Smart Electricity Grids and Energy Efficiency
Friday, October 15th, 2010
A huge amount of energy generated at power stations is lost at various points. There are losses during transmission of the energy to consumers, wasteful use of energy at the consumer ends and even theft of energy leading to unaccounted losses. Any effort at efficient use of energy, a scarce resource, can benefit communities significantly.
Smart Electricity Grids employ several means to achieve the final goal of efficient use of available energy. Sensing, measurement and control devices are used to automatically regulate energy consumption etc in response to specific conditions. Superconductive transmission lines might be used to reduce losses during transmission of power. Advanced Metering Systems is typically an essential component of smart grids.
Advanced Metering Systems (AMI) not only measure energy usage as conventional metering systems do but also analyze energy usage patterns and communicate relevant information to those involved, including suppliers and customers. Two-way communication allows information recipients to respond with actions that lead to solutions. For example, customers become aware of unexpectedly heavy energy usage and can respond with actions that lead to lowering of their energy bills.
Suppliers can tailor their charging pattern in ways that discourage energy use during peak load times. Advanced Electric Meters can record separately the energy usage in differentiated registers for each time period.
Read about a seminar on smart grid development in the Taiwan.
Tags: energy efficiency, information technology, smart grids
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Energy Efficiency: The Significance
Monday, September 20th, 2010
Energy and water are considered to be the two critical issues that can determine the very survival of our planet. If action is not taken to replace non-renewable sources such as fossil-fuel based energy with renewable sources such as sunlight and wind, we might find ourselves going back in time to the days when animal and human energy dominated daily life. And this time around, the world would also be a very unpleasant place with completely unpredictable climate, caused by all the global warming caused by the greenhouse gases.
Energy efficiency is one way to tackle the energy issue. Energy efficiency can come through more efficient use of energy, i.e. reducing the energy needed to provide products and services, e.g. using CFL lamps instead of incandescent lights. It can also take the forms of more efficient conversion of energy, i.e. producing more useful energy output from the same input and conscious efforts to conserve energy by eliminating wastage and higher efficiency in using the energy, e.g. switching off the lights when you leave the room.
With all the media attention that the topic of energy efficiency receives, it has caught popular fancy. The market for energy efficiency products and services is burgeoning. One Dow Jones report mentions that during 2009, energy efficiency ventures got nearly one-third of all the clean-tech funding, with more and more private companies focusing on developing green and efficient technologies.
In the U.S. military establishments and government buildings are excellent targets for energy efficient products and services. Actually, any business can increase its profits by reducing energy consumption and bringing down costs of operation.
An energy efficiency report from Market Publishers looks at the technologies and strategies to improve energy efficiency.
Tags: energy conservation, energy efficiency, energy efficiency business
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Fuel Cells: Significance and Markets
Monday, September 13th, 2010
Fuel cells can theoretically provide energy for everything from running a power plant to running your computer. And they provide it with high efficiency, low emissions and quietly, with the byproducts being heat and water, not carbon dioxide. It is no wonder that governments, businesses and academic institutions are working towards producing this green source of energy.
In essence, a fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to make water, and generates electricity in the process. And unlike a battery, the chemicals needed for a fuel cell, viz. hydrogen and oxygen, do not get exhausted all that easily. What this means is that the fuel cell is not likely to go dead, unlike the battery.
Fuel cell technologies come in different varieties such as PEMFC, SOFC, AFC, MCFC, PAFC and DMFC. Some are more suited for one purpose while others are best in other contexts, such as transportation systems, large power plants and stationary power generators.
Honda’s concept car based on fuel cells has a reported energy efficiency of 60 percent, i.e. 60 percent of the energy that goes in comes out in the form of moving the car. Compare this to the 20 percent efficiency of the fossil fuel burning car, where most of the energy is wasted as heat and for powering incidentals.
Though a battery-powered electric car has an efficiency of 72 percent, the battery has to be charged using AC power, which has a low efficiency, and the charging process itself causes some loss of efficiency. Compared to the 60 percent overall efficiency of the fuel cell, the net battery efficiency is just 26 percent.(See How Fuel Cells Work).
