Module 17 Assignment Questions You will find all the necessary inf...

Question 2:
The pros and cons of renewable energy vs the non-renewable energy might be formulated as below.
Pros of renewable sources of energy
1. Renewable sources of energy are renewable and easily regenerated. This is unlike fossil fuels which are perishable once used.
2. Renewable source of energy such as solar produce clean energy that does not pollute the environment. This is because no burning is required during usage of the energy.
3. Most importantly, renewable energy are available everywhere throughout the world thus there is no chance of the sources becoming depleted in future. For example, solar energy is everywhere as the sun will always be there every day.
4. Maintenance cost needed to install and use the renewable energy is relatively cheap. Solar energy can be trapped easily and used for domestic needs.
5. Renewable sources of energy boost economic growth and increase job opportunities. This includes electrical energy which is used to run many industries. Cons of renewable sources of energy Every set of energy has its own drawbacks once introduced to the ecology. Some of these limitations include
1. Difficult to produce the energy quantity that is equivalent to that produced by nonrenewable fuels
2. Technology required to trap renewable energy is costly. Setting of dams requires high initial capital to construct and maintain
3. Most renewable sources of energy are affected by weather thus reducing their reliability. For example, hydro generators need constant rainfall that will overflow the dams, wind turbines only rotate if there is wind of a given speed. Pros of nonrenewable sources of energy Some such as natural gas burns without any soot hence less environmental pollution.
1. Most nonrenewable sources of energy are easy to transport from one area to another. For example, petroleum oils which can be transported via pipes.
2. Cost of producing nonrenewable energy is low since they are naturally available. Furthermore, they are cheap to transform from one form of energy to another.
3. Most of this energy sources are abundantly available in different areas. Their availability is not affected by climatic condition. Cons of nonrenewable sources of energy
1. Produce harmful green house gases which contribute global warming. Coal once burnt produces carbon dioxide harmful to the environment.
2. Once they are depleted they cannot be replaced making them expensive to obtain.

Question 3:
The major factors for designing a renewable energy facility comprises of the consideration of Initial Cost and Pay Back Period. Unlike the non-renewable counterparts, a renewable energy facility demands much higher involvement of initial cost than the operating cost of the facility. The operating cost of a renewable energy plant comprises only the cost for scheduled maintenance and operating workforce, whereas a non-renewable energy facility includes its fuel cost.

Question 4:
Renewable Energy offers a range of economic benefits, such as:
a) The renewable energy industry supports new jobs.
b) Renewable energy development promotes investments in the economy
c) Renewable energy development outperforms fossil fuel in two important ways when it comes to driving job growth, firstly, Renewable energy development is preliminarily labor intensive, so it creates more jobs per dollar invested than fossil fuel resources. Secondly, installing renewable energy facilities primarily employs local workers, so investment dollars are kept in the local economy.
d) Local landowners are benefited from renewable energy development.
e) Renewable energy projects pay property and income taxes that help support states and local communities.
f) Renewable energy is a good deal for consumers.
g) There are scopes for development of new technologies through research and development.

Question 5:
There are number of benefits to be gained from solar pumping, which might be:
a) Solar-powered Water Systems are practical in flat terrain where the sun shines.
b) Solar-powered water pumps can be placed in or next to the pond or other source of water and the water can be pumped where it is needed.
c) Solar water pumping is clean and efficient.
d) Solar electric water pumping cuts down on waste because its based on natural cycles. The panels give the most pumping power on the sunniest days when the most water is needed.
e) Solar power is clean. There’s no need to worry about polluting the groundwater or air with a gas-powered pump.
f) Solar-powered water systems take very little maintenance because they only have a few moving parts. They have long life---usually 20 to 40 years. And solar water systems never run out of fuel as long as the sun is shining.
g) Solar pumping is a great solution for remote areas where the electricity line has not reached.

Question 6:
Some ideas for diversification for farmers in the sector of Renewable energy might be listed as below.
a) Many farmers already produce renewable energy by growing corn to make ethanol. An increasing number of farmers and ranchers are now adding to their incomes by harvesting the wind that blows across their land to make electricity.
b) Wind, Solar and biomass energy can be harnessed forever, which runs along with agriculture.
c) Biomass energy is produced from plants and organic wastes—everything from crops, trees, and crop residues to manure. Crops grown for energy could be produced in large quantities, just as food crops are. While corn is currently the most widely used energy crop, native prairie grasses such as switchgrass or fast-growing trees such as poplar and willow are likely to become the most popular in the future. These perennial crops require less maintenance and fewer inputs than do annual row crops such as corn, so they are cheaper and more sustainable to produce.
d) Solar pumping is a new solution for pumping, where the lifetime is much higher than any typical pumping system with the cleanest operation there is.

Question 7:
There are several types of Collectors for Solar water heaters. The design and performance characteristics are different for each of them.
In case of the Low temperature unglazed collectors that are typically used in swimming pools and such applications, the design considerations are based on the requirement of heat or the amount of water to be heated. That determines the quantity of black surface and tubes through which the water flows.
Concentrating collectors are used to concentrate sunlight onto an absorber tube or panel, allowing much higher temperatures to be achieved. The design considerations are mainly the curvature of the mirrors and the 1 or 2 axis tracking to follow the sun to ensure optimum reflection angle. Such collectors should be used in large volume projects.
The flat plate collectors are one of the most common collectors used widely. The basic design considerations are pretty much the same for all manufacturers. There varying design aspects matter to improve performance, make panels lighter, easier to install and suitable for different installation formats and ultimately impacts on cost, longevity and efficiency.
Besides all these types, there are also evacuated tube collectors. The main design considerations are on choosing if it will be single wall or double wall.

Question 8:
For sizing a solar heater for domestic use, the factors to be considered are:
a) No. of occupant
b) Water demand
c) Area of the collector
d) Size of the tank
e) Solar resource
f) Orientation and tilt of the solar collector