Posted on 02/24/2010 11:54:13 AM PST by Ben Mugged
Set to be unveiled today, the much anticipated Bloom Box—a residential "power plant" about the size of a mini-fridge—could provide cheap, environmentally friendly electricity to U.S. households within ten years, according to Bloom Energy, the company behind the fuel cell based invention.
But what, besides its hype, makes the Bloom Box special? Could it really revolutionize how we power our homes? And do Bloom Energy patents point to a secret killer app?
In an interview with CBS TV's 60 Minutes Sunday night, K.R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, said that, for one thing, the Bloom Box fuel cell system is a much better, or at least more reliable, alternative to solar power as a green energy source.
Bloom Energy fuel cells are painted with patented inks, green on one side, black on the other.
"The sun doesn't shine on your rooftop 24 hours a day," Sridhar said. "Our box produces electricity continually and reliably."
Fuel cells are devices that combine a fuel, such as natural gas, and an oxidant, such as oxygen, and turn their chemical energy directly into electrical energy.
For months now, Bloom Energy has been testing refrigerator-size Bloom Boxes at campuses of major corporations—including Google, FedEx, Wal-Mart, and eBay.
One of these jumbo Bloom Boxes, called Bloom Box Servers, could power a hundred homes, and four of them could power a 35,000-square-foot (3,250-square-meter) office building, Sridhar said on CBS.
Sridhar, a former NASA engineer, said he hopes to begin selling the mini-fridge-size Bloom Boxes within five to ten years. Each of the small Bloom Boxes should be able to power a household, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
how many would be required to power Algore’s home?
>Wonder where they get the oxygen from?<
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/ballard/651-ballard-shows-how-a-fuel-cell-works-video.htm
I hope it works, it would be great to have other countries lining up to buy them from US
So basically this does not produce energy, it merely enhances the physical properties of potential energy (natural gas) for increased output. Kind of like buying a more fuel efficient vehicle.
These things need to be properly ventillated. They should come wth CO2 and CO detectors.
“So basically this does not produce energy, it merely enhances the physical properties of potential energy (natural gas) for increased output. Kind of like buying a more fuel efficient vehicle.”
If it was some new and amazing energy source we would never see it. It would be snapped up by the government, classified and buried unless the military could use it.
Since this uses fossil fuels doesn’t that make Bloom Boxes inherently evil?
Ballard was selling buses as fast as they could make them. Emission was pure h2O.
The two with another company were turning the methane at the land fills into electricity...LA CA was the test site, but haven't seen anything on it lately.
Did you see the foot square that could be added to a highway that would produce electricity...? Invented in Israel.
Will make a great heater for wintertime.
Are they less expensive than a gas generator?
It would make a good backup power for emergencies or camping if so.
If it was quieter, then there may be military applications.
The oxygen comes from the air.
This is a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC). It is not new, despite all the hype generated by secrecy and 60 Minutes. The devil is in the details, and only time will tell whether Bloom has developed something truly novel and has IP to protect it.
The real question you should be asking is where does the natural gas come from, and how much will it cost to operate? SOFCs run continuously, and the stack is maintained at a temperature of 700 degrees Celsius. I’d like to have seen a cost projection showing the natural gas (which is reformed inside the cell to H2) cost vs. today’s electrical generation costs from coal, nuclear, wind, etc. And a little more detail about how the technology is supposed to become commercialized to the point it can power a single family dwelling “within 5 to 10 years”.
I agree with the cynic that said if it happens, it will say GE or Siemens on the side.
I’d also like to know what the hell he was talking about when he said “we can use solar!”. Solar what? Solar gas? Makes NO sense.
Those wishing to educate themselves on SOFCs beyond the 60 Minutes level are urged to read these basic whitepapers:
http://www.cfcl.com.au/Technology/
These are from a competitor SOFC company in Australia, by the way. There is a big difference between a $700,000 cell for powering datacenters and what was alluded to as a solution for all our energy needs.
OK, you explained it in terms I can understand.
I can already use igniting NG to boil water and from the steam, turn a small turbine which produces electricity. Probably not too efficient.
On first seeing this I thought it was another “free energy” scam.
But if the energy in an existing source is more efficiently harnessed (and does not come from the Middle East) then I will pay attention.
Thanks Obie.
Because we all know how well the government keeps a secret.
Correct. It converts mass to energy.
With reference to Al Gore’s residence, I think that the first sentence of this paragraph is operative, without too much exaggeration:
“One of these jumbo Bloom Boxes, called Bloom Box Servers, could power a hundred homes, and four of them could power a 35,000-square-foot (3,250-square-meter) office building, Sridhar said on CBS.”
Fuel cells work nicely for space stations and satllites — And why don’t they advertise the “cost per kwh”...
Until then ... Old engineering marketing saying, goes like this -— File under the category just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Power plants are built so their huge capital costs can be shared by many. Else why not have everyone just install diesel generators.
Maybe someday ...
Maybe the air? Unless this is a specialized system for space or underwater, there is no need to get it from anywhere else.
The trickiest part of a single house power system is how to handle load changes efficiently. For example, when you turn on your air conditioning you will suddenly need a lot more power. Can the fuel cell respond to the increased demand in a tenth of a second? One second? Ten seconds? If it takes ten seconds, do you have enough capacitors to handle the load in the interim?
It converts chemical energy to heat and electricity.
The same result as an engine-generator set with higher efficiencies towards electricity.
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