Question

Explain any four non-conventional energy sources.

Answer 1

Hint: Non-conventional energy resources are those energy resources which are continuously replenished by natural processes. These energy resources cannot be exhausted easily and can be generated constantly by natural ways, thus these are renewable resources. These resources do not pollute nature and are not subjected to heavy capital expenditure.

Complete Answer:
Non-conventional sources are abundant in nature and can be renewed as per requirement without incurring heavy expenditure. They are environment friendly and are very commonly used for household purposes. There are many non-conventional resources, four among them are solar energy; wind energy; tidal energy and biomass energy.
Solar energy: Solar energy is simply the light and heat that come from the sun. People can harness the energy of the sun in a few different ways: Photovoltaic cells, which convert sunlight into electricity; solar thermal technology is another process where heat from the sun is used to make hot water or steam and the last one is passive solar heating, in which the sun simply shines through windows to heat the inside of a building. Solar energy can be harnessed for a variety of uses like generating electricity, providing light or a comfortable interior environment in cold countries, and heating water for domestic, commercial, or industrial use.
Wind energy: Wind energy is a form of non-conventional energy which is obtained when the wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. Wind energy is extensively used to generate electricity. Wind energy is a popular sustainable, renewable source of power that has much less environmental hazard compared to fossil fuel or any other conventional energy.
Tidal energy: Tidal energy is produced by the surge of ocean waters during the rise and fall of tides. It is another major form of inexhaustible, renewable, eco-friendly energy. Tidal energy is also very much important in the generation of electricity. Among sources of non-conventional resources, tidal energy has initially suffered from relatively high cost due to limited availability, but with the advancement of technology the availability of tidal energy can be increased thus cutting short the expenditure.
Biomass energy: Biomass energy is a type of energy that is produced from the living or once-living organisms. The most common biomass energy is produced from plants, woods and waste products. This energy is of various uses such as to create direct heat, energy that can be converted into electricity and energy that can be processed into direct biofuel.

Note: The production or the use of non-conventional resources is not very much but with the advancement of technology and equipment, it is believed this kind of energy would be in use in abundance. One of the major advantages of this kind of energy is the eco-friendliness, thus as environmentalists are awaring people about the degrading condition of the environment, it is expected the use of non-conventional resources will increase in the very near future.