Alternative Sources
Currently in Kyrgyzstan, water, coal, gas and oil are mainly used as energy sources. However, fossil fuels in nature are known to be limited. There are also difficulties with water because in recent years there have been increased reports on the insufficient amount of water reserves in the Toktogul reservoir. Energy prices are also steadily rising; social consumption norms are increasing (cost depends on the amount of kWh consumed). The answer to the question “What do we do in the run-up to the energy crisis?” has long found the answer: we must look for other sources of energy - alternative, unconventional and renewable.
“An alternative source of energy is a method, device, or structure that makes it possible to generate electrical energy (or another required type of energy) and replaces the traditional sources of energy that operate on oil, produced natural gas, and coal.”
Consideration should also be given to how environmental friendly the alternative energy sources are, as opposed to coal and natural gas which emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burned, contributing to the growth of the greenhouse effect and global warming.
The most common types of alternative energy are:
- Solar energy - solar collectors, solar panels. - Conversion of solar energy into electricity.
- Wind Power - Wind Power Plants - Transformation of wind energy into electricity
- Biomass - biogas plant - When biomass is decomposed (manure, dead organisms, plants), biogas is released with a high methane content, which is used for heating, power generation, etc.
- Micro HPP - Hydropower Plant - The use of small watercourses for the production of electricity. "Micro" - hydroelectric power plants operating in the range from 3 to 100 kW
- Geothermal energy - a method of generating electricity by converting the internal heat of the Earth (the energy of hot steam and water sources) into electrical energy
- Wave power - a method of obtaining electrical energy by converting the potential energy of the waves
- Tidal Power - Using Tidal Energy
The availability of technologies for obtaining energy from inexhaustible sources makes it possible to build houses with environmentally friendly infrastructure and to also solve problems of power supply to existing buildings in remote areas.
The owner of a private house with plot of land has the opportunity to switch to full autonomy in the energy supply. This can be achieved using solar panels, solar collectors (hot water, heating system support) and a heat pump. Moreover, combined use is possible - a heat pump together with solar batteries. In this case, solar panels are used to generate electricity for the needs of the heat pump, which is capable of producing several times more energy than it consumes.
The number of options, according to the characteristics and power of each device, is enough to choose the installation according to the budget, but with maximum efficiency.
Undoubtedly, investments in private energy are quite large and do not pay off immediately. But in favour of such investments, there is technical reliability of modern alternative sources of energy (the lifetime is 15-25 years) and global trends in the growth of the cost of energy.