Alphabet Wants to Store Renewable Energy Using Salt in an Attempt to Save Power

Resources for Storing Renewable Energy – Salt/Antifreeze

 
Google’s parent company has turned to two unexpected resources of salt and antifreeze in order to endeavour in storing renewable energy. Alphabet which is owned by Google has been working on a project known as `Malta’ in storing renewable energy which would else be wasted.

 If the same tends to be effective, the system would be placed almost everywhere thereby saving millions of megawatts of energy which tend to be present lost all over the world annually. According to a report in Bloomberg, the mysterious X division of Alphabet has been operating on the `moonshot’ project Malta.

 The system has the capabilities of lasting longer than lithium-ion batteries and can compete with the other clean energy storage systems according to X executives and researchers. Obi Felton, director at X while speaking to Bloomberg had mentioned that if the moonshot factory gives up on a big important issue like climate change, then probably it would never get resolved.

He added that if they do begin resolving the issue there would be trillions and trillions of dollars in market opportunity. According to Ms Felton, the team of 10 researchers are now on the lookout for partners, in order to build and operate a prototype to the grid, though Malta has not yet been an official X project.
 

Insufficient Means of Storing Energy

 
Huge amount of energy seems to get wasted every year since there is insufficient means of storing the same. For instance, California had wasted 300,000 megawats of energy in the first half of this year that had been produced by solar panels and wind farms, while Chine threw out over 17% of its produced energy as per Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The Malta system seems like a small power plant having four tanks that has been linked to a heat pump. X states that the system tends to come in several sizes ranging from the same size as a garage to a full-scale traditional power plant based on requirements. Julian Green, the product manager for Malta describing the system to Bloomberg had stated `to consider it at a very simple level as a fridge and a jet’.

Two of the cylindrical tanks are said to be filled with salt while the second two seemed to be filled with antifreeze. The energy is said to be taken in the system by way of electricity which is thereafter revolved into separate streams of hot and cold air.
 

Potential of Storing Energy for Days

 
The hot air is said to heat up the salt and the cold air tends to cool the antifreeze. In order to re-generate the energy, the procedure is inverted in order the hot and cold air rush towards each other thereby developing powerful winds which spin a turbine and produce the energy that is utilised.

The system has the potential of storing the energy for days based on the amount of insulation. Mr Green had commented that the thermodynamic physics seem to be quite popular to all who had studied adequately at college level.

The project has now the support of Robert Laughlin, a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose research is said to be the foundation for the system. Laughlin had commented that `a blessing came out of the sky. X came in and took a giant bite out of this problem’. It is not known when the system would be ready for set-up.

Climbing Stairs Just Got Easier with Energy-Recycling Steps

Scientists make it easier to climb stairs with new age energy recycling steps

If you have trouble walking up and down stairs then researchers from Georgia Tech has a device meant just for you. They had been successful at making the world’s first energy recycling stairs which has the unique features of storing as well as returning the energy to the users while moving up and down the stairs. The working of this device is quite simple and right to the point which makes it easier for anyone to make use of it.

It has been found that this spring loaded stairs results in saving energy by 26 percent while going up or down the stairs. When some goes up using this device then it releases the stored energy and in the process it makes it 39 percent easier for the subject to move up the stairs. It also remains soft on the knees and seriously limits the amount of energy which is usually wasted while using the conventional stair cases. The best thing about this device is that it can be easily placed on the existing stairs without the need of even installing it permanently.

How this stairs works? 

The working of this energy recycling device has been defined by Karen Liu, an associate professor AT Georgia Tech. She explains that normal walking usually results dissipating energy with each heel strike which can be easily store and utilized in the ascent using this device. In order to achieve this functionality each stair is made up of springs which are equipped with pressure sensors. When a user walks downstairs the steps sinks and lock in a certain position which helps in storing the generated energy and when someone walks upstairs then this stored energy is released. Researchers are going to publish their findings in the journal called Public Library of Science PLOS ONE.

A simple idea with wider future application of Energy Recycling

 

The idea behind this device came to Liu when she attended a conference and got to see a unique ankle brace which effectively works on the basis on storing and releasing the energy. Secondly she also saw her 72 year old mother having grave walking difficulty and problems associated with climbing the steps. Thereon she got the idea of creating smart stairs rather than the sneakers.

Her device is extremely low cost which means wider number of people suffering from the knee and walking issues will be able to buy it. This energy recycling stairs can be easily installed in the home which isn’t possible when it comes to having stair lifts or elevators at home.

It is also believed that this device will allow users to maintain their mobility by allowing them to keep walking and moving around even through injury and it will eventually help in elevating the quality of life in the long run. When it comes to application this energy recycling stairs can act as the temporary stars at home, hospitals or old age homes where older people or people recovering from surgery are spending their time.

Plastic Grass Could Cover Buildings to Produce Energy from Wind

We have been living in such a time where energy consumption is growing by each passing day and the reliance on conventional source of energy doesn’t seem to die down. Non conventional sources of energy offers greater benefits in terms of keeping the planet clean but their usage happens to be limited as it requires most investment than conventional sources. Now a relatively new product has come into focus which aims to offers energy from the wind in a clean and efficient manner.

