Another internet tool by:BackgrounderPage 1 of 6Teach...build...learn...renewable energy!Renewable Energy BasicsA Renewable Energy Project KitThe Pembina InstituteWe use energy every day. It surrounds us in dif-ferent forms, such as light, heat, and electricity. Our bodies use the energy stored in molecules of substances like carbohydrates and protein to move, breathe, grow, and think. We also use energy to do work and to play. Humans have invented thousands of machines and appliances that use energy to make our work easier, to heat our homes, and to get ourselves from place to place. Some of these machines use elec-tricity, while others, like automobiles, use the energy stored in substances such as gasoline.The two most common forms of energy we use are heat and electricity. Heat is the energy of moving particles in any substance. The faster the particles move, the warmer the substance is. Electricity is the energy of electrons moving along a conductor like a copper electrical wire. Most of the machines around us use either heat or electricity to do their work. A good example is an electric clothes dryer. The dryer uses an electric motor to turn the drum that tumbles the clothes inside. The same motor also turns a fan that blows air through the clothes as they tumble. Lastly, a heating element creates large amounts of heat, which is used to dry the clothes more quickly.Besides heat and electricity, we use many other forms of energy every day of our lives. The list below sum-marizes some of the more common forms of energy and how they are generated and where they are often used. Energy is easily converted from one form to another. This is an important and very useful property, because...
