5 ms·

Very limited view of energy storage tech frankly. Quick list of things I am aware of (some deployed and some in labs) - Pumped hydro, by far the most widesprea

Very limited view of energy storage tech frankly. Quick list of things I am aware of (some deployed and some in labs) - Pumped hydro, by far the most widespread - Flywheel storage, used at grid scales for frequency regulation - Thermal storage used in conjunction with solar power using various materials - molten salt, HTF, hot dry rock - Many different battery chemistries: - High temperature batteries (e.g. ZEBRA batteries specifically developed for cost effective grid scale storages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium%E2%80%93sulfur_battery) - Sodium-ion batteries - Metal hydride batteries - Redox flow batteries such as zinc-air systems - Compressed air storage - Phase change storage, including hybrid compressed/liquefied air storage - Seasonal thermal storage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_thermal_energy_storage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_thermal_energy_storag... - Water electrolysis + hydrogen fuel cell cycle Probably missed a bunch too. All to say there are a lot more solutions then lead-acids and lithium batteries- although in fairness those are the most accessible options in small scale systems

dangravell 11y ago
Some interesting products utilising PCMs in the domestic hot water markets... Replacing traditional hot water cylinders which suffer from very high heat loss even when insulated.
- specialist 11y ago
  Had to look up PCM, which stands for phase-change materials. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-change_material https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-change_material Found a few vendors of various interesting products, here's just one: http://www.pcmproducts.net http://www.pcmproducts.net Found a few articles advocating water heaters using PCM. Sounds cool. Aside: I've tried HotSnapZ brand hand warmers. They're reusable. Neat. I should have guessed this strategy could be scaled up for bigger applications. http://hotsnapz.com/FAQ.html http://hotsnapz.com/FAQ.html
- semi-extrinsic 11y ago
  The economics aren't great for replacing a hot water cylinder with something more efficient. According to this [1] a typical hot water cylinder wastes less than 2000 kWh per year. That's a yearly expense of less than $400. This means a replacement system aiming to break even over five years must cost less than $2000. Replacing a hot water cylinder with a bog standard new one costs at least $1000. Thus the PCM heater must be essentially as cheap as existing solutions, and so it faces the challenge of not being able to get enough initial volume to get the cost below break-even. Government subsidies are probably the only way to make it work. [1] http://www.solarblogger.net/2012/11/heat-losses-from-hot-water-cylinders.html?m=1 http://www.solarblogger.net/2012/11/heat-losses-from-hot-wat...
jsingleton 11y ago
The title of the article is just a bit inaccurate. Perhaps 'Why domestic energy storage sucks' would be better. The full title is in fact 'Why energy storage sucks. (but there is hope)' but the last bit is left out above. Pumped storage is great, but not in your house or for an off-grid hut in Africa. One interesting application of pumped storage is applying it to tidal power. You could build a tidal lagoon and not only get the super reliable free tidal energy but also use it as a store. Pump extra water out or in when renewable sources are producing. Then use the power when demand is high. This is covered a bit in this excellent free book: http://WithoutHotAir.com http://WithoutHotAir.com
gene-h 11y ago
There is also Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage(SMES), train energy storage, molecular spring energy storage. Train energy storage is driving a trainload of concrete blocks uphill when power is cheap and doing regenerative braking on the way down[1]. It's just like pumped hydro, but without the need for water. Molecular spring energy storage is essentially making a windup mechanism, except with advanced materials like carbon nanotubes. Unfortunately it is not very practical today.[2] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_magnetic_energy_storage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_magnetic_energ... [1] http://www.gizmag.com/ares-rail-energy-storage/28395/ http://www.gizmag.com/ares-rail-energy-storage/28395/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube_springs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube_springs
tarikjn 11y ago
Also, of note, Proton exchange membrane fuel cells can be used both for Hydrogen but also fuels liquid at room temperatures. For examples there are Direct-Alcohol Fuel Cells for Methanol and Ethanol.

dangravell 11y ago

Some interesting products utilising PCMs in the domestic hot water markets... Replacing traditional hot water cylinders which suffer from very high heat loss even when insulated.

specialist 11y ago
Had to look up PCM, which stands for phase-change materials. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-change_material https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-change_material Found a few vendors of various interesting products, here's just one: http://www.pcmproducts.net http://www.pcmproducts.net Found a few articles advocating water heaters using PCM. Sounds cool. Aside: I've tried HotSnapZ brand hand warmers. They're reusable. Neat. I should have guessed this strategy could be scaled up for bigger applications. http://hotsnapz.com/FAQ.html http://hotsnapz.com/FAQ.html
semi-extrinsic 11y ago
The economics aren't great for replacing a hot water cylinder with something more efficient. According to this [1] a typical hot water cylinder wastes less than 2000 kWh per year. That's a yearly expense of less than $400. This means a replacement system aiming to break even over five years must cost less than $2000. Replacing a hot water cylinder with a bog standard new one costs at least $1000. Thus the PCM heater must be essentially as cheap as existing solutions, and so it faces the challenge of not being able to get enough initial volume to get the cost below break-even. Government subsidies are probably the only way to make it work. [1] http://www.solarblogger.net/2012/11/heat-losses-from-hot-water-cylinders.html?m=1 http://www.solarblogger.net/2012/11/heat-losses-from-hot-wat...

jsingleton 11y ago

The title of the article is just a bit inaccurate. Perhaps 'Why domestic energy storage sucks' would be better. The full title is in fact 'Why energy storage sucks. (but there is hope)' but the last bit is left out above. Pumped storage is great, but not in your house or for an off-grid hut in Africa. One interesting application of pumped storage is applying it to tidal power. You could build a tidal lagoon and not only get the super reliable free tidal energy but also use it as a store. Pump extra water out or in when renewable sources are producing. Then use the power when demand is high. This is covered a bit in this excellent free book: http://WithoutHotAir.com http://WithoutHotAir.com

gene-h 11y ago

There is also Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage(SMES), train energy storage, molecular spring energy storage. Train energy storage is driving a trainload of concrete blocks uphill when power is cheap and doing regenerative braking on the way down[1]. It's just like pumped hydro, but without the need for water. Molecular spring energy storage is essentially making a windup mechanism, except with advanced materials like carbon nanotubes. Unfortunately it is not very practical today.[2] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_magnetic_energy_storage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_magnetic_energ... [1] http://www.gizmag.com/ares-rail-energy-storage/28395/ http://www.gizmag.com/ares-rail-energy-storage/28395/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube_springs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube_springs

tarikjn 11y ago

Also, of note, Proton exchange membrane fuel cells can be used both for Hydrogen but also fuels liquid at room temperatures. For examples there are Direct-Alcohol Fuel Cells for Methanol and Ethanol.