Renewable Power Advances
I have to confess something. I'm a self-sufficiency nut. I love the idea of growing my own garden (working on it now!), building things myself (adobe and CEBs - awesome), and generating my own power.
About that generating power thing. The general focus of most people thinking about "green" energy seems to be 1) solar panels (PV) and 2) wind power. Both those things are great, but I think I've found a combo that beats them both, at least for my area.
There is a technology that has been around for over 100 years that can produce power reliably with only a temperature differential driving it. They are called Sterling engines. Up to now, they have been rarely used, mostly in submarines (they are very quiet). Renewed interest has come up recently in the technology with several companies investing engineering effort in improving the efficiencies of these type of engines and coupling them to solar concentrators as the heat source. One success has come in the form of a large scale "solar-sterling" project by Sterling Energy Systems.
Now another company, Infinia, has in development a system small enough to place in your backyard that generates 3 kW of power throughout most of the day. This is huge! 3 kW can easily power a home. Even 2 kW would do the trick for most (if you already have good insulation, CFLs, a low power computer, (three links) etc. It supposedly would cost about the same as a small car (15-20 thousand) for over a decade of service.
Read up on the technology and prepare to be impressed. Next up: small scale Hydro!
-Trey
About that generating power thing. The general focus of most people thinking about "green" energy seems to be 1) solar panels (PV) and 2) wind power. Both those things are great, but I think I've found a combo that beats them both, at least for my area.
There is a technology that has been around for over 100 years that can produce power reliably with only a temperature differential driving it. They are called Sterling engines. Up to now, they have been rarely used, mostly in submarines (they are very quiet). Renewed interest has come up recently in the technology with several companies investing engineering effort in improving the efficiencies of these type of engines and coupling them to solar concentrators as the heat source. One success has come in the form of a large scale "solar-sterling" project by Sterling Energy Systems.
Now another company, Infinia, has in development a system small enough to place in your backyard that generates 3 kW of power throughout most of the day. This is huge! 3 kW can easily power a home. Even 2 kW would do the trick for most (if you already have good insulation, CFLs, a low power computer, (three links) etc. It supposedly would cost about the same as a small car (15-20 thousand) for over a decade of service.
Read up on the technology and prepare to be impressed. Next up: small scale Hydro!
-Trey
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i am very intrigued...i'll pass this one on to my buddy miller looking into energy alternatives! -
Cool! I'm all for being self sufficient. Another thing I've looked into is having a small air compressor mounted in all of my cars. That way, if I need to change a flat tire, I can use an air-powered impact wrench and be back on the road in more of a "grand prix" timeframe. -
On the Ron Paul group, you said you probably won't vote if he doesn't get the nomination. Not voting won't accomplish anything or send a message. I recommend that you consider voting for the Constitution Party. Lots of other people will be and if enough people do it, it will make a statement.
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Hmmm...I guess I don't consider voting Constitution party one time to be the same thing as leaving the Republican party. But I can see your point about fixing it from the inside. I just can't will myself to vote for McCain.
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