Solar Technology?

[wolf560]

Here you go....
Pure Clean Energy that does not affect the environment (as far as I can tell).

Expensive but already out on the market
Google has four of these "Bloom Boxes"
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/travel/visa-power/NRI-scientist-readies-a-clean-power-generation-plant-in-a-box/articleshow/5605696.cms

Hydrocarbons are pumped into the Bloom Box to produce clean, scaled-up, and reliable electricity... unit does not vibrate, emits no sound, and has no smell

[Corwen]

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells are interesting, they seem like a promising technology, especially if they can be made to work with methane from waste like the ones at Google's HQ. I heard they can be made to work with hydrocarbons extracted from timber, but this is a highly energy intensive process and I don't know if you get out more than you put in. One to watch though. The price needs to come down a lot.

[Merlyn]

Hydrocarbons such as natural gas or biofuel (stored separately) are pumped into the Bloom Box to produce clean, scaled-up, and reliable electricity

Any engine can run on biofuel..or natural gas..
Aside from the lack of 'noise', how is this any different from any natural gas powered generator?
We have to feed it fuel, just the same ... so what is the big deal??

What is 'scaled up??' and how is it clean electricity? It uses fuel just like anything else..

Sounds like fish oil to me...

[wolf560]

.. how is this any different from any natural gas powered generator?
We have to feed it fuel, just the same ... so what is the big deal??

Simple....
Normal power plants produce the energy with a high amount of greenhouse emissions.

Small cells are stacked to make a larger device. As natural gas passes over the cell and mixes with oxygen from the air, a chemical reaction generates electricity.

Bloom executives contend that their device could cut the greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation by at least 50 percent, depending on the type of fuel used — a claim that is likely to receive close scrutiny.

So bottom line......
Not only can you not smell the power plant working... you cannot smell a fish either

This is still better than having a nuclear reactor boiling in my backyard:wizard:

[Corwen]

Solid oxide fuel cells are much more efficient than any other kind of engine, but they are expensive to build and require a lot of maintenance and the replacement of the discs. Its for these reasons they haven't taken off.

[wolf560]

Yes,

Google spent a fortune getting their Bloom Boxes but they swear by it...

[Merlyn]

Global investment in renewable energy sources grew by 32% during 2010 to reach a record level of US$211bn (£132bn), a UN study has reported.
The main growth drivers were backing for wind farms in China and rooftop solar panels in Europe, it said.
It also found that developing nations invested more in green power than rich nations for the first time last year.
The Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011 report was prepared for the UN by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
"The continuing growth in this core segment of the green economy is not happening by chance," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme.
"The combination of government target-setting, policy support and stimulus funding is underpinning the renewable industry's rise and bringing the much needed transformation of our global energy system within reach."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14030849

Seems that solar is getting somewhere: Lower prices/more manufacturing of panels/better quality/catching on.

The government tax deduction etc. % for solar is getting better too here in the US. Thinking fairly soon it will be something I can do. Roomers that solar isn't effective are falling to the wayside as better technology steps in. A Winery just a few miles from my house is completely solar (panels on top of a barn) and actually gets paid for the electricity it does not use from the panels.

Soon, very soon.
Merlyn

[petterwilliam]

Switching to solar energy requires thought and planning, but it doesn't have to be difficult. Yeah solar panels will produce all the electricity you need for a great outdoor experience.

[Karl]

As a point of interest, Jimmy Carter (former US president) put Solar panels on the White House in 1977.
Then in '86 Ronald Regan took them off.
Dubya Bush put one small one on the grounds of the place in 2002.
Apparently Obama has recently asked to have some more put in, but I couldn't tell you if this has happened yet.

[wyeuro]

being single and free with only myself and my cat and dog to please, i live in a caravan. one 64 watt solar panel supplies all my electrical needs. i have a large deep-cycle truck battery, which despite being the worst, most pollutive and inefficient part of the system has been reliable for more years than we might have hoped, and a 350watt inverter for charging appliances that require 240v. i have plenty of 12v power for laptop computer, cd player, lighting, small water pump for the shower and a personal fan for cooling in summer, but sometimes in midwinter after many cloudy days i have to go easy on usage and i sometimes consider adding a small free-light (home wind generator). all cooking and coffee-making is done over an open fire using small twigs and shed tree branches, water for bathing is heated in a kettle, and for serious winter warming i use renewable wood resources locally sourced.
i used to use a coolgardie safe (evaporative cooler) to keep food cool and fresh, but it wass seldom needed because most of my food comes fresh from the garden every day (we have very mild winters and can harvest carrots, peas, silver beet, spinach etc all winter long), or from the goat or chook, and no cold storage is necessary. meat, chook and rabbit is eaten within a day of being killed, or dried and stored as jerky for the dog. milk sours naturally into yoghurt at room temperature, and eggs more than a few days old are simply hard-boiled or used in paints and lime-washes.
this lifestyle is very common here in rural south oz where facilities like mains power and mains water are costly - if available at all (no broadband here yet, either), so i'm not considered an oddity. furthermore, it's fun. in summer i can leave the light on all i want without a pang of guilt!