Distributed, private, co-generation is almost certainly part of the solution as we move toward energy independence and reduced emissions. As reported by News.com, Climate Energy, a small Massachusetts company has put a micro-sized combined heat and power unit for homes on the market.

Combined heat and power units are nothing new, they’ve been in use for many years in manufacturing and large, multi-building developments. What makes this entry different is that it is a straight replacement for furnances and supplements the installation with power production of 1.2 kilowatts, or potentially up to 720 kilowatt hours per month (while heat is in use.) To make this personal, in our household we used just over 800 kilowatt hours in January – that would nearly eliminate our power bill taking some $150 in charges out of the equation.

However, this is still a fossil fuel unit powered by natural gas and the $13,500 cost takes around 90 months of heating to break even at our consumption level. It’s a step in the right direction, but there is clearly more room for improvement. Thanks Scott for passing this along.


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Technorati Tags: Energy | Combined Heat Power | Micro Generation

In California, the answer is 1.

Garden variety compact fluorescent light bulb


Yesterday it was widely reported in local media that Assemblyman Lloyd Levine has proposed a bill to outlaw the sale of incandescent lightbulbs in California after 2012. Instead of the traditional incandescent bulb invented by Edison and improved thereafter; compact fluorescent and led bulbs would take their place. These newer technologies provide up to 75% energy savings for equivalent lumens.

The downside is that each bulb costs more upfront than incandescent counterparts, but the upside is that over the lifespan of the bulbs the energy savings coupled with their longevity will provide payback many times over. An additional criticism of the new technologies is that the emitted light is “harsher” than incandescent bulbs. When electric bulbs were introduced 130 years ago, arc-lights were harsh, incandescent bulbs to “soft”, and gas lights were stinky, dangerous, and dim. Technological progress has a way of dealing with each challenge over time.

While I hate to see government intrude in our lives with legislation over how we choose to light our homes and businesses, natural market forces are taking too long to force this change. This is probably a good thing for both eco-s, ecology and economics.


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Technorati Tags: Energy | Light Bulb | Legislation

The Oil Drum published this long and detailed entry from the Engineer Poet on how to replace our dependence on fossil fuel and get to carbon neutrality using an enhanced biomass system coupled with electricity generation, fuel cells, and battery transport power. If you don’t have time for a long read, are data averse, or have attention deficit, the referenced post might not be for you…

This is an old post by net standards, published at the end of November of last year, but certainly is filled with interesting data. Now I don’t subscribe to the “solve the energy crisis in one fell swoop” approach, but this post did make me think that perhaps more is possible in big hunks than I’ve been allowing. Even so, this is is a grandiose proposal that would require 20 years or more to implement, if it even could be implemented. But the ideas are worth exploring as realizing even 10% of the benefit would make a difference.

The thesis of the post is: “The US can replace our fossil fuel dependence with sustainable fuel and positively impact our carbon footprint – but, not with our current approach, assumptions, or reward system.” The author then goes on to outline at length why our current situation and approach is flawed, current consumption and conversion of energy to work, outlines an improvement using biomass with several outputs including charcoal, ethanol, and electricity, tackles the issue of carbon capture from the atmosphere, then outlines plans for electricity and transportation, and finally ties it all together.

If you’re at all interested in this subject area, this is must-read content. Thanks to Bruce for passing this along.


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Technorati Tags: Biomass | Carbon Capture | Comprehensive Plan

Well here is a bold and interesting idea: Dig a long canal >128km (>80 miles) about 15 meters in diameter (~50 feet) at a depth of >5km (>3 miles) from the ocean on the Atlantic coast inland. Why? Because temperatures exceed 150C (~300F) at that depth, there is no shortage of ocean water, and the transfer of heat to that water over such a long distance would be sufficient to power a geothermal “Hoover Dam” equivalent on the eastern seaboard.

Clearly a project of this magnitude is neither easy nor cheap, but J. David Reynolds at Atlantic Geothermal is championing just such an approach. Aside from the obvious practical challenges of such a project, there are some other things like the amount of total dissolved solids in the water that would definitely need to be addressed. For instance, in the Salton Sea geothermal area in California, one must use titanium lined pipes to withstand the corrosive nature of the geothermal resource. That’s not cheap.

Nevertheless, this is a bold idea who’s feasibility will be debated hotly, no doubt. Regardless of your position on feasibility, it’s nice to see someone thinking big and sustainable.


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Technorati Tags: Large Scale Geothermal | Northeast | Atlantic Geothermal

In this AP article it’s explained that a State Senator from Virginia is staying in solar-powered home designed by Virginia Tech engineering students. Frank Wagner is using this as a means to raise awareness of renewable energy and self-sufficiency by living in the house outside the Science Museum of Virginia. While the experience hasn’t been bug-free – during a 20F night the water supply froze – it has proven viable. This is a custom 800 square foot dwelling that is more of a prototype than anything else, but it’s great to see Wagner and the students make a public point on the subject.

Congrats to the folks out in Virginia for doing this, it’s a worthwhile exercise.


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Technorati Tags: Solar House | Frank Wagner | Virginia