Hydrogen and oxygen...a bond not easily broken. I like this idea of using photovoltaic cells to power a form of electrolysis...but it is just so darned slow to make energy. Unless he knows something that I don't, your rooftop doesn't generate enough electricity to convert enough hydrogen and oxygen to run real time. We share the same dream though, of homes being their own power sources. I hope this solution has more weight that solutions of similar natures gone by.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Sure, nuclear reactors are expensive- but keep in mind that they've been sidelined in funding because they are NIMBY bogey man. Most of the problems you cite have been fixed in new model Thorium reactors (half-life is only 500 years, waste is small amount and they actually eat old types of nuclear waste for fuel!)

I'm not sure about that solar panel lifespan- I'm just going by someone I know who has them installed- it may have been the lead acid batteries that they had to swap out ever 5 years or so. Regardless, photovoltaic cell manufacture is a dirty fab process similar to chips- lots of toxic non-recyclable metals and burning a good deal of CO2.

I'm behind new-nuclear as a sensible stop-gap until fusion comes online.

.>> ^curiousity:
>> ^dag:
As far as efficiency goes, I'd take fission over solar.
The amount of square feet required to make solar energy as well as the material required for all of those panels- heavy metals and toxic chemicals- and a short equipment lifespan make them about as well thought-out as ethanol- which is to say not at all.
If we could get over our irrational nuclear fears- nuclear fission really is the best option for the planet in the short term, and then roll on the fusion when it gets here. 10 years right?

Much of the cost for fission reactors is hidden by government subsides. Cost is definitely a reason that there hasn't been a new nuclear reactor build in the US for over 30 years. They are damn expensive. And then the real cost comes with storage of radiated materials. A storage fee that will last a long time.
Last time I checked, most decent solar panels come with a 25-year warranty which means they might last 30 to 50 years if not damaged. There are also solar-based plants that focus sunlight to heat water to drive turbines - much more efficient that current solar panel technology. I can't compare solar energy to ethanol in good faith.

Glad I could help. Efficient and self-sustaining design is one of my interests. I spend a little bit of free time at work wandering around the internet looking for interesting ideas and advancements.

Sounds like you are more concerned about keeping heat in than keeping the house cool at the moment. Can I assume you are in a northern region?

I think most people recommend adding wall insulation, insulation to the roof/attic, and updating the windows as the good steps to increase the R value of your old house.

lol... I reread you post. Floor to ceiling windows. If those windows get a good amount of sunlight, you might look into eutectic salt chambers (more information at David Allan's website.) That would help retain heat as it released it during fusion as your house gets colder at night.

I'm also toying with the idea of combining a eutectic salt chamber with a radial dish and fiber optics to heat rooms without large windows. They've been working on small radial dishes on the ceilings of houses that will track the sun (small photovoltaic cell and motor on dish) connected with fiber optic cables to run the sunlight into a building. They have been using a UV filter just before the fiber optic cables and disperser at the end to add natural light to the inside of a building. There is an immense amount of energy that comes through the fiber optics (without the UV filter) and they have actually been able to boil water with it. I believe that the commercial applications use plastic fiber optic cables instead of glass and don't allow as much energy through, but we'll see what advances come along in the future. If I can combine the eutectic salt chamber with an additional external case (reflective inside and a few slits for air flow at the top and bottom) and fiber optics bringing the sunlight down to it, I might just have a way to heat the middle of the house without having to loose heat with a window.

Well, I've got time. I'm still working and going to school. I'm years away from buying a house. But when I do, I would like to build my own on a piece of land.

Whats sad about human achievement? Do you really understand the creativity and production which can occur with millions of man-hours? How do you think the compact fluorescent light bulb was created (86% power savings) or light emitting diodes (95% power savings) or photovoltaic cells, hybrid engines, or high efficiency generators, etc. etc.?

If you want to save the planet sell your car, sell your house, sell your light bulbs and go live in the forest; but why criticize or inhibit the engineering effort of humans which can reduce the environmental impact of a 21st century lifestyle?

That is the point Michelle Malkin is making, and I don't think there is anything sad about it.



>> ^littledragon_79:
>> ^rougy:
Of course, Michelle Malkin is already urging people to leave their lights on in celebration of "Human Achievment Hour."
(deep sigh)
I just can't believe those people, sometimes.

Checked that link out...pretty sad.

For those of you wanting to know more about how it works, here is a short description from Science Daily:

"The key component in Nocera and Kanan's new process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity — whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source — runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.

"Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.

The new catalyst works at room temperature, in neutral pH water, and it's easy to set up, Nocera said. "That's why I know this is going to work. It's so easy to implement," he said.""

Photovoltaic cells come in flexible thin films that can be attached to any roof, and they can generate about 200 watts per square meter in direct sunlight. Almost every house uses less energy than what would be generated by its roof covered in PVs. The trouble is that they cost hundreds of dollars per square meter, and storing 30 kilowatt hours as a buffer wouldn't be easy.

Well, photovoltaic cells are neat, but they need to be a lot more efficient before they are useful on a wide scale. More importantly, though, they use a lot of nasty heavy metals like all semiconductors.

Also... I think it may be incorrect to say PV cells have less moving parts. The cells themselves are solid state, but you usually have to put them on some sort of moving panel to keep them pointed straight at the sun. If you know of a large-scale power plant design that gets around that, though, I'm interested in seeing it...

This tower still sounds like an interesting experiment.

Photovoltaic cells have less moving parts. That tower has a whole group of turbines which move pretty rapidly.

I'm against Kyoto and for a worldwide carbon tax. This tax should be invested in a huge Apollo (or Manhatten) style project. And we would have cheap efficient solar cells which would cut our energy dependance within a decade.
Also I'm very pro-nuclear.