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Weatherman 03-01-2007 08:57 AM

Hydrogen for added energy storage
 
This guy has his own home built hydrogen generator and fuel cell to help power his home. :grin:

Quote:

Stephen Friend has the first hand-built fuel cell-powered house in the US. No, not another hopeful boil-your-own-yogurt demo for an impractical technology, but a real, sustainable achievement that makes its own hydrogen in a cedar shed out back. And it has a huge advantage over electric systems favored by his neighbors on Stuart Island, an off-the-grid Pacific Northwest paradise in Washington�s Puget Sound. Most residents there use solar power but must rely on noisy backup generators as well, since their batteries don�t hold enough energy to get them through the winter. So with the help of two buddies, Friend, a Merck vice president and pioneer in digital gene arrays, drew a back-of-the-envelope plan for an energy storage system that extends the life of battery banks. In 2004, they started rigging up a Rube Goldberg contraption that uses solar panels and electrolyzers to generate hydrogen and allows Web-based monitoring of its proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell. In late 2006, a bemused but impressed inspector granted state approval. Now the system, which they built for around $50,000, taps any surplus solar electricity to fill a 500-gallon hydrogen fuel tank, enough reserve for about 14 days� worth of power (a second tank can be added to double that capacity). Friend thinks of the setup as sort of a TiVo for energy � bank hydrogen during the summer, then consume as it�s needed.
Bob Parks
Set up and run a hydrogen-fueled house in 5 easy steps.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...84_home1_f.gif
1) GENERATE SOLAR POWER
Jason Lerner, an alternative-energy expert and family friend, installed the home�s photo­voltaic panels (cost: around $13,400) in the front yard. The cells pump out 1.6 kW during the sunniest hours of the day, which is just under a typical load for the Friend family.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...84_home2_f.gif
2) TURN WATER INTO H AND O
Two laboratory-grade electrolyzers (Hogen GC 600 units at $7,900 each) run on solar electricity and water to make 0.3 gallon of hydrogen per minute, which is then forced into a steel tank at 200 psi. A second tank may be added to double the capacity to a month�s worth of power.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...84_home3_f.gif
3) LEARN TO PLUMB FOR H
High-end stainless steel tubing prevents the plumbing from corroding. (Hydrogen ions are the active ingredient in acid.) A blast of nitrogen can be used to remove the air from an empty 500-gallon propane tank, which can then be carefully filled with home-brewed hydrogen.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...84_home4_f.gif
4) TURN H AND O BACK INTO H<SUB>2</SUB>O
A 148-pound, 48-volt fuel cell combines hydrogen with the oxygen in air to charge the battery bank. An inverter converts the DC electricity to AC for the home�s 110-volt system. Find this gear at www.fuelcellstore.com. The builders caution that these products aren�t perfect.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...84_home5_f.gif
5) AUTOMATE AND MONITOR
The crew connected system switches to relays controlled by battery voltage. After 20 minutes sans sun, the electro­lyzers shut down, and the house is powered by the fuel cell. A satellite link transmits reports on voltage and tank capacity, and a hydrogen sniffer checks for leaks.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.03/play.html?pg=9

wallew 03-01-2007 12:21 PM

Re: Hydrogen for added energy storage
 
Weatherman,
EXCELLENT FIND!

I've been watching Idatech grow into a full blown fuel cell company. Now these guys may literally 'snatch' the prize just before Idatech gets their big payoff.

Thx.


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