549, PGP POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE

Namakkal-Karur Main Road, Namakkal 637 207

Phone: 04286 267289
Email: polytechnic@pgpews.com

Website: www.pgpedu@ac.in

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2014-2015
(ODD SEM)

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

ONE MARK QUESTION BANK
II YEAR / III SEM

(MECHANICAL ENGINEERING)

PREPARED BY

: R.RAMESH B.E.,
Lecturer /EEE,
PGPPTC,
Namakkal.

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UNIT I
FUNDAMENTALS OF ENERGY
1. What is energy?
It is the Ability to do work.
2. What is primary energy?
Energy sources which provide a net supply of energy are called primary energy.
3. What are primary energy sources?
Coal, natural gas, oil & nuclear energy are primary energy sources.
4. List out any two conventional energy sources.
Fossil

fuel energy
Hydraulic

energy
Nuclear

energy
5. What are the common forms of energy?
Fossil fuel (coal, natural gas, oil), hydro-electric power, nuclear power, solar power, biomass
power, geo thermal energy, tidal energy, ocean thermal energy, etc
6. List out any two non-conventional energy sources.
Solar energy, tidal energy, wind energy
7. State any two merits of non-conventional energy sources.
Less

environment impact than fossil fuel.

It
can be used without depleting.
8. State any two de-merits of conventional energy sources.
Very

costly production cost.

Cause

of global warming, Greenhouse Effect, Acid rain Etc...

9. What is meant by conventional energy?
Energy that has been used from ancient times is known as conventional energy.
10. List any two salient features of non-conventional energy sources.
It
can be used without depleting it.
Renewable

energy is environmental friendly.

11. Give examples for fossil fuels.
Coal, natural gas, petroleum.
12. What is relationship energy consumption and standard of living?
The more energy people consume, the more their standard of living improved.

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13. What are products obtained from crude petroleum?

Petroleum

gas
Petrol

Kerosene

Diesel

oil
Residual

oil (Lubrication oil, paraffin wax, asphalt)

Fuel

oil for boiler & furnace

14. What is energy density of fuel?
A measure of the amount of energy stored in a given volume or mass (weight) of that fuel.
Unit is KJ/KG
15. What is energy density value of petrol & diesel?
Petrol: 46900 KJ/KG
Diesel: 45800KJ/KG
16. What are renewable energy sources?
The source of energy which are being produced continuously in nature and are Inexhaustible
are called renewable source of energy (or) non-conventional energy.
17. What is the potential of wind energy and solar power in India?
According To Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources,
Wind: 45000 MW
Solar: 20MW/Sq.Km
These are the potential of wind energy and solar power in India.
18. What is energy conservation?
Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used.
19. List any two methods of conserving energy.
Be
less dependent on your heating and air conditioning units.
Replace

old light bulbs with energy saving fluorescent bulbs.

Turn

off all electronic devices that are not in use.

20. What is meant by energy chain?
The sequence of energy transformations between primary and secondary energy.

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UNIT II
SOLAR ENERGY
1. Define solar energy.
Energy from the sun is called solar energy.
2. What is diffuse radiation?
Diffuse radiation is that solar radiation received from the sun its direction has been changed
by reflection & scattering by the atmosphere.
3. What is global radiation?
The sum of the direct beam radiation and diffuse radiation flux is referred to as total or global
radiation.
4. Mention any two instrument used for measurements of solar radiation.
Pyranometer

pyrheliometer

5. What are the applications of solar energy?

Heating

and cooling of residential building.

Solar

water heating.
6. What is the function of solar energy collectors?
A solar collector is a device for collecting solar radiation and transfer the energy to fluid
Passing in contact with it.
7. List any two types solar collectors.
Non

concentrating (or) flat plate solar collector.

Concentrating

(focusing) types solar collector.

8. Compare flat plate collectors and concentrating type collector.
It is less efficient solar collector It is the most powerful type of collector Maximum
temperature of fluid is 3000C Fluid temperature up to around 50000 C can be achieved It can be
used in water heating It can be used in solar furnaces and solar power plants
9. What is the uses solar furnace?
Solar furnace is a structure that captures sunlight to produce high temperature usably for
industries.
10. What is solar cooker?
Solar cooker is a device which uses the energy of direct sun light to heat, cook the food.
11. What are the different types of solar cooker?
Flat

plate box type

Multi

reflector type
Parabolic

disc concentrator type

12. What are the limitations of solar cooker?
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 Cooking

time is more
It
has to cook accordingly to the sun shine
13. What are the components of solar water heater?
Solar

hot water collector

Hot

water tank
Pumps

& controller
14. What is the importance of solar cooker?
Solar cooking is simplest, safest, most convenient way to cook food without fuels.
15. What is solar pond?
Solar pond is a pool of salt water which acts as large scale solar thermal energy collector with
integral heat storage for supplying thermal energy.
16. Name three zones in solar pond.
Upper

convective zone
Non

convective zone
Lower

convective zone
17. List any two advantages of solar pond.
It
has very large heat collection area at low cost.
Heat

storage is massive, so no batteries or other storages needed.

