Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards 2006
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 10.11.06
Lots of green technologies in this year's Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards. Among the winners are Richard Bourgeois and the General Electric Electrolyzer Team for creating a prototype electrolyzer that could cut down the price of making hydrogen from water from $6 to $8 per kilo (roughly the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline) to $3 per kilo.
Martin Eberhard and the Tesla Motors team for making an electric car with the range and performance to appeal to most people (now they just need to make less expensive models).
Michael Bowers, James McBride and Sandra Rosenthal won for their invention (which we covered here) of warm white LEDs. "[The] adoption of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) might be able to halve lighting energy consumption and cut CO2 emissions by 258 million metric tons a year."
Deborah Sperling, Hanna Murnen, Nathan Sigworth and Augusta Niles from Dartmouth for GyroBike training system. Unlike training wheels, this thing actually trains you to ride a bike: "To help kids learn to ride a bike, the team placed a flywheel inside the front wheel of a 16-incher. Once it's set to spinning with a drill, the flywheel makes the wheel resist tipping, thanks to a phenomenon called gyroscopic precession." Anything that makes it easier and more fun for kids to learn riding bikes is okay with us!
DaimlerChrysler also won for its BlueTec diesel engine technology. It is clean enough to be sold in 45 states in the US, and should soon meet the stringent standards set by California and adopted by four additional states. And of course, they can run on biodiesel...
Cogeneration in your house, thanks to Climate Energy LLC. They make a system that generates both heat and power: A Honda natural gas turbine generates 1.2 KW of eletricity and the heat it creates is used to preheat the air that is going into the furnace.
In russian wood we havent problem with eviroment :)
I would be really surprised if the hydrogen generator was creating hydrogen at $3 per kilo, compressed to the pressure needed to use in a vehicle.
The energy cost of compressing the hydrogen is currently about 30% of the energy in the hydrogen, so that is going to be a significant factor.
Yeah, I don't doubt that $3/kilo is for production only and doesn't include the whole distribution infrastructure.. That's a whole other problem.
Still, cutting the costs of production by that much is impressive.
I'm wondering about the effieciency of that micro chp system. What about when you don't need heat? is the energy lost? What percentage of engergy from that system goes to power and what percent goes to heat? If this is so amazing then why aren't we all running on natural gas generators already? Seems kinda fishy
The Micro-CHP sounds cool. http://www.climateenergy.com/micro-chp_impact.asp
I wonder how much it is.
I wonder how much it is.
Q: How much will the system cost?
It is premature to provide specific price information. There are many different factors that will affect the economics of the system for the homeowner. However, the important thing to recognize is that this system is being brought forward with a team of companies that have proven track records of providing affordable and high quality energy products to consumers. We fully expect the payback of the system to meet the requirements of cost-conscious homeowners.
http://www.climateenergy.com/faq.asp
Hmmm... That gyroscopic trick within the bike wheels could make for a much more stable winter-rideable bike too.
Ya I read that. Doesn't really say how much it is, does it? That tells me it's a lot.
I went to a brief talk held by one of the VP's of Climate Energy, and I seem to recall - but not 100% sure - a price of around $5K-$7K.
The trick is that it only produces that 1.2 kW from the generator. However, It is silent - my cats could nap on it :)
Another interesting tidbit about them is that they are completing their first 250 installations in the Massachussetts region this fall and will grow from there. They are still evaluating the installed technology and the marketplace. They're looking to partner with energy discount incentives to grow their installation base in new homes.
Fun stuff.
Here's the cost:
"The system costs $13,500, installed." from the Pop.Mechanics page here http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/4199165.html?page=6
" Expected to retail for around $40 when it hits the market, the GyroBike by the company of the same name works by spinning in conjunction with the wheel it's attached to, "
http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/28/gyrobike-flywheel-helps-bicycles-self-steady/
Here's the cost:
"The system costs $13,500, installed."
That number includes the regular gas furnace which would normally run $6-7k For the differnce you get your base household electric requirements covered for the life of the unit.
If the heat can be tapped for domestic hot water needs and therefore made useful year round, the upfront cost premium over 10 years is about $60/mo against a reduction of $86/mo in electricity costs at $.10/kwh (No I didn't do a net present value on the capex. On the other hand I didn't put the inflation numbers into the electricity price either).
Seems like a green (efficiency)investment that works without subsidies. Qualify this for net metering and it's a no-brainer.
It sounds like the micro-CHP only makes sense in colder climates, however like Anonymous said, if it also heated water it would extend it's efficiency and application into warmer climates.
Tesla CEO Martin Eberhard came to visit Yahoo! recently with his shiny red car. The Roadster is a stunning car. You'd have thought a naked woman was lying in our parking lot. We just posted an interview with him on our corporate blog. I'm saving up for a garage for my 2009 Tesla sport sedan!