Unplug From The Grid

Find Solar Eagle he is out there and will help answer your question. Try your mailbox to contact him.

Is this the EEstor Barium-Titanate ultracapacitor battery with a calculated energy density of around 385 Wh/kg (31F at 3500V in a 336 pound package) and a cycle life of 1 million you are talking about. The verdict is still out on this one but it looks apparently legit. A radical departure from standard Ultracapacitors in that it is claimed to also have the high energy density of a battery that all Ultracapacitors have lacked until now. No other storage technology beats it.

I would be very interested in how your project proceeds as it would be an excellent concept demonstration of the EEstor device (and I have many potential project developments that would benefit from it).

Do you have any good links to the EEstor technology, as I have yet to find any (the only main ones I have found are, http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:EEStore and http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/01/eestor_ultracap.html ). apparently they are keeping a very low profile.

Company details are apparently......

EEStor, Inc.
Austin TX

Richard Weir
President and Chief Executive Officer
phone: (512) 259-5144
email: dick_weir@eestor.us (mailto:dick_weir@eestor.us?subject=EEStor_featured_at_PESWiki.com)

Keep us informed here as to your progress.

This has the smell of a tech scam about it. The fact that they say nothing is very surpicious after all this time. Surely they cannot hope to run this business on middle ages trade secrets?? If they have a patentable technology they must have their patents by now so they can talk all about it.

So they have a capacitor, in essence, an electric spring and they want to go beyond the capability of a battery with thicker insulation so they can run it at 3500 volts or more to get by the small amount of surface a high voltage, high area material can offer. Lower voltage = thinner insulation = larger capacity.

So they need pinhole free high voltage insulation that can take 3500 V + a safety factor and not have an explosion if it breaks down at one point.

Seems to me if they have solved it and have patented it they can spek about it.

The VC firm, Perkin, they must have been shown something good to get them to bite?

What is it?

Check this out: http://www.technologyreview.com/NanoTech/wtr_16326,303,p1.html

It's an old article from Feb of last year (2006) but I believe this may be their little secret.

I just found it today and it reminded me of this thread so I just had to add it.

Very interesting indeed!

It may not be totally 'green' but can you feed into the grid when you have excess power , and draw off it when in need (balancing net usage to zero hopefully ) . It's possible in the UK to do this .

Quite.

At least one major home improvement supplies outlet is retailing microgeneration installations, both solar- and wind-powered.

Just watched the BBC news they had an item on going green in the home most of these methods have very long pay back time some of more than 25 years.

Quite.

Unless the installation in itself adds to the value of the home, as well as supplying some power to it, or can attract a grant to offset some of the capital of installation, it ain't too attractive - at the moment.

Here in Canada if you install a wind power system the property assessment office will decree that you have added to the value of your property and will add extra taxes.

This policy is currently under review and it can stifle home energy

Tell us about it they are planning the same stealth taxes here in the UK.

Congratulations on your ambitious project. I've never quite understood people's knee jerk reaction to pay back issues with renewable energy sources. I notice that pay back is rarely mentioned when homeowners are investing in $5000 stoves and refrigerators.

Anyway, "green design" is more about the spirit and practice of reducing a building's impact on the environment, and less about rates of return on the investment. I do see more and more commercial property solar arrays retrofitted. The CA state solar tax credits must improve the economics significantly if businesses are doing it. If budget is an issue then there are still many cheap ways to go "green". These are mundane but cost effective methods like:

- retrofit roof insulation - retrofit weather-stripping - insulating around window and door frames - insulating the exterior wall power and fixture boxes - turning down the furnace and hot water heater thermostats - insulating the hot water heater - cold water laundry - solar hotwater heating of pool and spa - and many others.

While all the buzz is around photovoltaic electric generation, the old time solar hot water heater remains the cheapest, easiest and most effective single solar energy machine. All of us should install one of those immediately. They pay for themselves quickly as do the retrofits mentioned above.

My brother in law has gone off-grid near the Russian River, CA with a relatively small installation of photovoltaic and solar hotwater. He found used panels in the classified and online sites which saved him quite a bit of cash. He also had the skills to install the system himself; he is self taught on the solar technology. Given that these installations are labor intensive his total costs must have been quite low. I'll be happy to ask him for the details if you are interested. Drop me an email: xdesign@pacbell.net

Find this thread ;Sizing Induction Motors and Cogen to Lower Power Bills

When attempting to determine what is "best" it is necessary to establish an evaluation criteria. The weighting of a decision matrix will depend on your motivation. If the motivation to "unplug" is long term cost savings the criteria will be different than if the motivation is energy independence, or reduction of fossil fuel consumption, or net environmental benefit, or eco publicity.

I believe that the current popular definition of the term "green" (in this context) is environmentally beneficial. I would like very much to see evidence of your statement "This unit will be totally green."

The materials used in, and to manufacture PV cells and storage devices can hardly be described as green.

The largest capacity lowest cost storage solution is to return excess generation to the grid. Deep cycle lead acid batteries are a cost effective piece of an energy independence solution but you would likely require an alternative generation capability. The most environmentally beneficial step you can take is to reduce your energy consumption.

I totaly agree with you.

That's well put AB , and I especially agree about pumping back into the grid and reducing usage. My only minor difference would be that a 'green' whatever should 'not be detrimental to the environment'.This is probably impossible if one wants to enjoy any of the benefits of modern day living (in that plastic etc has no way of being deemed positive once it has been sourced ) . The 'I'm greener than you are' battle is already being played out - in general it's no bad thing , but is certainly one we should all be conscious of. I hope the original question finds answers , and that your summary finds receptive hearing - both are worthy.