18. What is the purpose of solar greenhouse?
Greenhouse is a building in which allow certain plants are grown throughout the year &
increasing important in the food supply of high latitude areas.
19. What is the purpose of solar distillation?
Solar distillation is used for water purification by means of heat & solar radiation.
20. What is distributed solar collector?
Individual solar collector modules interconnected to a single power producing unit by means
of a heat transfer medium. This is known as distributed solar collector.
21. Define photo voltaic effect.
A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into
electricity is known as photovoltaic effect.
22. What is the function of solar photo voltaic system?
Solar

water heater circulation pumps.

Earth

quake monitoring systems.

23. List out any two types of solar cells.

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 Single

crystal silicon cell

Polycrystal

silicon cell
Ribbon

silicon cell
Amorphous

silicon cell
24. What are the different applications of solar photo voltaic system in rural area?
Lighting

and power supplies for remote villages.

Street

lighting.
Mini

grids.
25. What is solar radiation?
Due its temperature, sun emits energy in the form of electromagnetic waves which is called
as radiation energy.

UNIT III
WIND ENERGY
1. What is wind energy?
Wind energy is type of energy derived from kinetic energy of air.
2. What is wind data?
For estimating the wind energy potential of a site, data collected from Site is known as wins
data.
3. State any two applications of wind energy
Grid-connected power generation
Water pumping
Telecommunications
Weather stations
Air-traffic control
4. List out any two advantages of wind energy.
Renewable

energy
Reduces

fossil fuels consumption

Less

air and water pollution

5. List out any two disadvantages of wind energy.
Noise

disturbances
Threat

to wildlife
Wind

speed can never be predicted

6. What is wind rose?

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Wind rose is a map diagram that summarizes information about the wind at a particular
location over a specified time period
7. What is the use of wind rose?
Wind rose used by meteorologists gives the percentage of the time the wind blows from
each direction during the observation period
8. What is anemometer?
The instrument used to measure wind speed is called an anemometer
9. What is the use of anemometer?
It is used to measure the wind speed.
10. What are essential components of a wind electric generator?
Major components of wind electric generator are
Tower

Rotor

Gear

box
Generator
Safety systems
11. What is nacelle?
It is a cover to product wind turbine components on the tower.
12. Name the type of wind turbine.
1. Horizontal axis wind turbines
2. Vertical axis wind turbine
13. What are advantages of horizontal axis wind turbine?
The tall tower base allows access to stronger wind
High efficiency and increase in power output 34%
14. Name type of vertical axis wind turbine.
Darrieus wind turbine
Savonius wind turbine
15. What are advantages of vertical axis wind turbine?
No yaw mechanisms is needed
VAWTs may be built at locations where taller structures are prohibited
16. What are environmental impacts of wind turbine?
Bird deaths
Climate change

17. What are safety hazards in wind turbine?

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 Electric shock
Throwing ice in polar countries
Tower collapse
Affecting radar and radio signals
Public health issues
Blade failure
18. What are sources of risk in wind turbine operation?
Blade ejection
Tower collapse
Hazardous weather conditions
Oil spills
Ice shedding
19. Name safety devices used in wind turbine.
Vibration sensor
Electronic thermometers
Aerodynamic breaking system
Mechanical braking system

UNIT -IV
BIO ENERGY
1. What are the applications of Bio-Energy?
Converting biomass into liquid fuels for transportation.
Burning biomass directly, or converting it into a gaseous fuel or oil, to generate electricity.
Converting biomass into chemicals for making products that typically are made from
petroleum.
2. What is Bio-Mass?
Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms.
3. Give examples for biomass.
Wood, waste, aquatic plants and crops are examples for biomass.
4. Define Photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic Compounds
by means of sugars, using energy from sunlight.
5. What are Bio-Mass resources?
Pulp

& paper (industry residues)

Timber,

wood etc..(forest residue)

Leaves,

wheat straw, rice straw ect..( agricultural residue)

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 Saw

dust, trunks, wood pallets (urban wood waste)

Wheat

grass, switch grass, bamboo (energy crop waste)

6. What are advantages of biomass?
It
reduces climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emission.
Biomass

crop consumes carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.

