Types of renewable energy

• Wind energy
• Solar hot water heating (also called solar thermal)
• Solar electricity
• Ground or air source heat pumps
• Biomass and Biofuels
• Hydro
• More information

Wind energy Wind energy is generated when the wind rotates a turbine's blades which drive a generator to produce electricity. Wind turbines vary in size, they can be very small (one metre in diameter) and attached to a building; they can be larger and power a school or hospital, or they can be over 100m tall and based off-shore to generate large amounts of electricity.

Solar hot water heating (also called solar thermal) Solar thermal systems capture the energy from the sun's radiation and use it to heat water. The hot water can then be used immediately or stored in a cylinder for later use. Some solar thermal systems can be linked to underfloor-heating systems.

Solar electricity Solar electricity systems capture the energy from the sun's radiation and convert it into electricity. They will work in any weather, as long as there is daylight, and the electricity is available for use in the building immediately.

Ground or air source heat pumps There are two types of heat pumps: ground source and air source. Ground source heat pumps use the constant temperature of the soil at 1 metre below the surface as their heat source. Air source heat pumps extract heat from the air by a unit that is sited outside the property.

Biomass and Biofuels Biomass falls into two broad categories: woody (forest residues and energy crops like willow) and non-woody (animal waste and high energy crops like rape). For domestic use of biomass, the fuel used is usually wood pellets, wood chips and wood logs. Biofuels are derived from biomass, for example ethanol produced from sugar cane is commonly used as an automotive fuel in Brazil.

More information For more information on the practical application of renewable energy in your home, read Information on Renewable Energy Systems (PDF 111kb).