N.J. man has first solar-hydrogen home

N.J. man has first solar-hydrogen home EAST AMWELL, N.J., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- A New Jersey home is the first in the country to be powered completely by solar and hydrogen energy.
Michael Stritzki used $100,000 of his own money, along with corporate, private and government grants, to build turn his East Amwell, N.J., home into a pioneering hybrid that was unveiled Friday.
The former state Department of Transportation engineer said he ran into some red-tape with local code enforcement unfamiliar with this somewhat new technology (NASA powers space shuttles with hydrogen).
"Things that people don't understand, they're afraid of," Stritzki said. "Hydrogen is just another gas, and it's safer than all the fossil fuels we currently know."
Solar panels on the roof of Stritzki's garage produce extra electricity in the summer which is used for processing hydrogen from water. The hydrogen then powers a fuel cell, which covers any energy needs the solar panels can't meet for the two-story home with a big-screen TV, swimming pool and a hot tub, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
The state's Board of Public Utilities funneled $250,000 for Stritzki's home from a Clean Energy Program. The remaining $150,000 came from private and corporate sponsors and loans.
"We're not anticipating this exact project to be duplicated everywhere," said Connie Hughes, a utility commissioner, "but we do see this as one of the ways to address New Jersey's goals of having 20 percent of our energy coming from renewables by the year 2020."
Lyle Rawlings, president of Advanced Solar Products and Stritzki's design engineer, said "New Jersey has shown the will, the leadership to the rest of the country, and it's up to them to catch up because we're in the vanguard."

lkgeo1 wrote:

"Hydrogen is just another gas, and it's safer than all the fossil fuels we currently know."

Utter nonsense.
Hydrogen's highly explosive.
Graham

lkgeo1 wrote:

Michael Stritzki used $100,000 of his own money
The state's Board of Public Utilities funneled $250,000 for Stritzki's home from a Clean Energy Program. The remaining $150,000 came from private and corporate sponsors and loans.

So 1/2 million dollars to keep a few ppl warm !
Not exactly very clever is it ? What a truly pointless waste of money.
Graham

Green light for world's biggest windfarm Guardian Unlimited - 2 hours ago The government hopes wind farms will aid the proposed 500% increase in renewable energy over the next 10 years. Photograph: Corbis. Go-ahead given for world's largest offshore windfarm Irish Examiner UK Government gives green light to Thames Estuary revolution Forbes Eeyore wrote:

lkgeo1 wrote:
Michael Stritzki used $100,000 of his own money
The state's Board of Public Utilities funneled $250,000 for Stritzki's home from a Clean Energy Program. The remaining $150,000 came from private and corporate sponsors and loans.
So 1/2 million dollars to keep a few ppl warm !
Not exactly very clever is it ? What a truly pointless waste of money.
Graham

On 18 Dec 2006 05:20:31 -0800, "lkgeo1" wrote:

Michael Stritzki used $100,000 of his own money, along with corporate, private and government grants, to build turn his East Amwell, N.J., home into a pioneering hybrid that was unveiled Friday.
The state's Board of Public Utilities funneled $250,000 for Stritzki's home from a Clean Energy Program. The remaining $150,000 came from private and corporate sponsors and loans.
which covers any energy needs the solar panels can't meet for the two-story home with a big-screen TV, swimming pool and a hot tub

Huh. Only $500,000 to do much the same thing I have at my place. Except that I did it with conventional technology, sweat equity, and without any charity from taxpayers, for about $470,000 less. Of course, I have to keep the load down by watching DLP while Stritzki probably has a plasma screen. I'm sure that his neighbors are thrilled to read about how they've funded the "vanguard" power for that TV, pool, and hot tub. Yup, hydrogen has a bright future.... for anyone who has other's money to burn.
Wayne

lkgeo1 wrote:

Green light for world's biggest windfarm Guardian Unlimited - 2 hours ago The government hopes wind farms will aid the proposed 500% increase in renewable energy over the next 10 years. Photograph: Corbis. Go-ahead given for world's largest offshore windfarm Irish Examiner UK Government gives green light to Thames Estuary revolution Forbes

