[LINK] Energy Use of Households Re: Hold up your hands if you Like HT Transmission Lines - Was - solar plants

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Craig and Richard,

Last December, I installed my first LED direct replacement for a CFL (which
long ago replaced the always failed Incandescent) garden path globe.

I am lobbying Leichhardt Council to run a few LED Lighting Trials and have
been investigating LED Lighting options. I expect when #carbontax does go
through, Lighting replacements - Halogen and CFL should be an area home
compensation should be spent on. An ACCC investigation may be warranted
into the pricing of LED Lamps which I expect will drop rapidly.

Annandale LED Pilot
<http://ramin.com.au/annandale/Annandale-LED-Lighting-Pilot.shtml>

LED and Solar (and Batteries)
<http://ramin.com.au/eco-sydney/LED-Lighting-Solar.shtml>

Domestic LED becomes Mainstream
<http://ramin.com.au/eco-sydney/LED-Lighting.shtml>

LED vs Halogen for Bright and Spot Lights
<http://ramin.com.au/eco-sydney/LED-vs-Halogen-Lighting.shtml>

Marghanita

Craig Sanders wrote:
> On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 09:46:13PM +1000, Richard Chirgwin wrote:
>> [snip]
>>> I don't think it is sacred particularly but today's domestic solar
>>> panels are just feeding back into the grid, not storing.  While
>>> generating all that power at home while you're at work may seem like
>>> a great idea, it's when you get home, after work, when your solar
>>> cells are not generating any more power, that you need the power.
>> I'm not feeding into the grid. My solar is stored. Got 8kWh of
>> batteries here (plug): http://www.bunjareecottages.com.au/ - good for
>> 3,000 amps short-circuit. I had a long lecture recently from an expert
>> about battery safety, because I was more relaxed than he was about
>> carrying metal nearby ...
> 
> the hassle of battery maintainence and the dangers of batteries are
> probably the main reasons why most recent domestic solar installations
> are grid-feed only and don't have local storage. most people just
> couldn't be bothered, and it would be pretty much inevitable that some
> people (and pets) would end up getting electrocuted.
> 
> but electricity storage is required for domestic solar panels to
> provide 24/7 power.
> 
> huge battery/capacitor banks at electricity sub-stations might be a
> good option, with trained staff looking after the storage needs of
> entire neighbourhoods, suburbs, small towns etc. (i have no idea how
> viable this is, because i don't know how much physical space would be
> required to store enough energy for hundreds or more households and
> businesses....certainly more than substations have now where capacitors
> are used to help smooth and regulate the incoming supply before delivery
> to users)
> 
> so we need more investment and research in electricity storage as
> well as electricity generation like solar panels, wind turbines,
> etc...whether for installation in homes or in substations (and perhaps
> in per-street micro-substations).
> 
> "ultracapacitor"[1] technology looks promising. still dangerous, of
> course (anything storing that much energy is inherently dangerous) but
> wouldn't require the regular maintainence by the home's occupant, and
> less physical contact means far less risk of accident.
> 
> 
> one thing i do know is that with the billions of dollars it costs
> to build a power station, there's plenty of money available to fund
> alternatives the next time a new power station is proposed. if
> government has the guts to stand up to power companies and keep the
> corporate snouts out of the public trough.
> 
> 
> [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_double-layer_capacitor
> 
> btw, check the "See Also" links at the bottom of the page for other
> related technologies like Lithium Ion capacitors.
> 
> 
> craig
> 


-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
http://ramin.com.au
Tel: 0414-869202