Energy Storage
As I have noted in my previous posts, a 30,000 square mile array of collectors or solar panels in highly sunlit desert will provide more that enough energy to meet ALL the energy needs of the U.S.. This includes all fossil fuels and all nuclear fuel usage. The problem is that of storage and demand, for the energy needed on a day by day, minute by minute basis is not constant.
Furthermore, the amount of sunlight varies daily and the duration of sunlight varies throughout the year. We can minimize or eliminate the first source of variability by using climate engineering over the areas of solar power production, so cloud and light variability will no longer and issue. Given that climate engineering has negative effects for the biosphere, it might be best to restrict it's use ONLY over regions that are to be used for power generation. The second source of variability might be more difficult to address, especially with the technology available to us at this point in time.
There are many schemes by which to store industrial amounts of energy:
https://youtu.be/3R7EzO3uBms
Most of which may be practically feasible in a large scale. Though my interest is in energy storage at the residential scale. Pumped hydroelectric may not be feasible for the individual, though compressed air might be. Lead-acid deep cycle batteries are often used to store energy in most off-grid homes. Often there are just enough batteries to provide enough energy to run a refrigerator and other small wattage devices for the night. If we build refrigerators with vacuum flask insulation, then the energy needed by the refrigerator may be nil, leaving more energy left for other devices. In fact it may be possible put many these batteries 100+ underneath the floor of an off grid home, so that it may provide sufficient electrical power to run the entire house for a week, both day and night. In this manner, people will never have to resort to fossil fuel powered generators, during a long period of days with little solar power generation. There are other technologies that may hold advantages over traditional lead-acid batteries:
https://youtu.be/Y1_3YacnDLA
Though, repairing or replacing them may be a challenge. Traditional lead acid batteries could be repaired and the basic construction of a battery is simple enough to be reconstructed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93acid_battery
(More modern lead-acid batteries contain gels and fiber electrolyte which may be difficult to replace)
The metals could be obtained relatively easily, while the electrolyte may require some chemical ingenuity:
https://tag.wonderhowto.com/make-sulfuric-acid/
Indoor temperatures variation can be reduced with increased insulation and detailed insulation, meaning, insulating all the small cracks on doors, the conductive frame on windows, etc. Some people choose to insulate with tons of earth around their residence. I have read, that settlers in the "West" (like Oklahoma or something like that) used to build their residences underground. {not putting anyone down just stating historical facts, people around those parts get all sensitive about these things}. Anyway the reason was that the temperature variability was reduced, making the need for cooling in the summer not as necessary. Obviously this depends on your own particular geographic location, I have tended to notice that different regions have different notions of what "hot" and "cold" is, so clearly this has to be tested.
Cooking is often the one activity that requires the use of much energy and is a challenge on a battery system, though with enough batteries and appropriate wiring and inverter it should not be a problem
Furthermore, the amount of sunlight varies daily and the duration of sunlight varies throughout the year. We can minimize or eliminate the first source of variability by using climate engineering over the areas of solar power production, so cloud and light variability will no longer and issue. Given that climate engineering has negative effects for the biosphere, it might be best to restrict it's use ONLY over regions that are to be used for power generation. The second source of variability might be more difficult to address, especially with the technology available to us at this point in time.
There are many schemes by which to store industrial amounts of energy:
https://youtu.be/3R7EzO3uBms
Most of which may be practically feasible in a large scale. Though my interest is in energy storage at the residential scale. Pumped hydroelectric may not be feasible for the individual, though compressed air might be. Lead-acid deep cycle batteries are often used to store energy in most off-grid homes. Often there are just enough batteries to provide enough energy to run a refrigerator and other small wattage devices for the night. If we build refrigerators with vacuum flask insulation, then the energy needed by the refrigerator may be nil, leaving more energy left for other devices. In fact it may be possible put many these batteries 100+ underneath the floor of an off grid home, so that it may provide sufficient electrical power to run the entire house for a week, both day and night. In this manner, people will never have to resort to fossil fuel powered generators, during a long period of days with little solar power generation. There are other technologies that may hold advantages over traditional lead-acid batteries:
https://youtu.be/Y1_3YacnDLA
Though, repairing or replacing them may be a challenge. Traditional lead acid batteries could be repaired and the basic construction of a battery is simple enough to be reconstructed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93acid_battery
(More modern lead-acid batteries contain gels and fiber electrolyte which may be difficult to replace)
The metals could be obtained relatively easily, while the electrolyte may require some chemical ingenuity:
https://tag.wonderhowto.com/make-sulfuric-acid/
Indoor temperatures variation can be reduced with increased insulation and detailed insulation, meaning, insulating all the small cracks on doors, the conductive frame on windows, etc. Some people choose to insulate with tons of earth around their residence. I have read, that settlers in the "West" (like Oklahoma or something like that) used to build their residences underground. {not putting anyone down just stating historical facts, people around those parts get all sensitive about these things}. Anyway the reason was that the temperature variability was reduced, making the need for cooling in the summer not as necessary. Obviously this depends on your own particular geographic location, I have tended to notice that different regions have different notions of what "hot" and "cold" is, so clearly this has to be tested.
Cooking is often the one activity that requires the use of much energy and is a challenge on a battery system, though with enough batteries and appropriate wiring and inverter it should not be a problem
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