The Energy Work Room

Friday 31 January 2014

Crystal Batteries Part 2

Good day all. In my last post I spoke about crystal batteries. The link to the lazerhacker page that featured the information has a couple of different construction methods. There is also some back up info such as a galvanic chart and alternate names for the chemicals involved. What is not really covered is how to apply them. That is the subject for today. The following link shows a sort of lifehack on how to get a 1.5 volt, AA battery to power a 240 volt light bulb for hours. In the comment section below the video, it is mentioned that the best results occurred with a 20 watt bulb, or lower. So, 240 volts at 20 watts gives an amperage of about 80 milliamps. Here is the link;

This circuit would require a bit of further modification to work with the crystal battery, since the AA battery and the crystal batteries are different sizes. One of the simplest ways to overcome this would be to use a couple of short lengths of wire to connect the crystal battery to the terminals for the AA on the circuit board. The other part that was mentioned was that instead of shorting the two connections on the circuit board with a clip, you could wire in a simple switch at that point. That being said, all of the components are present in an old lamp. The circuit and battery could be fitted inside of a lamp and voila, you have a lamp that doesn't need to be plugged in!

Another real option is to build enough of the cells to give a similar output to a car battery. You would need cells connected in series and in parallel to get the voltage and the amperage. Then use a power inverter to do things like power a light or a small heater. Hell, you could build one that was rated to power an electrical hot water tank! You could potentially even have a small unit in each room of your house that has a couple of sockets and a lamp built in! Further, I am exploring this application in a few ways. Such as using a larger copper container and a larger piece of magnesium (or multiple pieces in the same container), in order to determine some parameters for maximizing outputs.

As I have said, I am becoming interested in applying energy supplementation in small ways. In many of the larger devices I have been looking at, adapting an average home to employ some of these systems would require quite a bit more cost and effort than first thought would suggest. New wiring, power storage and installation of any given device would need to be tailored to suit every individual home. There is WAY more to freeing yourself from the power company than the 'plug and play' advertising campaign is suggesting.

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Crystal Batteries

Crystal Batteries

Good day all! A good friend sent me an absolute treasure the other day. After doing a bunch of reading, to refresh all of the principles involved, I present to you the Crystal Battery. This is a great little home project, to create a battery that gives close to 1.5 volts. All of the things involved are things that are REALLY easy to get. Here is the link;

http://laserhacker.com/?p=326

This site is proving to be an enlightening place to spend a little time. Some of the items in the 9 minute video are a little unclear. Such as the size of the copper cap used, or the diameter of the magnesium rod. There are links on the site that further explain some of the components. The anode rod ( Magnesium rod) is obtained from a hot water heater and it has a 1"/ 2.5 cm diameter. The standard length is about 32" (inches) or around 80 cm. The copper caps are around 2 1/2" diameter. ( I guessed a little on this because 2" diameter is not a very common size). I did a little digging and all of the salts involved are dirt cheap. Hardly anything required in the way of tools besides a measuring cup, a coffee grinder, a hot plate, a drill and a hacksaw. The following is a brief explanation on the process.

"Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially to another when both metals are in electrical contact and immersed in an electrolyte. This same galvanic reaction is exploited in primary batteries to generate an electrical voltage.

Dissimilar metals and alloys have different electrode potentials, and when two or more come into contact in an electrolyte, one metal acts as anode and the other as cathode. The electropotential difference between the dissimilar metals is the driving force for an accelerated attack on the anode member of the galvanic couple. The anode metal dissolves into the electrolyte, and deposit collects on the cathodic metal." -- Wikipedia

Basically the salts in contact with the magnesium and copper, create a voltage. The end result, as stated in the video, is a battery that is capable of producing a constant voltage of 1.4 volts. Capable of maintaining that voltage, without recharging, for YEARS!! Keep in mind that over time the magnesium will corrode, so it can not claim to be a permanent energy source. Although powering a light for a few years off of one battery is still a huge step in the right direction. Even more so when you consider the batteries you won't be throwing into a landfill. Overall cost to make around 20 batteries is approximately $100, just sourcing the parts and materials from ebay.

