Lithium Batteries are SOOO yesterday

[Kalinowski]

I'm considering electric power for my Pearson 424 as its time to repower. This new battery tech sounds great.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

EVs are usually charged at night when utilities are supplying the least amount of energy. This allows them to actually be more efficient with their generators.

Even if cars are charging from energy created from coal, it's a lot easier to focus cleanup efforts at a single point than over thousands of vehicles.

With distributed power, (i.e. solar cells on rooftops), energy companies will not need to expand and in fact, they may soon need to down-size.

With airplanes flying around the earth on solar energy, how long will it be that we can use solar to fuel our *auxiliary* motors in sailboats in addition to fueling our fridge?

A good answer, thanks! On the cars.

Solar panels on the roof, not in my life time but probably out there. I hope so that appears to be the most feasible? As I sit here with a light on in broad day light.

[nimblemotors]

The latest is the government is trying to limit solar panels on houses, because too many people are putting them up and selling the power back to the grid to make a profit, and the electric producers are crying foul, and are getting the government to change their rules so people can only produce power for themselves. They can't stand competition.

The good news is you can power your electric car from your rooftop solar.

[Eddiefuego]

I love C.F.! You folks are smart, well informed, practical, cynical and some even know what they're talking about!
Here in Iowa we got 37% of our electricity last year from wind energy. We've done that in about 10 years with very little effort, all while holding the line on utility costs...we're one of the lowest in the Nation. Technologies are here today! We do not have the public will to put public policies in place to send the marketplace the right signals. There are now a raft of big headed, eye glass wearing, egg heads with a lot of money turning their gaze to the energy issue. It is now officially cool. If you want to look at the future of energy storage...on land...look no further than biomass (natures battery) and NH3 for transportation. Wind/solar splits water into H2 and O2. H2 is recombined with N from the atomosphere to make NH3. Clean for fuel cells, burns in I.C. engines and can be used for ag fertilizer if the market indicates. The future is so bright, you need sunglasses. If we are bright enough to make it happen. (Jury still out on that one but recent indications are not good).

[hellosailor]

Actually "lithium" batteries were invented around 1917 and took until the 90s to get a commercial foothold, so there's nothing new here. Except, every six months someone tweaks the chemistry and makes bigger promises, while others claim they've found totally different chemistry that will make lithium obsolete.


So, I wouldn't hold my breath yet. Cars ain't boats or cell phones. And lithium may already be CHEAPER than lead acid, if you figure the number of deep charge cycles it allegedly will provide. Of course, no two vendors or users seem quite able to agree on just how to use and charge them to get that same extreme long life.


Reddy Kilowatt promised me home nuclear power in a hot water heater sized reactor. Bell Labs promised me videophones. And whoever promised me flying cars...I'm still waiting on those, too!

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

The latest is the government is trying to limit solar panels on houses, because too many people are putting them up and selling the power back to the grid to make a profit, and the electric producers are crying foul, and are getting the government to change their rules so people can only produce power for themselves. They can't stand competition.

The good news is you can power your electric car from your rooftop solar.

I don't think power companies should be required to buy electricity from their customers any more than I think the corner grocery store should be required to buy radishes grown in my home garden.

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by rwidman

I don't think power companies should be required to buy electricity from their customers any more than I think the corner grocery store should be required to buy radishes grown in my home garden.

But you do think power companies should have a monopoly and people should be required by law to buy power from them and no one else .... right?

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by Hard Rock Candy

solid carbon is safe. It's carbon dioxide that destroys the ecosystem.

Huh....without CO2....plants die and the food chain is over....
Besides I bought some CO2 credits from Al Gore, so I bought my indulgences from the Church of MMGW.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

But you do think power companies should have a monopoly and people should be required by law to buy power from them and no one else .... right?

That's just crazy bird talk.
I can unplug from evil Big Power at any time I want....opps....I already did and live off the grid....No "evil" Big Power for me

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

Huh....without CO2....plants die and the food chain is over....
Besides I bought some CO2 credits from Al Gore, so I bought my indulgences from the Church of MMGW.

Hang on the those carbon credits. I hope you got the certificates, them and Confederate money make great wallpaper. Hell, you might get something for Confederate money?

[a64pilot]

As far as I know, there isn't a law prohibiting me from buying power from anyone I want or producing my own is there?
I assume this if anything would be controlled by local ordinances?
Can't distill my own liquor for some reason, but power is OK?


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by kas_1611

The biggest driver in battery technology right now is the need to develop something that can store the excess power generated by most forms of so called renewable generation that is produced when it isn't needed.

It's already been done. Pumped storage. There is (or was) a pair of large lakes in rural Virginia. During light use of generated power, water was pumped from the lower lake to the upper lake. During periods of heavy demand, the same water ran back down to the lower lake through turbines, generating electricity.

Probably not the most efficient means of storage but it works.

[admiralslater]

In Niagara Falls, the fill huge storage lagoons at night and use them to power the turbines day.I believe that it is done with gravity only. The side benefit is that because the flow is so reduced at night the erosion that used to be substantial has almost stopped

[zboss]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I'm all for electric power, but we have to do two things to make it work, in my opinion.

1. become way more efficient
2. generate way more electric power

I agree.

Mostly I agree with getting more efficient. With electric engines making significant efficiency strides every year I'm betting the electric car transition will happen much faster than the rate of progress in the past. Electric cars used to be a hard sell but now people understand the benefits, habits are changing, and it'll only be a few more car generations before the standard family car is electric. Household electrical usage is slowing significantly, although its still growing.

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) - Pub

As far as needing to produce that much power the research has already been done. To power the world we would need a solar area slightly larger than West Virginia (and that is will today's solar panels). Advances in mathematics and modeling (my original professional interest) have progressed so well that we can project concepts with much more accuracy than ever before, which helps to steer the political investment landscape.

http://www.dlr.de/tt/Portaldata/41/R...ansmission.pdf

[GoingWalkabout]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Reddy Kilowatt promised me home nuclear power in a hot water heater sized reactor. Bell Labs promised me videophones. And whoever promised me flying cars...I'm still waiting on those, too!

Hi hellosailer,

In fact small scale nuclear reactors for regional power have been developed. As soon as they make one way rocket launches cheap enough to shoot radioactive wast into the sun we could see your miniature reactor for your home. Fact is scaling down is not an issue as we've seen with nuclear powered submarines. On the video phones, have you used Skype on your mobile recently. I use it all the time. The flying cars are a difficult one but when we can tap into both gravitational forces to nullify them along with a magnetic based lift and propulsion system you could see all kinds of levitation based transport.