After LENR, eLectricity, now virtually free will be exchanged like college
kids share torrents, afterall they are just electrons.
On Monday, February 20, 2012, Robert Lynn wrote:
> The key issue is that household electricity demand averages about
> 0.3-1.5kW, but can spike up to 10kW with aircon, ovens, hairdryers, clothes
> dryers, toasters, kettles, lawnmowers, powertools etc. It is very hard to
> make a system that can cover such a range efficiently or cheaply.
>
> Currently even the best batteries are very expensive ($0.03/kWh), but grid
> supplies are typically $0.07-0.01/kWh (on top of the cost of electricity at
> a large powerplant).
>
> A neighbourhood micro-grid is a good compromise - it evens out the loads
> and can handle the spikes in demand from individual houses with no trouble
> so you don't need to have a home generator capable of high peak power, or
> any energy storage, but you don't have to pay for the maintenance of large
> transformers, substations and transmission lines. And if your generator
> needs maintenance you will still have power. A neighbourhood microgrid
> will be low voltage, transformerless and will probably add <$0.02/kWh to
> the cost of electricity. It might involve small generators in each house
> (heat and power) with electricity shared between all houses to cover power
> spikes, or it might be a centralized generator of 50-1000kW.
>
> That said all sizes of generators will be used from 100's of MW for
> industrial uses to 10's of kW for factories to 1-5kW with energy storage
> for stand alone and rural and 100's of W for communication towers or
> lighting.
>
> On 20 February 2012 22:13, Chemical Engineer
> <cheme...@gmail.com<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'cheme...@gmail.com');>
> > wrote:
>
>> In the future, I think the industrial sector will become independent
>> power producers supplying all of their own needs and act as a backup for
>> local communities. Utility companies will become obsolete long term. I
>> hope LENR will be the boost that US manufacturing needs to cut costs,
>> expand and boost production and get jobs back in the US (unless China gets
>> it first...)
>>
>> On Monday, February 20, 2012, Jed Rothwell wrote:
>>
>>> Axil Axil <janap...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> The economy of scale says that one room sized CO2 supercritical electric
>>>> turbine is far more economical then 10 million sterling electric power
>>>> generators.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I doubt it. Not when you include the cost of the wires, substations, the
>>> people who repair the wires after storms and so on.
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>> If you are a standalone survivalist, have the capital and the square
>>>> footage to install your own power system . . .
>>>>
>>>
>>> You are forgetting that a standalone system also functions as a heating
>>> and thermal airconditioning system. It eliminate electricity and gas and
>>> replaces the furnace, the airconditioner and the water heater. Your
>>> supercritical turbine cannot do all that.
>>>
>>> I have my open HVAC system at my house, and my own washer, dried and
>>> refrigerator. It might be more "efficient" to use district heating and pump
>>> steam through pipes for heat, the way they do at the campus at Cornell U.
>>> But it is not worth the trouble.
>>>
>>> Look at it this way. Automobiles are very inefficient. Everyone has
>>> his own, and they sit in the parking lot all day. Trains, buses or taxis
>>> make much better use of equipment, take up less space and cost far less. In
>>> cities such as Paris, the cars are crammed together. But we like to have
>>> individual ones because it is so convenient.
>>>
>>> It will not be more "convenient" to have one or two generators at home
>>> (one for backup) because no one cares where electricity comes from, but it
>>> will be cheaper and simpler in the long run, and that trumps efficiency.
>>>
>>> Eventually, thermoelectric power supplies will be built into everything.
>>> Everything from watches to refrigerators the automobiles will be
>>> self-powered. There will be no electric wires. It will be a lot safer.
>>>
>>> Note that refrigerators will use mainly heat, rather than electricity.
>>>
>>> - Jed
>>>
>>>
>
