Hi V.!

> El 10/08/12 17:03, pata de Perro escribió:
>> Hello All....Does anyone know of the possibility of storing enrgy from
>> solar panles in air compressors..Solar energy with its nasty batteries that
>> have to be replaced every few years is just not a good option....Whats the
>> option?? Has anybody hear of using air compressors? could this be done DIY?
>> thanks, Vanessa
>>
>
> I don't know if it's a dutch thing, but Rop Gongrijp told me once that
> the most ecological accus are the water dams... when you have a surplus
> of electricity (from your solar panel in siesta time) you pull back the
> water to your upper dam, and in the evening you use the microhydro with
> that water.

no, this is a common modus for storage of energy sources -- to even out
availability with renewable and non-constant energy sources. It's quite
inefficient, because of the tremendous amount of energy lost to the
electro-mechanical processes (pumping and consequent re-generation via
turbine).

I would say that an air-compressor system can work, but there would be a
significant energy loss, depending on how you are re-using the
compressed air -- whether it is in a direct or indirect application.
Also, you would need a significantly large compression tank, which is a
significant investment (high-strength steel, and the compressor pump),
not to mention some risks in running what is essentially explosive.
Long-term, tanks tend to accumulate water in them from the compressed
air which leads to corrosion and eventual tank failure...

For a demo system, sure, it 'works' but I would say it's not any more
'sustainable' than batteries as the technology going into the compressor
requires plenty of mining for iron, coal, chromium, tungsten, etc...

Batteries are a simpler technology, though also not zero-footprint nor
zero-risk, and of course, include lead!

I'm thinking in the moment that this question can be answered by other
means -- solar storage is accomplished quite well in the form of plants
(that's what coal is!), in the form of food -- grains, etc. Also,
shifting life-style to take advantage of energy sources (say, those
solar panels) when they are active.

jh



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John Hopkins
Watching the Tao rather than watching the Dow!
http://neoscenes.net/
http://tech-no-mad.net/blog/
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