Emerging Technologies

Cogeneration

Read about Honda's residential combined heat and power (CHP) system, available now only in New England. Can we urge Honda to make them available in the Delaware Valley?

How does CHP work? Natural gas is fed first to a small, quiet generator in your basement to provide electricity. Then, the waste exhaust heat is lead to a heat exchanger, utilizing those BTU's to heat your home in winter. So simple, so efficient!

PHEV's and V2G

What are these acronyms? PHEV's are Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, capable of being charged up in a garage or at any standard outlet overnight. With the extended range lithium ion battery of up to 40 miles, a commuter will be able to get upwards of 100 or 150 mpg, depending on the commute. They are here and now. Although you can't yet buy a new vehicle, you can convert your existing hybrid with lithium ion batteries from Hymotion/A123, Valence Technologies, or Plug-in Supply.

V2G stands for Vehicle to Grid, meaning that with a proper connection, your PHEV will be able to charge from the grid, or supply electricity to the grid. V2Green is supplying "connecivity modules" capable or metering the electricity in either direction. Utilities, like PECO/Exelon will appreciate this trend, because the energy displaced by reducing fuel consumption wil be made up from grid-tied electricity. Why do we like it? Simply, we will use less net energy.

One company, Poulson Hybrid offers conversion kits FOR ANY VEHICLE, starting at around $4,000.

Micro Hydro Energy

Small scale electric generation is particularly well suited to Chester County topography, and county leaders should take note of the possiblilities our landscape provides. Electrical output is dependent on water flow and head, or vertical drop. Small ponds and rivers can displace fossil fuel dependent generation 2/7. Read more on Wikipedia, or yourhome, or matrixenergy, or homepower, or peswiki.

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)

The concept of focusing rays of light reflected from the sun probably dates back to Archimedes who instructed Greek soldiers to focus their bronze shields on Roman sips to set them on fire. Today, Concentrated Solar is being used in the Mohave Desert to generate power and others are going on line (Solana, Nevada One Solar, PG&E). CSP providers like Ausra and BrightSource are leading the way.

Wood Gasification

Burning wood for heat can be a dirty process, but heating wood up to 400 C and combusting the gases is a process called gasification or pyrolysis. Read more here. Those gases, carbon monoxide and hydrogen (syngas or woodgas), burn cleaner and produce more BTU's than would normally be produced by burning wood directly. Here are a few more links to companies who manufacture stoves and boilers:

Alternative Heating System
Tarm USA
Greenwoodfurnace
Adobe Boiler
Garn
New Horizon
The Wood Doctor

Green Computers

EPEAT helps consumers decide which computer to purchase based on environmental and sustainability criteria, and uses a gold/silver/bronze rating system. Great site.

Snap CO2 Saver is a free software product which claims to reduce CO2 emissions by monitoring computer usage and improving power management setting performance. Snap was founded by Bill Gross, renewable energy pioneer.

Zonbu offers a solution without a harddrive! All files are accessed online, and electicity savings are claimed to be one tenth that of ordinary computers.

Geothermal Power

Not to be confused with "geothermal" HVAC, electricity can be produced by tapping into hot zones in the earth's crust. Water is circulated through the rock, producing steam to spin a turbine. Mostly confined to parts of the earth where there is geologic activity, such as Iceland, the Pacific's Rim of Fire, or Yellowstone, deeper wells can be drilled in here on the East Coast to supply wattage to our grid. Hydrothermal Spallation is being developed by Potter Drilling, where hot rock is fractured, then a loop, or set of wells, is installed to create heat transfer between the hot rock and a power plant.

Wind Power

Google is investing in High Altitude Wind, where strong air "currents" blow continuously at between 5Km and 10Km altitude.

Bluewater Wind is developing the country's first offshore wind farm, 13 miles off Cape Henlopen. Cheers to Bluewater Wind, who will provide fossil free electricity to 100,000 homes here on the East Coast! Offshore, the turbine blades can be constructed on barges, allowing longer blades to be built. Longer blades allow for more power output from larger generators.

A Better Grid

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