The Green Meme

Choosing a Stove For a Green Kitchen - Energy Star is Just a Start

Choosing a Stove For a Green Kitchen - Energy Star is Just a Start
By Deb Powers

Have you made a commitment to live greener? Many people are working toward becoming greener in their everyday lives in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cut back on their carbon footprints and save money. As part of that effort, green enthusiasts have turned their attention to their kitchen habits. While there are many small steps that people can take to go green in the kitchen, one big step is replacing that old kitchen stove with a more energy efficient model - one that suits the way you cook and reduces the amount of energy that you use to put food on the table.

When it comes to choosing greener appliances, most homeowners rely on the Energy Star rating. Energy Star is a government certification program that labels appliances that are energy efficient. It's so successful that it's become an international standard. Choosing a stove that has an Energy Star is the most obvious choice when buying a new stove, but it doesn't really do much to narrow your choices down. There are other choices you can make that will affect how much energy you use and how much carbon you save.

Electric or Natural Gas

The first question most cooks ask themselves when choosing a new stove is "electric or gas"? There are points in favor of each choice. Gas is obviously a fossil fuel, which is a limited resource, but until we switch over to renewable energy sources to generate electricity, most electrical power is generated in coal-burning power plants. As long as that's the case, a gas stove and an electric stove are pretty similar in terms of carbon footprint.

Advantages of Gas Stoves

Gas stoves offer many advantages for cooks. They include:

• Easier and more accurate temperature control
• Instant-on heat
• Instant adjustments in temperature when you lower or raise heat
• No heat waste when cooking is done

Advantages of Electric Stoves

Electric stoves also offer many advantages for cooks and in energy efficiency.

• Burner elements sized for cooking utensils
• Easy to clean, especially glass cooktops
• Electric stoves offer additional cooking modes - convection, fan, microwave, etc

Of course, there are drawbacks to both electric and gas stoves as well. Electric stoves with glass cooktops and induction elements, for instance, require the use of real metal cookware - glass pots and aluminum pots won't work right because the heat from the induction element won't transfer properly. In addition, the cookware used on a glass cooktop must be perfectly flat or much of the energy used for heat will go to waste.

Energy Efficiency Tips for Choosing a Kitchen Stove

• When choosing an electric stove, choose the stove with the most efficient heating elements possible. Cooktops with induction elements are the most energy efficient, followed by halogen elements and finally electric coil elements.
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• Gas stoves with electronic ignition use 40% less gas than those with a pilot light. - Choose a model that you'll be happy with for at least a decade. The longer you use your new stove, the longer it will stay out of the landfills.
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• An electric stove with an oven that has convection and microwave options gives you more flexibility in energy use.
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• Read the Energy Guide label to compare one stove with another when making a choice for a green kitchen stove.

Remember, though, that the most efficient stove in the world is only as efficient as your cooking habits. Look for green cooking tips to help you make the most of your new energy efficient stove.

Deb Powers is a freelance writer and researcher who writes frequently about renewable energy and green living. She has been an environmental activist since the 1970s, and continues to work toward a greener planet by highlighting advances in alternative energy sources, promoting Fair Trade causes and participating in local environmental activism.

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A Hydrogen Cell Experiment Pays Off - First Fuel Cell Powered Flight Takes Off

A Hydrogen Cell Experiment Pays Off - First Fuel Cell Powered Flight Takes Off

On a bright, blue morning at Hamburg Airport, the aeronautics industry came a giant step closer to changing the future path of alternative energy aircraft. That's the morning that the Antares DLR H-2 motor glider became the first aircraft in history to take off solely under hydrogen cell power. While both the Antares and a Boeing hydrogen fuel cell powered plane have flown before, Tuesday, July 7, 2009 marks the first time that any manned aircraft has achieved lift-off without the assistance of a hybrid electric motor.

The Antares DLR H-2 was developed by the German Aerospace Center - Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, shortened to DLR in common speech. Lange Aviation, BASF Fuel Cells and Serenergy, a Danish company that provides hydrogen fuel cells for DLR's flight research. The small craft is capable of speeds up to 187 miles per hour, though it only reached 105 miles per hour on its maiden hydrogen-powered takeoff, thanks to the extra weight of additional hydrogen cells.

History of Hydrogen Cell Experiment Planes

The development of hydrogen-powered airplanes has been rapid. The first full-size hydrogen cell aircraft took to the air in August, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. At just about the same time, researchers at Georgia Institute for Technology also launched an unmanned aerial vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Both flew for several minutes on pure hydrogen power, but required a boost from the airplane's battery to get airborne. Less than a year later on April 6, 2007, the DLR made history when their Hyfish took off over the hills of Bern, Switzerland without the assistance of any hybrid power source.

Almost a year later to the day, Boeing joined the history making when the aircraft giant put the first manned hydrogen-powered aircraft into the air above Ocana, Spain. The plane, a small, white prop-driven two-passenger model, had a flying time of 45 minutes. The pilot shared the cockpit with a battery pack in the passenger seat. Once airborne, the plane was powered solely by hydrogen though it used electricity from the plane's battery to get into the air. At the time, a Boeing spokesman said that hydrogen cells might be used to power small planes in the future, but were unlikely to become "the primary energy source for commercial airplanes."

In just 16 months, the DLR had brought the research on hydrogen cell airplanes to the point of a manned takeoff relying solely on the power provided by the experimental hydrogen fuel cells. The agency expects that further research and optimisation will give the Antares the capability of flying 300 kilometres per hour. The light plane's time in air has increased from 45 minutes to 4.5 hours, and its range has increased to 750 kilometres.

The Future of Hydrogen Cell Planes

While the DLR has stopped short of saying that the hydrogen cell experiment will be able to solely power a commercial aircraft anytime soon, the agency is already working toward making hydrogen fuel cells that will provide auxiliary power for those commercial aircraft. For the next three years, the Antares will make its home at the Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg where it will serve as a flying test platform for new hydrogen cell experiments and developments. If the DLR's plans go as expected, it may be as little as five years before hydrogen fuel cells are being used to provide on board power for large capacity airplanes.

Deb Powers is a freelance writer and researcher who writes frequently about renewable energy and global warming. She has been an environmental activist since the 1970s, and continues to work toward a greener planet by highlighting advances in alternative energy sources, promoting Fair Trade causes and participating in local environmental activism.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deb_Powers
http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Hydrogen-Cell-Experiment-Pays-Off---First-Fuel-Cell-Powered-Flight-Takes-Off&id=2589321

New Energy Technologies has just announced that it will be testing a new renewable energy generator - at a Burger King drive-thru! The low profile MotionPower generator captures the "kinetic energy" of moving vehicles and turns it into electrical power. The device will be tested at a high-turnover Burger King location in New Jersey. If it lives up to its promise, it could be used at other places with high through-traffic like tollbooths, traffic intersections and neighborhoods with "traffic calming" devices like speed bumps and entry gates. Imagine a future where the Mass Turnpike can recoup some of its operating costs by selling electricity to the electric company - how cool would that be?