The research report Fuel Cell Technologies Worldwide provides insights into the end user markets for fuel cells and also the various technologies used for making fuel cells.
Tags: energy efficiency, fuel cell technology, green energy, nanotechnology
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Energy Efficient Cars: A Focus Area in China
Thursday, September 9th, 2010
With its emission reduction commitments, China is exploring different ways to enhance energy efficiency. Recently, the government had ordered the shutting down of energy inefficient factories. The latest news report is that China is now working on new energy vehicles and energy efficient automobiles, with the prospect of 200 million autos on the roads by 2020.
Wang Fuchang, deputy director-general of the equipment industry with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), stated the goal thus: “In the coming 10 years, China should attach great importance to the research and development of core technologies in green vehicles, aiming for a global lead in this field by 2020.”
In pursuit of the goal, China plans to increase the market share of electric vehicles, both pure and plug-in, and also to enhance the competitiveness of energy-efficient automakers and parts producers. According to ministry spokesperson, China now has a head start “in transitioning from research and development to industrialization in the electric vehicle sector.”
In cooperation with MIIT, the ministry is mapping out industry standards and regulations for new energy vehicles, especially electric vehicles.
According to Chen Bin, director of Industry Coordination for the National Development and Reform Commission, China might be faced with an overcapacity in the automobile industry.
Read the full report at People Daily.
Tags: electric cars, emission reduction, energy efficiency, energy efficient vehicles
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Power Grids: Making them smart and smarter
Sunday, August 8th, 2010
With increasing demand for power, it becomes necessary to optimize the utilization of electricity grid capacity. This is sought to be done by incorporating information technology solutions to measure and report, and to sense and self-heal into the grid. R&D in this area also seeks to increase the quantity of power transmitted through the lines.
Superconductive transmission lines can reduce power loss, and tackling bottlenecks in transmission where certain lines remain under-utilized owing to full capacity utilization of connecting lines can increase overall capacity. Instabilities in the system is another area that R&D focuses upon as these can reduce the effective capacity compared to the technical one.
Integrating power from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power generators pose its own problems owing to the differing nature of current flow. Technical issues resulting from intermittency, ramp rates, over supply and inertia are the problems in this area, according to an article on integrating renewables at intelligentutility.com.
Smart meters that report power consumption levels to the supplying utility automatically, programmable thermostats that can automatically adjust power utilization and smart home appliances that reduce power consumption can all be part of the overall campaign for creating a smart grid.
The intelligentutility.com website has resources on the practical issues of smart grids.
Tags: energy efficiency, energy generation, information technology, power transmission
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Miniaturization Applications with Nanotechnology
Monday, July 19th, 2010
A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter and objects of nanoscale are invisible to the human eye. Yet these invisible objects could be of immense use in different areas. Some recent developments at the University of Utah point to some of these possibilities.
One researcher is developing a nanotech torch that is invisible but could make it possible to avoid the waste incurred during the production of electronic chips. By depositing and erasing materials at the precise locations where they are needed, not only is waste avoided but the size of the chip also gets much smaller.
With these small chips, it becomes possible to develop much more compact devices such as GPS units and cell phones.
The Utah University team is also developing a nano tuning fork that can help reduce power consumption. These are nanoscale mechanical switches that can, for example, prevent laptop computers from overheating, eliminate wasted energy and keep the battery charged for longer periods.
The research team at the university has received a $3 million, three year federal DARPA grant for nanotechnology research and the faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering working on these projects constitute the Wireless Nanosystems research team.
Read the news at UtahPulse.
Tags: eliminating waste, energy efficiency, nano device, nanotechnology
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Challenge to develop the next Generation Power Grid
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
General Electric, in partnership with venture capital firms Emerald Technology Ventures, Foundation Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and RockPort Capital have announced a $200 million innovation challenge. The challenge asks technologists, entrepreneurs and startups to share their best ideas for an electric power grid that will meet the needs of the 21st century. The challenge, announced on July 13, 2010, is named as “GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid.”
The challenge, open immediately at Ecomagination Website is reportedly one of the largest of challenges ever announced.
The goals are to find ways to reduce the carbon footprint during electricity generation, optimize the flow of energy through distribution systems to minimize power losses and use energy more efficiently through better designed buildings and in other ways.
