*********************************************************
According to the comments.....installations are all in California and benefitting from BOTH Cal state subsidies and Fed subsidies....
Looks like the steam train could make a comeback.
Does the box have to be heated to 1KC, or is that a result of it’s operation? How much of it’s own power is required to cool the surrounding area?
So what is a Bloom Box exactly? Well, $700,000 to $800,000 will buy you a “corporate sized” unit. Inside the box are a unique kind of fuel cell consisting of ceramic disks coated with green and black “inks”. The inks somehow transform a stream of methane (or other hydrocarbons) and oxygen into power, when the box heats up to its operating temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius.
>——— Whoa. 1,000 degrees ? Isn’t a good rule of thumb that producing heat as a side-effect, unless it’s a HEATER is a sign of major inefficiencies ? What chemical “green and black” reaction can possibly make a box 1000 degrees ? Or do we have to warm it up to 1000 to make it work (Another freeper already identified this problem)
Given those numbers the Bloom Box certainly doesn’t appear to be cheaper than solar power, though it claims to be.
>——— More green-speak here. Push “Solar, Solar Solar !”
Mr. Sridhar hopes the funding that’s being virtually thrown at him and his enigmatic box will help drive down costs
>——— Loan-Speak. “Send me money, EVERYONE is sending me money. Be quick to get on the bandwagon of sending me money.”
Mr. Sridhar originally invented a similar device when he was working for NASA designing infrastructure for a prospective Mars colony. Now he’s market the device right here on Earth.
>——— Richard Hoagland also worked for NASA. Don’t try to lend credibility by stating your involvement with a high-end company, unless you are the CEO of said company.
He says the upside is incredible, especially for the energy hungry American consumer. He describes, “The way we make it is in two blocks. This is a European home. The two put together is a U.S. home.”
>——— And NOW we have it. It’s a hoax. This is typical liberal upper-cut jabs to the ultra-hated, ultra repulsive American pig-dogs. Phooey on him.
Inquires 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, “Cause we use twice as much energy, is that what you’re saying?”
>——— That’s what YOU’RE saying... Lez.
Mr. Sridhar replies, “Yeah, and this’ll power four Asian homes...Four to six homes in our country.”
>——— Wait.. what ?
Inside the box, one disc can produce energy to “power a lightbulb” (60 W, assuming a full power lightbulb). The discs are produced from baked sand and then painted on each side with the special ink. In between the discs an inexpensive metal (not platinum) is placed. According to Mr. Sridhar, 64 discs could power a Starbucks.
>——— 60x64 = 3840 = 110v x 34a . Really ?
The Bloom Box has some additional downsides; for one, it produces carbon dioxide emissions, an alternative energy no-no. However, there’s also numerous upsides — the boxes have a tiny footprint versus alternatives (eBay’s solar installation takes “acres and acres” versus the five Bloom Boxes that can fit inside a large room).
>——— Will the room also be 1000 degrees ? Or will the A/C be cranked ? How about on the roof, where just 20 of these 1000 degree monsters could actually warm the atmosphere more than any global warming causes have ever done ?
The device could also be carbon neutral if it used carbon from plant sources, such as algae or switchgrass ethanol.
>——— Ignorant media statement: It’s 100% efficient ? If it’s not, It would be carbon neutral if it ran on Diesel too.
My vote, and the Celerity Think Tank agrees: HOAX.
Nothing ‘magic’ about it. It uses natural gas, and instead of venting the hot air, which is part of the inefficiency, that exhaust can be used to heat water for the building. So you really get a great bang for the buck! You create your own uninterrupted electricity source, as long as the Natl. Gas is flowing, plus you use most, if not all the power provided by each cu.ft. of Natl Gas, rather than see almost half of it wasted after the process of generating the electricity.
In time, smaller versions would make electric passenger cars viable. In homes and businesses, the heat produced by the fuel cell could be used to provide hot water, making for further energy savings.
What? Is this the latest, greatest white-hot hope for the non-existing alternative to economically feasable nuclear, hydro and petrol??? FAD = For A Day!!!
bflr
BUMP!
how can we invest???