From: henigan@quando.quantum.de (Kevin Henigan)
Subject: Re: opening of the first self-sufficient solar house, Press Release
Organization: Quantum Software GmbH, Dortmund, Germany
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 08:13:43 GMT

In article <1992Nov12.190010.5512@meteor.wisc.edu> tobis@meteor.wisc.edu (Michael Tobis) writes:

>Though I think getting off the grid is utterly silly,

Some people don't agree with regard nuclear power, they would prefer not
to use the grid.

>This is really the problem. There is really much less to be gained from
>decentralized power than many people are willing to realize. For instance,
>a friend of mine recently was all excited about getting off the grid, and
>I asked him if he were willing to sacrifice that most valuable of modern
>amenities, Star Trek TNG. He replied that he envisioned a great bank
>of lead acid batteries charging all day to provide power at night.
>
>I pointed out that the environmental degradation of this approach would
>far exceed anything due to the grid if it were widely adopted, since
>individual homes burn to the ground every day, and the toxic waste load
>due to all those batteries would surely exceed the expectation of damage
>due to any centralized generating facility.

hmmm, "centralized generating facilities" can also catch fire, in the not
too distant past a certain Nuclear Plant in Russia went up.

People are still feeling/having to live with the effects of this accident,
lead poisoning would be nothing compared to what they have.....

>There really are economies of scale, folks, even in environmental impact.

Yes lead against a few small radioactive particles :-)

>Maybe in the not too distant future, flywheel technology will do the job,
>but charging up lead batteries in your house is not doing the environment
>any favors.
>
>So what was the storage technology of this off-the-grid house again?

read the article again :-) ... and I quote :-

]The silent power station on the roof: Solar cells generate
]electricity from light.
]
]   The photovoltaic solar generator with an area of 36 m2 supplies
]4.2 kW  electricity under  full sunlight. When needed, this can be
]converted by  a  completely  electronic  inverter  to  alternating
]current and  fed directly into the domestic circuit (230 V/50 Hz).
]Excess electricity  is stored  in lead batteries (19.2 kWh), which
]can tide  over several  overcast days.  If the  lead batteries are
]charged, the  solar electricity  is used to electrolyse water into
]the gases,  hydrogen and oxygen. Both gases are stored in pressure
]tanks and can be used to generate electricity and heat in winter.
]
]   The house  is equipped  with conventional household appliances,
]which were  chosen on  the basis of their energy-saving qualities.
]Without reducing  comfort, the electricity consumption was reduced
]to about one third of that for an average family.
]
]Storing solar energy from the summer for winter: The hydrogen
]system.
]
]   The core  of the  house is  the seasonal  energy storage system
]based on  hydrogen. Use  of this  technology made  the  difference
]between a  minimal-energy house  and a truly self-sufficient solar
]house.
]
]   By  electrolysing  water  into  its  components,  hydrogen  and
]oxygen, and  storing both  gases in pressure tanks, about 1500 kWh
]energy can  be saved  from summer  for the  winter. When needed in
]winter, the  fuel cell  (alkaline fuel  cell, 0.5 kW) can generate
]electricity  directly   (reverse  process  to  electrolysis).  The
]exhaust heat (temperature 70 C) produced during the conversion is
]used  for   supplementary  heating  of  the  domestic  hot  water.
]Flameless catalytic  combustion  of  hydrogen  provides  heat  for
]cooking on  the hydrogen  gas stove and for the minimal additional
]room heating  needed under unfavourable conditions in winter. Both
]the advanced  electrolyser (membrane  pressure electrolyser, 2 kW)
]and  the   systems  for  catalytic  combustion  of  hydrogen  were
]developed in ISE. The hydrogen tank next to the house has a volume
]of 15  m3, the  oxygen tank  holds 7.5 m3. The tank pressure is 30
]bar.

>mt


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