12 ms·

This isn't really a battery. It's storing heat, to be used as-is for the towns centralized heating system. Thus you lose a lot less on the usage-side compared t

This isn't really a battery. It's storing heat, to be used as-is for the towns centralized heating system. Thus you lose a lot less on the usage-side compared to if it was truly used as a battery, ie to generate electricity. Here the "battery" is "charged" using electricity as input, however the electricity in Finland comes mostly from nuclear, wind or hydro[1], so should be able to utilize the renewable peaks well. But yeah, I'd be surprised if this system would be as cost-effective if you didn't already have a centralized heating system to plug this into. [1]: https://stat.fi/en/statistics/salatuo https://stat.fi/en/statistics/salatuo

someothherguyy 1y ago
"It is true that we have been trying to avoid the word battery, since technically speaking it is not what we have. Anyhow, the word caught fire, and was a big part of the media success, and it probably was McGrath’s invention. Of course if we were to generate electricity from the heat, it would at least act like a battery does: taking in electricity and giving back electricity." (2022) https://www.treehugger.com/viral-sand-battery-isnt-what-it-seems-5547707 https://www.treehugger.com/viral-sand-battery-isnt-what-it-s...
jfengel 1y ago
The word "battery" is often misused anyway. A "battery" is a collection of things, from the military use as a coordinated artillery group. A single "battery" is really a cell. The word has been used that way for a long time, so I'm not gonna stamp on my dictionary and insist we look at the etymology. But it does show how the word's usage has shifted, and a continued shift to call this thing a "heat battery" seems comprehensible.
- magicalhippo 1y ago
  Goid point. I do like "heat battery". My complaint was more that just "battery" implies storing electricity directly in common parlance these days, and the fact that the heat output is used directly is quite significant. Had the headline called it a heat battery I would have had no complaints.
  - s1mplicissimus 1y ago
    Heat battery sounds pretty accurate imo. There aren't really any batteries "storing electricity directly" though. Every battery type I'm aware of stores either potential (storage lake), mechanical (swing wheels), thermal (this type) or chemical (LitIo batteries) energy, which can then be transformed into electrical energy. Electricity itself seems to be very unwilling to be stored directly.

someothherguyy 1y ago

"It is true that we have been trying to avoid the word battery, since technically speaking it is not what we have. Anyhow, the word caught fire, and was a big part of the media success, and it probably was McGrath’s invention. Of course if we were to generate electricity from the heat, it would at least act like a battery does: taking in electricity and giving back electricity." (2022) https://www.treehugger.com/viral-sand-battery-isnt-what-it-seems-5547707 https://www.treehugger.com/viral-sand-battery-isnt-what-it-s...

jfengel 1y ago

The word "battery" is often misused anyway. A "battery" is a collection of things, from the military use as a coordinated artillery group. A single "battery" is really a cell. The word has been used that way for a long time, so I'm not gonna stamp on my dictionary and insist we look at the etymology. But it does show how the word's usage has shifted, and a continued shift to call this thing a "heat battery" seems comprehensible.

magicalhippo 1y ago
Goid point. I do like "heat battery". My complaint was more that just "battery" implies storing electricity directly in common parlance these days, and the fact that the heat output is used directly is quite significant. Had the headline called it a heat battery I would have had no complaints.
- s1mplicissimus 1y ago
  Heat battery sounds pretty accurate imo. There aren't really any batteries "storing electricity directly" though. Every battery type I'm aware of stores either potential (storage lake), mechanical (swing wheels), thermal (this type) or chemical (LitIo batteries) energy, which can then be transformed into electrical energy. Electricity itself seems to be very unwilling to be stored directly.