Bloom Box

[dbuckley]

I missed where that number came from. What is the reference on that?

yes indeed, it was e57's post above, #31, but rereading, that is 8-10K for a household size unit, not these 100KW units, which would make it more expensive than my posted estimate of $10/watt and making the case for the Bloom even worse.

The general rules is that every year there are dozens of proposals for wonderful new power systems, from the just plain impossible (violations of the laws of thermodynamics) to the improbable, to the economically infeasible. Most of these schemes appear to have fleeceing investors as their primary goal.

 

[e57]

just plain impossible (violations of the laws of thermodynamics) to the improbable~~~~

Rules and laws are meant to be broken..... It's like lotto - you gotta play to win.

 

[benaround]

I'll bet a couple hundred thousand people in the N.E. section of the country wish they had

their own power 'cell' of some sort right about now !!

About the 'grid', the experts say it's only a matter of time before a 'solar flare' penetrates

the earths' protective fields and puts the grid in serious disrepair. I think individual power

cells of some type would be good in the near future.

 

[kwired]

I'll bet a couple hundred thousand people in the N.E. section of the country wish they had

their own power 'cell' of some sort right about now !!

About the 'grid', the experts say it's only a matter of time before a 'solar flare' penetrates

the earths' protective fields and puts the grid in serious disrepair. I think individual power

cells of some type would be good in the near future.

do you really think if something like this happened that our biggest problem as occupants of the planet would be the electrical grid?

as far as a "matter of time" with celestial bodies 1 million years is a short time.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

do you really think if something like this happened that our biggest problem as occupants of the planet would be the electrical grid?

as far as a "matter of time" with celestial bodies 1 million years is a short time.

On of the biggest issues caused by a Carrington Event, would be the effect on the electrical grid and on communications systems, both wireline and wireless.

 

[e57]

do you really think if something like this happened that our biggest problem as occupants of the planet would be the electrical grid?

as far as a "matter of time" with celestial bodies 1 million years is a short time.

It happened a few years ago - satelites and all kinds of stuff got messed up... He wasn't talking about 'fire from the sky' - but huge clouds of EMF laden solar wind... It might not bother any one in Africa but it would in the rest of the developed world not just for the increased cancer rates but Wall Street off line for a while.... Everyone relearning to write with paper...

 

[kwired]

ok not the end of the world, but we also have floods, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, etc that shut down power. these poor people that depend so much on technology, how will they ever survive one of these events. I like my technology too but I can and have "gone camping" in my own house several times when the ice storms have taken power out.

 

[Volta]

... It might not bother any one in Africa but it would in the rest of the developed world ...

Oh, it might :roll:.

 

[techntrek]

ok not the end of the world, but we also have floods, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, etc that shut down power. these poor people that depend so much on technology, how will they ever survive one of these events. I like my technology too but I can and have "gone camping" in my own house several times when the ice storms have taken power out.

This isn't about surviving a 2-day or 2-week ice storm outage. We're talking 6 months to a year, and up to several years for some areas. The largest transformers on the grid would be affected - an article I read a while ago said normal lead time for replacements was 6 months to a year and there are only a few manufacturers in the world. That's with normal power to all the subcontractors, delivery trucks, etc. Take away power to most of the US and within days most reserve fuel is gone. How do the subs make parts or ship them to the primaries? How do the primaries assemble the parts?

Bottom line affected countries would be at third-world status in less than 6 months.

 

[gadfly56]

It's been over 30 years since I worked for a POCO and knew real numbers, but as I remember it, 30% is better than fossil plants do; nuclear, I believe, are about 25%.

REAL 50% is darn good.

And let's not forget transmission losses of 50% on top. If you get 50% at the outlet of this thing your NG costs might be even lower than you think. The excess heat can also be used for air conditioning using NH3, I believe, as well as general heating purposes if it's high enough quality.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

And let's not forget transmission losses of 50% on top. If you get 50% at the outlet of this thing your NG costs might be even lower than you think. The excess heat can also be used for air conditioning using NH3, I believe, as well as general heating purposes if it's high enough quality.

I don't think that the transmission losses are any where near 50%. Do you have a source for that information?

 

[Steavis]

I don't think that the transmission losses are any where near 50%. Do you have a source for that information?

They're not. 7.2% overall estimated in 1995 (source is wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power_transmission#Losses -- bring your own grains of salt :grin.

 

[M. D.]

I'm not going to be the first kid on my block with a bloom box I can tell you that,.. As far as the "nuke " issue in regard to proliferation ? good luck containing all this waste