Australian Shares Sparty's Blog
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Posts on this website are general "tips" and nothing more than that and should never be used to make an investment or trading decision. All information should be carefully cross-checked against official sources for accuracy.
Main Forum•Ceramic Fuel Cells
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Here is an idea that is currently being tested. Gas is supplied to Joe Boggs house. A Ceramic Fuel Cell converts the gas into heat (used to heat your hot water system) and electrical power that is used in the house. Any excess is put back into the grid.
Sounds simple. Sounds much like what is done at the major power stations throughout Aust. But the difference comes in 2 parts: gas supplied through non leaking lines has very little energy loss. Electricity pushed down power lines looses up to 8% of its energy getting to your house. And it gets worse for the power companies: most of the stuff coming out of the stacks at power stations is steam... which is heat lost. Just imagine if that heat lost was converted into heat used to make you hot water. Energy saved to the tune of 25%.
The numbers say that just 25% of the energy used to make power from a coal mine in Latrobe valley actually gets to your kitchen. But if everyone had a Ceramic Fuel Cell beside their house that took its power from a gas line then you would use 70% of the potential power to run your house. So much energy saved.
CO2 emissions would reduce by 250% in no time. Cost of energy would fall. Everyone wins except those in the Aust coal game.
My numbers do not yet add up: I neglected to say that much of coal power is used to heat the 30% of inorganics in brown coal. This energy is also lost as the ash is dumped.
Australia can win from this Carbon pollution debate. Knowledge of the opportunities is needed.
Alite
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An Australian company making ceramic fuel cells has recently had their product ratified by the regulators in the UK as a product that can be used in the public sector; that is, in housing / units / apartment blocks. Further, the UK has allowed this product to qualify for their feed in tarrif. Which means that any energy that they do not use in the household / unit block can be put back into the energy grid and the owners will be paid for the energy. How good is that!!
BUT there is a gotcha that makes the ceramic fuel cells unviable in Australia. These cells have to run 24 / 7 and will produce a constant 32 kW per day. No home can use that much power as a base load. And as far as I can tell the excess power cannot be put back into the grid... even without a tarrif payed (the power companies will not accept free power!)... The power has to go somewhere and cannot be shut off and so the system can only work for high constant energy users such as happens at some commercial ventures. The cost is around 35K.
The answers to Australia's greenhouse gas reduction have been created but the politicians are too blind to see them.
The UK, on the other hand, will benefit from their politicians far reaching goals.
Alite
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The Victorian Government has recently decided that the solar feed in tariff is too expensive for the state government to continue with the scheme. The Vic government offered 60c per kW put back into the grid. If the Vic government offered the same feed in tariff for a Ceramic Fuel Cell then the 30K cost for the unit (a cost that would greatly reduce with volume) could be paid off by the consumer in 5 years.
Power supply would be decentralised and much less likely to fail. Australians would use up to 50% less of the energy used to produce the power (without noticing it) and produce the commensurate 50% less CO2.
The problem is that these Ceramic Fuel Cells require the excess power that they produce to be put into the grid. And at the moment the government and the powers companies will not allow it.
Alite.
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I have since learned that if the grid went down the CFC would go into a holding heated status. Thus no problem IF the government allowed this type of power to be put back into the grid. All that is needed is the government or the power companies to be on board. Alite
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Companies in Germany are the current major buyers of these units