GE is already offering digital energy grids and wants to make it a comprehensive one by working with ideas generated globally. By accelerating the development of a cleaner, more efficient and economically viable grid through collaboration, GE hopes to “jump-start new ideas and deploy them on a scale that will modernize the electrical grid around the world.”
The fund of $200 million will be invested globally into promising startups and ideas. GE will also help the entrants in other ways. Read the news release at MarketWatch.
Tags: cleaner energy generation, digital electricity grids, energy efficiency, power transmission losses
Posted in business, clean technology, energy distribution, energy efficiency, energy generation, environment, information technology, innovation | 1 Comment »
A Glimpse into what Nanotechnology can do
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
While opening the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, the Premier of Victoria, Australia and other speakers touched upon the potential exciting innovations that nanotechnology makes possible. The possibilities mentioned by them provide an insight into what the technology can provide in widely varying fields.
One of the most promising areas is the field of energy. Energy generation without polluting the environment, batteries that could last far longer than now and minuscule power sources that are efficient and could be accommodated in presently inaccessible locations (such as inside human organs) are some possibilities that nanotechnology offers.
Additionally, energy efficient materials and applications can reduce levels of energy consumed. For example, self-cleaning glass and paint can eliminate much of the effort needed for cleaning (as well as lead to less energy consumption for climate control indoors). And clothing that can keep you cool on a hot day could possibly save on energy needed for keeping people cool.
The new facility’s sophisticated equipment “will enable the production of devices, customised sensors and integrated systems with applications in biomedicine, energy, nanoelectronics and environmental management,” according to one of the participants. The Victorian and commonwealth governments have funded investment in the new centre, “directed to the Australian Synchrotron, Monash University’s Electron Microscopy facility and CSIRO’s Niche Manufacturing Flagship,” according to the Victorian Premier.
Read the news at Nanowerk
Tags: energy efficiency, nanotechnology
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Energy Efficiency Using a Wasted Property of Electrons
Friday, May 28th, 2010
Electrical energy is presently obtained by utilizing the difference between positively and negatively charged electrons. Electrons have a third property, their spin, or a small magnetic field pointing up or down. This property is not used currently by electrical devices because the devices are too big compared to the nanoscale electrons.
A researcher in Israel is focusing on using the spin information to create energy efficient batteries and to prevent the huge quantities of power that we lose while transmitting electricity through conventional wires. Superconductors can prevent such energy loss; but technology now requires super cool temperatures for superconductors to work. Researchers are hoping that using nanotechnology, they might be able to develop superconducting materials that work at room temperatures.
Today’s solid state disk drives manage to use ordered atoms packed together. When atoms in a material are arranged in an ordered fashion, properties of the material change. Working at nanoscale, it is theoretically possible to design materials with customized properties.
Working at nanoscale is no simple matter, however. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter and you need highly advanced tools like Scanning Electron Microscope to find what is happening at this scale. The Israel research facility has just been equipped with equipment like a Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry, Scanning Electron Microscope and Environmental Scanning Microscope.
Using these advanced facilities, researchers hope to understand how maerial properties change at nanoscale and other issues involved. Read the report at Israel21c.
Tags: energy efficiency, nanotechnology, spin property of electrons, spintronics
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Nanotechnology Products (in the Future)
Monday, April 5th, 2010
At NanoFocus 2010, a nanotechnology conference sponsored by the Oklahoma Nanotechnology Initiative, several nanotech product ideas were discussed.
One researcher spoke of his work with batteries, both nanotech and conventional. According to the speaker, about 240 nanobatteries could fit in the diameter of a human hair. He also said that the energy output and speed of charging of conventional batteries could be speeded up using nanotechnology.
Conventional batteries carry energy through contact between inner material and electrodes. At microscopic level, even apparently flat surfaces are full of gaps and holes. By growing rods of tin-oxide on the inner battery to increase surface contact, the researcher hoped to provide five times the energy and 100 times faster charging in conventional batteries.
A laptop could be charged in two minutes, said the researcher, who also acknowledged that the batteries are years away from store shelves.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at TulsaWorld.com
Tags: batteries, energy efficiency, nanotech products, nanotechnology
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