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Green Electricity: Getting Techie
Kilowatt Hours
We use them, we pay for them, we talk about them. But do we really know what in tarnation a kilowatt-hour is? A good way for our brains to handle the scope is to parse megawatts and kilowatts into something more easily digested, like everyday human activities. For example, here is what 1 kilowatt-hour can allow you to do: shave 1200 times with electric shavers (> 3 years), slice 100 loaves of breads, dry your hair 15 times, watch TV for four evenings, listen to 15 CDs, use a small refrigerator for 24 hours, microwave 20 meals, drill 250 holes, enjoy four evenings of light with 60 W incandescent bulbs or bask in 20 evenings of light with 11 W compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Certified Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)
What are certified renewable energy credits? Also know as "green tags", they're a label created and administered by the Center for Resource Solutions, a San Francisco-based NGO. Their Green-e label certifies that the power is renewable, and came from solar electric, wind, geothermal, low-impact hydropower, biodiesel, or fuel cells running on hydrogen produced with renewable power. Among other things, it specifies that the energy was not generated under mandate from state or federal requirements, and is not "double dipping".
Net-Metering
Net-metering is a very important concept in the world of home power generation. Net-metering means that if you produce your own electricity (with solar, wind, etc.) you can use this energy to offset the power you would otherwise buy from the utility company. Your NET power use refers to the balance of energy consumed from the grid and energy produced by your home system. Not all states have net metering laws in effect. For more info visit the DOE’s page on the subject.
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