How to Make Electricity: There were loads of incredibly fabulous discoveries and important inventions made in the centuries following the dark ages. One of the most important besides paper and the printing press has definitely been electricity.

Power saving is a common theme today, and there are many people who wish to be independent of the ‘grid’. But we can’t live (not practically) without this invention, so as part of the drive for energy independence, we are learning how to make electricity, and produce renewable energy resources.

How to Make Electricity: Good News!

• There are so many different ways to produce renewable energy, and even do this at home.

These resources may be used to eventually become independent of the grid, but in most cases people start-off small by powering their geyser, garage doors, electric driveway gates, or even to heat their swimming pools. Producing this energy at home is totally possible, and is done every single day.

It is important to understand, that as simple as some methods to generate power are, they can also be very dangerous. Understanding this form of energy is therefore also very valid. Our precursors were Benjamin Franklin and Michael Faraday, who by their discoveries were instrumental in the building of an entirely new civilization; and this is important to know when it comes to how to make electricity.

• How to Make Electricity: Consider this!

When Ben Franklin was out in a storm in 1752, he flew a kite to prove his idea that plasma (lightning) was a stream of electrified air. After that Michael Farraday discovered that if a magnet was moved inside a coil, electricity would be produced. Farraday is credited as the father of electricity, and he created the first electric motor. After that Thomas Edison gave us first light bulb, and now we use far too much electricity, all of which comes at a massive cost.

The main sources for commercial electricity are fossils fuels, water, solar, nuclear fission and wind. Fossil fuels do not make for a renewable energy resource. Wind, solar and water are renewable, while nuclear power comes with its own extremely complex ‘fission’ related problems.

Some technological advancements have also been made in biofuels, which are relatively renewable or re-usable resources. For example old cooking oil which has been manufactured from sunflower seeds, that can be re-grown; is recycled into biodiesel and even bio aviation fuel.

A number of European airlines for example, already fly regular routes where an aviation fuel/biofuel mixture is used. Biofuels may also be used in the home to power diesel-run generators.

How to Make Electricity: Overlooked Facts!

Bio-waste is another electricity producing concept that is catching on, where biogas is manufactured by the breakdown of organic matter. The State of Bihar in India is producing power for rural areas with a new technology using human waste. This waste is broken down in the absence of oxygen, but we can’t see us doing this at home quite yet; just imagine the mess?

The easiest, cleanest and safest way to generate our own electricity is by means of solar power, and we are already doing this at homes all over the world. But solar panels are expensive, as is having them fitted. Never fear, it is totally possible to construct our own in a flexible and cost efficient way. Solar panels can actually be made at home for under $100.

These panels can be used to generate lights, or specific appliances and or other items on the general electricity consumption grid. This saves money on utility bills and no matter how small the saving, every penny counts and you should consider this when it comes to how to make electricity.

Basically what the solar panel does, is not necessarily produce new energy, it simply converts sun energy into another type of energy for our house-hold use. This concept is called the photo voltaic effect.

• The same concept lies behind all generation of electricity from thermal energy.

Currently 85% of all energy generation for household and industrial use is generated by fossil fuel consumption together with thermal energy production. The world-movement is all for changing the status quo, and is ready and willing to do so.

Besides fossil fuels being non-renewable, they are also inefficient and are linked to CO2 emissions. So, the drive behind the use of alternate resources is also pollution based. Climate change has been linked to CO2 emissions. Although some theorists say that climate change is a natural process on the planet, others believe that we as consumers are hastening these changes.

How to Make Electricity: Other Options!

As solar panels are a universal solution and are used in most countries in the world, they offer a great many advantages. The idea is that they provide a modular answer that can start off small and grow to suit the users’ requirements. All products available today are also well-tested.

Because solar is such a popular solution there are different products available to take care of various levels of need, as well as the depths of our pockets. They do have to be positioned in the sunniest possible direction and place, and therefore are often found situated on the roof of a home, which puts them out of the way and you should know this when it comes to learning how to make electricity.

• Obviously in countries where the weather is better, solar panels are more effective.

They should face differently in both the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere; with angles adjusted to latitude. Tracking mounts are also to be had so that panels can follow the sun. Although tracking can be expensive, it sure beats housing a nuclear reactor in the back yard!

Wind generators are a relatively good solution, but are not great on a small scale as yet, and are not really bird friendly. So, if you are planning a wind-powered product in your back yard, right next to the bird feeder be prepared; finding little dead bird bodies all over the garden might just break your heart.

Strangely enough, electricity is one of those must-have items that many people believe must be purchased and cannot be made. Take your time and learn how to make electricity too, and it soon becomes easy to see that we don’t all have to depend on fossil-fuel generated electricity purchased off the grid.

Many homes are grid-free or at least semi-independent, and anything for free is a bargain, even if it costs a bit of extra money to get started. No supplier will ever tell you that they can charge you to use the power of the sun. Not yet, for now it is still free and it is easy to learn how to make electricity!