Still Diving August 27, 2015
Posted by dvgibson in Uncategorized.add a comment
The current issue of Popular Mechanics, September 2015 has great tribute to Bob Ballard. He has been one of my heros from back in the days that I worked for the Marine Systems Engineering Laboratory at UNH. At the time I was working for Dick Blidberg and Jim Jalbert. They gave me a great opportunity to get into computer hardware and software after a few years away from the tech world which had changed by leaps and bounds. And I got to have fun in and around boats. They were working on autonomous underwater vehicles, ADOM and EAVE. Actually ADOM was under ice but that is just water in solid form. This was at about the time Ballard became famous for finding the Titanic and as I recall he had visited our lab prior to the discovery. We were hoping to interest him in an autonomous tender vehicle for his Argo vehicle.
Finding the Titanic was just one triumph of the many he has had and he shows no interesting is stopping now. I like that. His JASON project is an educational initiative that reaches out to school children to give them more opportunities to learn about the world around us and under us. I am wondering about his emphasis on the individual though, becoming stars. He has become a star but I gather from what I read he gives his team credit for making it possible. Will look for more to read on him.
I am also wondering what an “avalanche” looks like on the ocean floor. He talks with excitement in finding them. But to me they are a event. So did he see avalanches happening, and they continue to happen? Or the aftermath of avalanches? Again need to read up more on that.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/a16715/bob-ballard-oceanographer-titanic/
Energy Storage, Small Time August 20, 2015
Posted by dvgibson in Energy.add a comment
At the same forum at E2Tech I mentioned in the last post Geoff Sparrow, Director of Engineering at RevEnergy presented a paper on how businesses and homeowners can get involved in solar energy collection and storage. There are apparently many different inverters available, Solar Edge and Sunny Island were mentioned. But beyond the inverter is the software that manages the energy. This is something I need to dig into more to better understand. Emphasis is made on adjusting demand to availability, which does not require storage. But try convincing the masses of that. I want heat when I am cold, cooling when I am hot. To take a shower when its time to get out the door and on my way, dry my clothes when the washer is done. So local storage can be a big help here.
And btw, I mean no disrespect to their efforts by saying “small time”. In aggregate it will be big time. There is the potential of 1000’s of small private storage islands compared to a single massive storage bank the power company might implement.
To see his slides:
Energy Storage Big Time August 19, 2015
Posted by dvgibson in Energy.add a comment
Tesla is making some headlines by offering their battery technology to be used in homes for energy storage. They are thinking of storing off peak energy at (perhaps) lower rates, and then using it later during peak times. Or perhaps when the power goes out. And you don’t have to be the one that uses it, it could be fed back into the grid and you get credit for it. And there is a bonus, when the power goes out you can use this in stead of having to having to run a generator. Or you could have a generator that would recharge your battery and smooth out the ups and downs of your own demand. Like for me during storm outages when we are running on generator and the sump pump is running every 15 seconds. It sucks a lot power for about 5 seconds and then is off for 10 .
Recently E2Tech had a Forum in Portland on Energy Storage, Saving for a (Renewable) Rainy Day). Johannes Rittershausen, Managing Director of Convergent Energy + Power who is partner in New England’s first utility-scale electricity storage system delivered a paper on energy storage for power companies. Maine could make use of this. We have areas that are sparsely populated down some long branch lines until the tourists arrive. Right now we have to have enough power plants capacity to serve the peak, the rest of time it is slacking. Local energy storage would allow them to “fill up the tank” during off hours and let it shave off the peak demand.
Old fashion lead acid batteries are the least expensive and we know how they work but have a short life time. Lithium Ion batteries are the new cool thing and getting better everyday and have a better life time. Remember, renewable is a goal. Lead acid is not really all that renewable. For that matter, neither is Li-Ion. But they could do for now, while we look for a better way.
I got a smile out of the mention of a project at Boothbay, Maine. It is one of my favorite places and I went there many years ago to bid on a project on Squirrel Island, and got it, and have returned as recently as this past week just to enjoy what the area has to offer. And I can see why, having grown up with a power electrical engineer father, why a town with large seasonal variations down a long branch line would need some smoothing out.
See his presentation at http://e2tech.org/Resources/Documents/Rittershausen_Convergent_E2Tech_6-18-15_FINAL.pdf
Deep Ocean to Deep Space 