Protection Of Equipment In Green Systems
One of the more confusing aspects of energy production is the cost basis, and very few people have a good understanding on the actual costs that are involved. For both green energy production techniques as well as fossil fuel techniques, turbines are utilized to generate the actual electricity that is seen as the final product sold to consumers. The product itself is the same no matter what production process is used, and there is no “better” electricity that is generated one way or another. When the light switches on in a home or business, electricity flows and powers the lights, no matter how that electricity was manufactured. The differences in costs between methods happen before the turbines, and are essentially found in the things involved in getting the turbines to turn. When producing traditional energy, fossil fuels are burned in order to create a gas which turns the turbines. While this is efficient, it also produces by-products like pollution and greenhouse gasses. Without debating the levels of damage that these by products have on the environment, it is universally accepted that damage is done to air quality by their release into the atmosphere. There is also a hard cost associated with the purchase or mining of the fuels themselves, whether it is in the form of wood, coal or oil, in order to burn and produce electricity, they must first be purchased which has a cost associated. Green energy production technology on the other hand does not burn fossil fuels in order to turn the turbines. Different processes capture the movement of wind or the gasses produced by liquids heated by solar panels in order to turn the turbines, producing no harmful by products and having no fuel costs. So if there is no fuel to purchase, why does it still cost more to produce electricity using green production methods?
The costs associated with green energy production are found in the purchase, installation, repair or replacement of equipment used in the processes, which is usually exposed to the elements and can easily be damaged in the field. One main cause of damage are lightning strikes to the panels or the wind turbines, something that is almost impossible to avoid due to the remote and exposed nature of the setups in order to achieve maximum efficiency. The damage that is produced at the actual strike point itself is easily seen, compared to the damage that is produced by the associated power surge. This surge of electricity couples into structures, cables and attachment points of the equipment, effectively creating a chain that electrical flow can travel upon. This flow is too great for the electronic circuitry inside components to handle, and results in the damaging and shutdown of systems during times when power could be being. This inefficiency is being corrected through the integration of more advanced surge protection devices which can provide greater levels of protection while also minimizing downtime. As these protection systems evolve, the ultimate costs associated with green energy production come down, creating a product which is both cleaner and cheaper.