I will be posting more on how to use these batteries in some home applications in the next few days.

Sunday 22 September 2013

ENERGY CONSUMPTION

ENERGY CONSUMPTION

I am now going to voice my opinion on a topic that is something I am passionate about. Namely housing energy. I have heard sooo many people tell me that they would love to have their houses 'off the grid'. After being in the housing industry for over 15 years, the biggest step toward getting off the grid is to increase the efficiency of the systems already in place. Increased efficiency translates into decreased waste. Decreased wasted energy is more money in your pocket.

A perfect example of this would be central heating/cooling system. Hot air goes up, while cool air is forced down, or falls. So the balancing of a central heating system is very important to maintain, depending on the season. In most conventional houses, the air blows out of strategically placed(usually) registers, and returned to the furnace or A/C unit via floor/wall returns. The return vents are usually the large grills. In the more modern houses, wall returns are also present, usually at the highest point of the house. The idea is to maintain the temperature of the air to relative required comfort levels. In the summer we close the floor returns, so we don't lose the cool air, and we keep the wall returns open, to recycle the warm air. In the winter, we would like to keep the warm air, so we close the wall returns, and plug the floor returns. Warm air rises and cool air falls.

We can also streamline a heating system by balancing the main supply duct of a heating system. The main ducting coming out of a furnace has branches. The number of branches is usually dependent on the size of the house. Somewhere along each of the branches is a 'damper'. It will be inside the large duct. You can adjust it by turning the nut or bolt on the outside of the duct. By fully opening, or partially closing these dampers, airflow can be directed through the home. If you can reduce the number of times a heating/cooling system turns on in a two hour period, you are saving money.

We can take advantage of the natural properties of air temperature differentials. So, for the summer, we would really like to get rid of the warm air. Here is another idea. If you have a pretty good idea of the prevailing weather patterns of where your house is, add some small windows toward the top of each story, and position them so a breeze can help vent some of that excess heat.

Another area that can always be improved is a hot water system. The water coming into your house from the ground is at approximately 55 Deg F. You are then warming it up to between 140- 170 Deg F. By adding a holding tank that brings the water up to room temperature BEFORE it enters the water tank,you can save quite a bit on a heating bill. Using pipe insulation on hot water lines to reduce heat loss is also a good idea. Turn down the operating temperature of your hot water tank. Wash your laundry in cold water.

There are dozens of different techniques for saving on your energy bill. Most municipalities charge a premium for energy consumption during peak hours. Usually between 8 am and 5 pm. So altering your lifestyle can also help to save. Do your dishes, laundry and showering during the hours that cost less for power. Upgrading old appliances may also bean option ( I have mixed feelings about this). You may use less power by upgrading an old appliance, but will the cost of the new appliance outweigh the potential savings? If given enough time it can, but lets face it, most new appliance will not last long enough to offset the cost. In quite a few cases, energy efficiency does not mean a better machine.

Maintaining the temperature of your home, rather than shutting down a cooling system is also more cost effective. If you leave your house in the morning and shut down you A/C, when you return and crank it in order to cool off your house, you are not saving money and you are straining your A/C unit. Closing the curtains on south facing windows, during the hottest parts of the day will also reduce the cost of cooling your home. Conversely, leaving these curtains open during daylight hours in the winter can also help reduce the cost of heating. Make sure your attic hatch is well sealed during the cold months.

Every single house has it's own 'personality'. Some of the contributing factors to this are; 1) Position of the home vs prevailing weather patterns. 2) Presence of shade trees. 3) Position/ condition of windows vs local weather. 4) Age/ condition of interior systems. 5) Ventilation. How well you know the personality of your home can be a big advantage in streamlining your energy consumption. If you can reduce the amount of power that is wasted in your home, you can get a more comprehensive idea of what kind of power requirements you truly have. If you know how much power you need for your home, you will have a GREAT idea of the requirements of any 'off the grid' system.

Saturday 10 August 2013

links draft- aug 7th