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Understanding hydrogen technology Using fuel cell to power cars and homes Confronting obstacles facing broader fuel cell use M ydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe. It is comprised of a single proton, and hydrogen gas is odorless, colorless, and imperceptible to the human senses. It's the main component of water H2O , and it's also one of the basic atoms in both carbohydrates and hydrocarbons, the energy sources that all life on the planet earth require to survive....
Arguments against subsidies and tax breaks
Obviously, when the government subsidizes any form of alternative energy, it's the taxpayers who are footing the bill. So society, in general, is subsidizing those customers who install solar. This is seen as unfair in some circles, since it favors the wealthier individuals who can afford the up-front cost of solar equipment. Just because the payback economics of a solar investment are favorable doesn't mean that people will install solar because a majority of the population are living from...
Early electric car design versus the ICE design
The early electric car designs were simple and very reliable, much more reliable than the ICE-powered cars of the time Electric cars They don't require starting an engine. As soon as electricity is applied to the electric motor, the car goes hopefully . When more electricity is applied, the car goes faster. You don't need a transmission because electric motors can operate over a wide range of speeds with equal effectiveness. Brakes and steering are the same for electrics and conventional, and...
Efficiency increases demand
After the Arab oil embargo of the '70s, the governments of the world acknowledged a need to consume less energy, and a number of policies were instituted to effect fundamental changes. But America's total energy consumption has risen by over 30 percent since the oil embargo of the 1970s and electrical consumption has risen by 50 percent. Per unit of energy, the U.S. produces twice as much economic output as it did in 1950. This is an amazing increase in efficiency, but during the same time...
Hydrogen and carbon content in fossil fuels
All fossil fuels are composed of hydrogen and carbon among other things that don't factor into the combustion energy production phase , hence the term hydrocarbons to refer to these energy sources. The vast proportion of the useable energy comes from hydrogen, whereas the carbon generates the vast majority of the waste. When carbon burns completely in an oxygen atmosphere such as the earth's , the product is a lot of carbon dioxide CO2 , the gas blamed for global warming. Other byproducts of...
First law of thermodynamics
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as using energy. All energy consuming processes follow the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only change forms. We consume energy, but what we're really doing is using energy in one form gasoline, for instance and converting that into other forms. What we seek when we consume energy is to change the form of the energy into useable work. As that work progresses, the energy changes form once...
Largescale solar condenser power generators
Large-scale concentrated solar systems use arrays of individually focusing mirrors, aimed at either a single point or a line. The concentrated heat can be quite intense, depending on the surface area of the mirrors, and the quality of the focus. The high heat is used to vaporize some form of liquid, and the pressure is used to drive a turbine, which in turn creates electricity. Mechanical trackers continuously focus the sunlight onto the solar collector or collectors. Southern California Edison...
Advantages and disadvantages of smallscale wind power
Like any wind power system, power can be generated anytime, day or night as long as the wind is blowing. In some locations, wind is virtually a constant magnitudes may vary, but output power is always available . Wind speeds vary over terrain, so you can find locations on your property that provide maximum potential. Ridge lines, coastlines, and the tops of barren hills are the best candidates. cjABEft Obstructions such as trees, houses, barns, and the like all affect wind speed. And because...
Intertie systems
In intertie systems, there's no need for battery backup. All of the system's potential is being used, because when the system is outputting more power than the household is using, that extra energy goes back into the grid the meter spins backwards and the owner is getting credited by the utility company . And if the wind turbine goes down or breaks, or there is no wind, utility grid power is still available to the household. The economics of grid intertie are much better than for stand alone.
Financing through utility companies
Utilities finance solar PV directly with their customers, and in the process the customer pays the utility for the loan, as opposed to buying energy from the utility. In this way, the customer builds up value equity in the home as opposed to simply paying each month for grid power. The customer's suitability for PV will still be a large factor, as some homes simply don't have enough sunshine to make solar work. So the politics of mandating this become murky because only those who are lucky...
About the Author
Rik DeGunther attended the University of Illinois as an undergraduate and Stanford University as a graduate student, studying both applied physics and engineering economics some of this education actually stuck . He holds several United States patents and has designed a wide range of technical equipment including solar energy platforms, military-grade radar jammers, weather-measurement equipment, high-powered radar vacuum tubes, computerized production hardware, golf practice devices, digital...
Leasing schemes
Leasing schemes for PV systems are beginning to proliferate. A company installs a system, and you pay that company an agreed upon lease amount. You then own all the production of the system. These deals are very similar to a lease for an auto, with residual value, maintenance responsibilities, and so on. The leasing company still owns the system, so if you default on your payments they can repossess it. This works well for solar because the lease payments are usually less than the value of the...
The Part of Tens
They're solar panels. We're hoping to generate enough povrer to run our tanning beds.1' This would not be a For Dummies book without these handy chapters of ten. Because alternative energy is widely misunderstood, I dispel the most common myths and provide a list of the best ways to invest in alternative energy so that you can begin to make a difference, right now, today.
SmallScale Wind Power
Small-scale wind power turbines generate up to 20 kilowatts, under ideal conditions. This is enough to power most households in the U.S. Like their big brothers on the wind farms, they only generate power when the wind is blowing. A small-scale wind turbine looks like an airplane with a huge propeller and that s because that s what it basically is. Wind pushes the vane the opposite of what happens with an airplane propeller , which turns the propeller and forces the alternator generator to...