Japanese firm perfects fuel cell for homes of the future

Relaxnews

Friday, 22 July 2011

A Japanese company has perfected the technology that will store green energy in the homes of the immediate future and control where and when that power is provided to the building.


Other firms are working on similar storage and control systems for individual homes, but Japanese companies have redoubled their efforts in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast of the country in March and destroyed the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.

Shorn of the energy produced at the facility, there is growing concern that major urban areas - primarily Tokyo - will experience blackouts when demand surpasses the amount that can be provided by other plants.

And with daytime temperatures that will rise above 30 degrees C as the summer begins to kick in, demand for power for air-conditioning units is already rising.

NEC Corporation has made a breakthrough with the launch of its household energy storage system, which is equipped with lithium-ion batteries and can simultaneously control electrical power throughout the home.

The first 100 units of this industry first will be made available to home construction companies and businesses from July 18, NEC said.

The system automatically controls power to the building by connecting to the distribution panel and enabling interactive coordination with the power supplied by a commercial energy company and the home's electrical devices, its solar power systems and other equipment.

"This interactivity enables the system to store power during nighttime hours, when power consumption is low, then to use the stored power during afternoon hours, when power consumption reaches its peak," NEC said.

"This reduces both the demand on power companies as well as household electricity charges.
"Recently, in consideration of the supply and demand conditions for electricity during summer in Japan, initiatives to shift the peak afternoon power consumption time and reduce the overall volume of power consumption are steadily advancing.

"Furthermore, households have become increasingly aware of the importance of access to electricity for essential needs in the event of an emergency or blackout, in addition to the necessity of power conservation," it said.

Panasonic Corp. is working on similar technology and operates a model home of the future in Tokyo where it showcases cutting-edge technology that will make homes in the future greener and more energy efficient.

The model home incorporates solar panels, pipes that carry hot water beneath the floor in the winter and cool water in the summer and reduced-energy lighting.

Until now, however, the largest obstacle to such systems being introduced on a large scale to homes has been the lack of a reliable storage system for the energy that is generated, a problem that NEC appears to have overcome.

How energy use by UK households has risen 18% in 40 years

More heating and appliances have driven up our household consumption of electricity and gas by 18% between 1970 and 2009, official figures show

Despite greener new build homes, and successive attempts by governments to make people insulate their households and turn down the thermometer, energy use by households has risen by nearly a fifth in the past 40 years. Domestic energy use is up from 37m tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) in 1970 to 44 mtoe in 2009, an increase of 18%.

Population growth and demographics are part of the story. Energy use per household has actually gone down slightly, while energy use per person has gone up, partly because of the rise in one-person households over the last few decades.

Another part of the cause, as the table below shows, is split evenly between our increased used of space heating and our increased appetite and use of appliances and lighting.

In 1970, few UK homes would have had a dishwasher and the array of computing and communications gadgets we use today, while the single pendant bulb in a room of old has, in many households, become a rack or set of recessed halogen spotlights. People also warmed their homes to a lower temperature 40 years ago - 14C in 1971 to 17C in 2008.

Interesting, the briefing from the Office of National Statistics accompanying this data notes that the overall rise comes despite a 32.7% rise in the number of households with loft insulation between 1976 and 2008, and double glazing up 31.2% between 1976 and 2007.

The government's flagship environment policy, the "green deal" to improve the energy efficiency of UK households, has never looked more necessary.

Black-cab drivers encouraged to become green ambassadors

The Smarter Cab Drivers study has led London cabbies to cut fuel consumption by 12% in the first two weeks

Terry Macalister
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 July 2011 11.38 BST

London cabbies are being given fancy silk purses, feedback "guest books" and a bleeper to stop them revving their engines too much in a move to turn them into green ambassadors to fight climate change.

The Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (RSA) has helped establish an ambitious and unusual trial which has already encouraged taxi drivers to cut fuel consumption by 12% in the first two weeks.

The silk purses are meant to remind cabbies to drive "smoothly" while the guest books are to assess their driving style and trigger debate with passengers about the advantages to the purse and planet by saving fuel, says the RSA.

The "spring-o-meter" is a dashboard-mounted device that wobbles, and sounds a beep if the cabbie brakes too harshly or accelerates too aggressively, according to Jamie Young, a Royal Society researcher on the project.

"We chose cabbies on purpose because they are stereoyped by critics as cynical and set in their ways and so are a relatively difficult group to influence and who tend to think the high cost of fuel just comes with the job," he said.

"But they are also informal opinion formers because they come in contact with a large number of people so they can influence others ... We are keen to extend these trials outwards and yes, 'white-van man' could come next," Young added.

The RSA, which is undertaking the Smarter Cab Drivers study along with oil company Shell, says it expects savings of 15% by the time the nationwide study of taxi drivers is wound up in another two weeks.

If continued over the course of a year, taxi drivers could each be in line to save £600 a year, or the equivalent of 200kg of carbon, in the case of a new diesel car, the Royal Society claims.

Young says there could be a huge impact on Britain's overall C02 emissions if all the country's drivers could be encouraged to take the relatively simple step of driving differently.

"We're pleased to see our Smarter Cab Drivers doing so well as they they bid to improve their driving behaviour, and we hope that this campaign can show everyone how quickly you can become a smarter, more fuel-efficient driver - and save money in the process," he said.

The silk purses and other specially-designed "nudges" are considered more effective that just endless verbal or written messages to slow down and drive more carefully.

The RSA and Shell have talked at length to taxi drivers about what motivates them. One typical response from an unnamed cabby was this: "We all know how to drive fuel-efficiently ... I would happily drive along the Broadway at 40mph so long as cabs didn't overtake me at 60mph so that I'm 20 places back in the queue at the airport."

Michael Bloomberg gives $50m to Sierra Club's anti-coal campaign

Organisation says donation by New York's environmentally friendly mayor is a 'game changer' for its Beyond Coal initiative

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 July 2011 16.05 BST

The environmentally friendly New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, made his largest ever gift to the green cause on Thursday, giving $50m(£31m) to a campaign to shut down America's coal-burning power plants.


The sheer scale of the gift, to the Sierra Club, promises to transform the organisation's Beyond Coal campaign.


But it still falls short of the sums the Koch family has dispensed to defend oil and coal interests. According to Greenpeace, the billionaire oil brothers have donated $55m to the climate change scepticism cause.


America gets nearly half of its electricity from coal. The campaign aims to cut production by 30% by 2020, through shutting down the oldest and dirtiest plants and stopping the highly destructive process of mountain-top mining.


The Sierra Club claims to have already stopped the construction of more than 150 new plants.


With Bloomberg on side, it can put more coal plants in its sights.


The donation will account for one-third of the campaign's $150m budget over the next four years.


The Sierra Club called it a game changer, enabling the organisation to double its staff to 200, and to expand the anti-coal campaign from 15 to 46 states.


New campaign posters, with pictures of children as "filters" for coal pollution, went up throughout Washington Metro stations this week.


Since the collapse of efforts to get a climate change law through Congress, a number of US environmental organisations, such as Sierra Club and Greenpeace, have devoted more resources to the fight against coal.


The Sierra Club realised it needed more resources, however. Given Bloomberg's track record as New York mayor, where he has pushed to green the city's taxi fleet, the organisation decided to approach his charitable foundation for support.


For Bloomberg, the anti-coal campaign is a chance to step in where Congress has failed to act.


He said in a statement: "If we are going to get serious about reducing our carbon footprint in the United States, we have to get serious about coal. Ending coal power production is the right thing to do, because while it may seem to be an inexpensive energy source the impact on our environment and the impact on public health is significant."