Easy

availability and produce as renewable resources.

7. What are energy recovery methods from urban waste?
Thermal

conversion
Biochemical

method
Thermo-chemical

method .
Electrochemical

method
8. What is pyrolysis?
Pyrolysis is a process of chemical decomposition of organic matter by means of heat.
9. What is biomass gasification?
It is a thermo chemical process which converts biomass materials into gaseous components.
10. What is biogas?
Biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen is known as Biogas.
11. Write the composition of biogas.
The compositions of biogas are follows,
Methane (CH4) :40-70%
Carbon dioxide (CO2):30-60%
Hydrogen (H2): 0-1%
Hydrogen sulfide(H2S):0-3%
12. What are types of biogas plants?
Floating-drum

plants
Fixed-dome

plants
13. List out two advantages of floating drum biogas plant.
Construction

is easy.
low

cost.
14. List out two advantages of fixed-dome biogas plants.
No
moving parts involved.
Low

initial cost.
Long life span.
15. State any two application of Bio-gas plant.
Applications of Bio-gas plant are follows,
Domestic

cooking.
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 Drying

grains in agriculture.
16. What is biodiesel?
Biodiesel is a renewable fuel produced from vegetable oils and animal fat.
17. List out the advantages of biodiesel.
It
is a clean burning fuel.
It
is safe compared to other fossil fuel.
It does not emit toxic emissions.
18. What are biodiesel feedstocks?
Biodiesel is made from soya bean oil, Recycled cooking oil, Animal fats, other vegetable oils
like coconut oil etc

UNIT -V
OCEAN & GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
1. What are ocean energy resources?
Ocean energy resources includes
Tidal

Energy
Wave

Energy
Ocean

Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

2. Define ocean energy.
The movement of water in the oceans creates a vast storage of kinetic energy is called
ocean energy.
3. What is ocean thermal energy?
Suns heat warms the surface of the water more than deep ocean water, due to this
temperature difference thermal energy occurs. This is known as ocean thermal energy.
4. What is the working principle of ocean thermal energy?
Ocean thermal energy works in principle of thermal conductivity, where surface water as
heat source and deep cold water as heat sink due to this temperature difference ocean thermal energy
occurs.
5. List two advantages of ocean thermal energy.
It will not pollute environment. This energy is produce all around the year in any climate.

6. What are limitations of ocean thermal energy?

It has lower capacity, need more technical improvement for higher energy Production
capacity.
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 Power

production depends on size and geographical area of the power plant.

7. What are types of OTEC systems?
Closed cycle systems
Open cycle systems
Hybrid systems
8. What are working fluids in OTEC?
OTEC working fluids are,
Ammonia
Fluorinated carbons such as CFCS &HCFCs
Pentane
9. What is tidal energy?
Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms
Of power mainly electricity.
10. List out any two merits of tidal energy.
It
is inexhaustible sources of energy.
The

life of tidal energy power plant is very long.

The

energy density of tidal energy is higher than renewable energy.

11. State any two limitations of tidal energy.
The

high and low tides must reach16 feet.

Construction

cost is high.
Limited availability of sites.
12. What is meant by wave machines?
The device which is used to convert wave energy into mechanical energy called wave
machines.
13. List out wave energy conversion device.
Oscillating

water column
Tapchan

Pendulor

device (or) dolphin type device.

14. State any two advantages of Geo thermal energy.
Low

running cost
Reduce

fossil fuel, global warming & pollution.

15. Define Geo thermal energy.

It is defined as thermal energy generated and stored in under the earth.
16. List out Geo thermal sources.
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 Hydrothermal

Geopressured
Petro

thermal
17. What are types of Geo thermal power plants?
Dry

steam geothermal plant

Flash

steam geothermal plant

Binary

cycle geothermal plant

18. What are applications of geothermal energy?
To
generate electricity, plastics, salt form sea water.
To
purify sewage water.
To
separate aluminum form bauxite.
19. What are methods of geothermal exploration?
Drilling

Seismology

Gravity

Resistivity

& Magnetotellurics
Magnetic

Geochemistry

20. What are environmental issues from geothermal plant?

Air

pollution
Water

pollution
Physical

impacts (Land erosion, Noise pollution, heat pollution)

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