I remember hearing a couple of years back that Honda was working on a system where you had a generator at home to charge your car, and while you were gone, it would supply power to your home. I am sure the power companies would like to shut that idea down. I tried to search it online, but got no winner. Our local car guy had it featured on his show.
I am not sure. I know the buzz today is the mini-fusion generator. It was just mentioned in passing on a car show I listen to locally. The guys name is Ed Wallace and he has a website called Inside Automotive. But you may also really enjoy his takes on energy, politics and the economy. His website is an awesome source of information.
A nuclear reactor to charge your electric car? I rather doubt it. A gadget that produces hydrogen can be called a reactor with nothing nuclear going on; maybe there's some confusion there. But Ellen K's own nuclear power plant? Nah.
Toshibe proposed a small - 25 megawatt I think - reactor for Galena, Alaska:
I think the Honda generator runs off natural gas & is a cogeneration system...that is, it produces heat/hot water in addition to electricity. There are good thermodynamic reasons to do this, since you really can't generate power without spinning off a lot of waste heat...which you might as well use so it isn't "waste" anymore.
Probably most effective in cold climates where the heating season lasts a long time.
I remember hearing a couple of years back that Honda was working on a system where you had a generator at home to charge your car, and while you were gone, it would supply power to your home. I am sure the power companies would like to shut that idea down. I tried to search it online, but got no winner. Our local car guy had it featured on his show.
ReplyDeleteWhat powered the generator?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure. I know the buzz today is the mini-fusion generator. It was just mentioned in passing on a car show I listen to locally. The guys name is Ed Wallace and he has a website called Inside Automotive. But you may also really enjoy his takes on energy, politics and the economy. His website is an awesome source of information.
ReplyDeleteA nuclear reactor to charge your electric car? I rather doubt it. A gadget that produces hydrogen can be called a reactor with nothing nuclear going on; maybe there's some confusion there. But Ellen K's own nuclear power plant? Nah.
ReplyDeleteToshibe proposed a small - 25 megawatt I think - reactor for Galena, Alaska:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galena_Nuclear_Power_Plant
I think the Honda generator runs off natural gas & is a cogeneration system...that is, it produces heat/hot water in addition to electricity. There are good thermodynamic reasons to do this, since you really can't generate power without spinning off a lot of waste heat...which you might as well use so it isn't "waste" anymore.
ReplyDeleteProbably most effective in cold climates where the heating season lasts a long time.
Okay, I found it...here's some information about the little guy. You can buy one here.
ReplyDeleteNeat idea. One thing I didn't see mentioned was producing your own electricity when the power grid's down.
ReplyDelete