It is a relatively new kind of generator for harnessing wind power, which works on the carpet surface covered with extraordinary plastic strips. As these strips sways like the natural grass a great scope of producing wind energy comes into the view. It is not just renewable but also quite affordable and clean as it can be.

Researchers behind this awesome wind power generator

Currently this particular new kind of wind power generator is in action. It covers rooftop area of 300 sq. m. filled with strips in China. Researchers have asserted that it is capable of delivering electrical energy equivalent to 7.11 kW. This much of electrical is more than enough to power a usual household. Weiquing Yang has been working on this project in collaboration with the Zhong Lin Wang’s group from Georgia Institute of Technology.

The main aim of this project was to tap energy from the steady winds along with the help of choosy guts. This particular wind energy harvesting system is extremely simple to develop and install. It can even be scaled as per the needs of the larger systems. Till now this wind energy generator has been gone through the lab tests where electric fan was placed at a rooftop model covering an area with 60 strips. This happens to generate electricity which was enough to provide energy to 60 LEDs.

Future prospects of this research

Results might be in the favor of the wind energy generator but not all the renewable energy enthusiasts and experts are happy with it. Fernando Galembeck who is widely known to investigate the energy harvesting methods has concluded that this particular system cannot be made easily available and it doesn’t happen to be desirable. He further elaborates that the amount of power, which can be harnessed from this system, is not quite enough to install these devices either on the rooftops or the building walls.

Galembeck also offered some smart ways to increase the efficiency of this device and make it most desirable for the targeted users in order to become a successful energy harvesting system. He states that energy storage happens to be a crucial factor in determining the overall success of the harvesting system. Hence, researchers should bring in smart ways to store the power generated by the generator for use at varying times. Even Yang has stressed that they are currently working on bringing some smart storage solution which will be done by merging the nanogenerator in solar panels and it will help in boosting the overall output of the wind energy harvesting system.

Silver Fox helps renewable energy engineers turn time into profit

The growing popularity of renewable – or ‘green’ – energy has seen a great many solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, or panels, appearing on the roofs of both commercial and domestic buildings in recent years. Using this ‘clean energy’ means that users reduce their carbon emissions by up to one tonne a year.
The solar PV cells convert solar radiation into direct current electricity and their numbers have been doubling every two years since 2002.
Solar PV systems can be built in various configurations, notably:
Off-grid without battery (array-direct)
Off-grid with battery storage for DC-only appliances
Off-grid with battery storage for AC and DC appliances
Grid-tie without battery
Grid-tie with battery storage
However, they all need to be appropriately and durably labelled – for the benefit of installation engineers and users alike. Providing these solar power labels - especially solar power warning labels has become a specialism of the UK-based labelling solutions manufacturer, Silver Fox.
Its solar panel warning labels are designed for use on solar PV system installations and comprise pre-printed warning labels produced to comply with DTI guidelines (DTI/Pub URN 06/1972 Guide to the installation of PV systems 2nd Edition). Made of high quality, durable polyethylene and inks, with an acrylic adhesive to ensure good performance for both internal and external use, each label measures 92mm x 30mm.
Customers either buy these labels on rolls or sheets. There are ten label types on a roll and there are 100 labels on a roll. Buying the labels in sheets means being provided with eight labels per sheet and ten sheets per pack.
Nico Frame, Silver Fox’s Marketing Manager, commented: “What sets Silver Fox apart from other companies is the commitment of its team to give exceptional service and support. Our whole philosophy is that we’re there to help. And, as a UK manufacturer, the delivery we offer is extremely prompt. Even for very large project orders, we work with our customers to schedule deliveries to best suit them.
“And if there are questions or issues, as a matter of routine we follow up with our customers to ensure they’re satisfied and we’ve addressed all their questions. We don’t just assume that their silence is sufficient.”
“Silver Fox has been at the forefront of the development of innovative durable and time-saving labelling solutions for over 30 years – so it was a natural move for us to develop solar power labels,” explained Nick Michaelson, Silver Fox’s CEO. “Our solutions rank up against some of the largest companies in our business and still we’re relentlessly evolving and improving our solutions.
“The impetus for this comes both from our own product development team and, most importantly, from user feedback. This feedback from our customers across the world is particularly helpful.  We know engineers are very sensible people and their common sense approach matches exactly our own approach to labelling.  That’s perhaps part of what brings the smiles to their faces when they see our solutions.
“What they want are solutions that are easy to set up and easy to use; powerful enough to address their real world needs; simple and fast to run,” he said. “They want labels from a dependable source and the final products that are reliable and durable. We totally agree!
“Of course, in the current economic climate, our customers are increasingly cost-conscious and, in a very important way, using our labels can save them significant amounts of time,” Nick continued. “Our goals are to make labelling simple, fast and effective while offering exceptional levels of customer service and continue to offer industry leading innovation – or, put simply, working to turn Time into Profit.”
This article has been written by Bob Little. To find out more about Silver Fox and receive regular updates on its products and activities, subscribe to its free newsletter.

S2S, a concept of tidal power generator

Among the known sources of renewable energy, tidal energy is very requested. Therefore, it is always interesting to find a concept such as S2S.

S2S is a concept of electric power generator operator tidal power. Indeed, the part below the sea surface is never static. With waves, currents and movements of living marine, the sea is in constant motion. S2S takes advantage of movement by transforming the kinetic energy generated electricity.