity we discuss about Alternative Energy, an explanation of Alternative Energy will be described as follows:

Understanding Alternative Energy

The definition of alternative energy is a term that refers to all energy sources that can be used which aims to be able to replace conventional fuels without the unintended consequences of that. The term alternative refers to a technology other than the technology used in fossil fuels to produce energy. Alternative technologies that are used to produce energy by overcoming problems also do not produce problems like the use of fossil fuels.

The term alternative energy is generally used to reduce the use of hydrocarbon fuels that cause environmental damage as a result of high carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute greatly to global warming according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes.

Alternative energy is defined as an energy that is used and has a purpose to be able to reduce a country's dependence on a country that is a supplier of natural resources main energy. In addition to reducing or also replacing the main energy source, the use of this alternative energy can also be used to reduce environmental pollution which is getting worse and worse concern.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of alternative energy is energy that is used to stop the use of natural resources or damage the environment.

Many people use this alternative energy so that there is no dependence on the energy that exists at this time. Apart from that, the use of alternative energy is also carried out to reduce a country's dependence on the country suppliers of major energy sources such as petroleum, because the longer the supply of petroleum decreases.

This type of alternative energy is widely available in nature such as solar energy, water energy, wind energy and geothermal energy that can be utilized by humans.

Alternative Energy Benefits

The benefits of using alternative energy include the following:

1. This alternative energy can be used continuously because it will not run out.
2. The energy produced is large, as in the heat energy of light in the sun.
3. This alternative energy does not pollute the environment because it does not produce waste substances into the environment.

Kinds of Alternative Energy Sources

The following are the types of alternative energy provided by nature, including:

Solar energy

The sun is the main source for planet earth, the energy produced from the sun is light and heat. This solar energy can be used by humans such as drying, making salt and others. Utilization of this sunlight can also be increased by using a temperature collector somewhere so that it will be able to obtain a higher temperature. Apart from that ionized solar energy can also be converted into electrical energy, namely by converting solar energy using solar cells consisting of a series of panels of semiconductor elements.

Wind Energy

The Netherlands is a country known as a windmill country. In the Netherlands the wind is used to pump irrigation water. This wind energy can also be used to generate electricity using a blade wind connected by using a generator that can / can generate electricity (turbine) wind).

Nuclear energy

Nuclear energy is a source of energy that comes from a chain reaction of radioactive materials that occurs in a reactor. The energy generated from the process is very large, from 1 gram of radioactive substance it can produce 50,000 kwh hours. Nuclear energy also does not emit greenhouse gases and does not cause global warming. However, from the many benefits and conveniences obtained, there is a considerable danger, because if a radiation leak occurs it can endanger the environment and human health. Radiation that occurs can cause cancer, hereditary defects to death.

Geothermal energy

This heat energy is the energy contained in the earth, usually the energy arises due to volcanic activity. There are 3 main sources of geothermal heat. including natural steam, hot water and hot dry rock. Utilization of this geothermal heat has been used for electricity generation, the hot water can be used for heating, while other sources are currently being researched to be used as alternative energy sources efficient.

Natural Gas Energy

This natural gas is a gas that is collected from underground by having all kinds of hydrocarbon mixtures that have high compressive strength. After being processed, the natural gas can be used for cooking such as LPG. Apart from that, this natural gas can also be used to fuel motor vehicles and factory engines. This natural gas is also used as a power plant (PLTG).

Biodiesel Energy

Biodiesel energy is an alternative energy that comes from plants or animal fat that has been mixed with other fuels or is also pure from fat. Biodiesel energy has environmentally friendly properties, it is renewable and can also eliminate exhaust emissions.

Hydropower Water Energy

Hydropower energy is energy generated from the power of water. Making this energy by making a river water dam which after using a water pipe is directed to the turbine. This is what happened to the hydropower plant. The hydropower plant is very dependent on the availability of water, therefore the construction of the hydropower plant is usually located in a reservoir or lake.

Biomass Energy

Biomass is an energy that comes from living things, such as plants, animal waste and also human waste. The process of making this energy is to collect dirt with a biomass installation tank, and the gas that comes out of the installation is called biogas.

Ocean Wave Energy

These ocean waves can also be converted into electric power with the working principle is to collect the energy of the ocean waves to turn a turbine generator.

Biofeul Energy

This biofuel is energy derived from vegetable materials such as petroleum, castor oil, corn, etc. The process of making this biofuel energy is by reacting vegetable oil with methanol and ethanol with a caustic soda catalyst. The result of this process can be used as a fuel which is known as Biofuel (BBN).

Tidal Energy

This tidal energy is a tidal energy of sea water, the working principle of tidal energy is that at high tide, the sea water with a volume of millions of cubic meters rises to the mainland. If a large dam is built on the land, then the tidal water is accommodated in the reservoir. At the mouth of the reservoir is installed a propeller that rotates in the direction of the water. Usually used in two directions of rotation, namely at high tide and at low tide.

Piezoelectric Energy

Piezoelectric is an alternative energy that has a working principle in the presence of pressure applied and will be converted into electricity. Piezoelectric is a system that can / can generate electricity from the conversion of mechanical energy.

Methanol Energy

Energy Methanol (methyl alcohol) is a fuel alcohol derived from wood. Methanol is either used pure, or it can also be used as a gasoline mixture.

Ethanol Energy

Energy Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is an energy source in the form of alcohol resulting from the fermentation of certain plants, such as wheat or corn.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Alternative Energy

The advantages of alternative energy, including the following:

1. Renewable energy. This alternative energy is a renewable energy source so there will be no scarcity.
2. Environmentally friendly. This alternative energy does not produce waste that harms the environment in the long term, with the exception of Nuclear.
3. Free Energy Source. This energy is obtained free of charge, only requires initial installation costs.
4. Abundant Supply. Because the energy is found in nature, this supply will always be there depending on each location.

Lack of alternative energy, including:

• The initial cost of installation is quite high.
• Unreliable, because energy is obtained by nature, it depends on natural factors.
• Not efficient enough.

That's all and thank you for reading about the Definition of Alternative Energy, Benefits, Types, Advantages and Disadvantages, hopefully what is described can be useful for you.