What have wind farms got to do with idiotic 'hydrogen powered' homes ?
Graham

Eeyore wrote: lkgeo1 wrote:
Michael Stritzki used $100,000 of his own money
The state's Board of Public Utilities funneled $250,000 for Stritzki's home from a Clean Energy Program. The remaining $150,000 came from private and corporate sponsors and loans.
So 1/2 million dollars to keep a few ppl warm !
Not exactly very clever is it ? What a truly pointless waste of money.
Graham

On 18 Dec 2006 05:20:31 -0800, "lkgeo1" wrote:

"Things that people don't understand, they're afraid of," Stritzki said. "Hydrogen is just another gas, and it's safer than all the fossil fuels we currently know."

as others said - utter bunk! - But some people will believe anything you tell them! (Its called advertising hype).

Solar panels on the roof of Stritzki's garage produce extra electricity in the summer which is used for processing hydrogen from water. The hydrogen then powers a fuel cell, which covers any energy needs the solar panels can't meet for the two-story home with a big-screen TV, swimming pool and a hot tub, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

No reports about how they actually store this this very "thin" form of energy, but you can bet that the storage is either highly inefficient - or otherwise vey large! And of course the actual production is not likely to be very efficient either.
Also, we can't actually tell how much energy is produced and stored from this system - but if the solar panels fit on his garage roof - it doesn't sound a lot. (I suppose he may have a large garage!)

The state's Board of Public Utilities funneled $250,000 for Stritzki's home from a Clean Energy Program. The remaining $150,000 came from private and corporate sponsors and loans.
Michael Stritzki used $100,000 of his own money, along with corporate, private and government grants, to build turn his East Amwell, N.J., home into a pioneering hybrid that was unveiled Friday.

Wow! give me the $500,000!

"We're not anticipating this exact project to be duplicated everywhere," said Connie Hughes, a utility commissioner, "but we do see this as one of the ways to address New Jersey's goals of having 20 percent of our energy coming from renewables by the year 2020."

I'm not surprised it won't be duplicated. I am a bit surprised that anyone would be sucked into parting with so much money, but I guess when most of its not your own - - hey, who cares! (Certainly not the spender - and the poor old taxpayer doesn't seem to have much say).

Lyle Rawlings, president of Advanced Solar Products and Stritzki's design engineer, said "New Jersey has shown the will, the leadership to the rest of the country, and it's up to them to catch up because we're in the vanguard."

More likely shown their stupidity and gullibility.
Here's a basic calc in NZ dollars -
say - 20kw of solar panels - NZ$200,000 200kwh of batteries - NZ$50,000
Inverters, cabling, controllers - Hmm - maybe $100,000
I should even be able to put aside enough to replace the batteries when needed for the next 20 years. Or shall I buy an electric car with lithium battery instead?
Oh. I forgot - that 500k was US dollars! I'de have over NZ$700,000 to play with! I think I could power half our street for that!
The mind boggles.
Hydrogen? Bah humbug! (after all it is Christmas).
Eric Sears.

Wow! give me the $500,000!

According to my calculator, $500K US would power my home for 241 years, and I use lots of kwhr's. Hell, just the interest on the 500k in a decent mutual fund would power my home with enought left over for a new Lexus.
And I wouldn't have to haul any hydrogen.
I like Lancaster's methods. Convert it to dollars or btu and see how it works out.

"Eeyore" wrote in message

lkgeo1 wrote:
Michael Stritzki used $100,000 of his own money
The state's Board of Public Utilities funneled $250,000 for Stritzki's home from a Clean Energy Program. The remaining $150,000 came from private and corporate sponsors and loans.
So 1/2 million dollars to keep a few ppl warm !
Not exactly very clever is it ? What a truly pointless waste of money.
Graham

Not only the money it took, but think of all the greenhouse gasses produced and the resources it took to manufacture, transport, install and maintain, not exactly a green project. I am sure it would have to operate for several decades (which we all know it won't) to come out ahead.

EXT wrote:

"Eeyore" wrote lkgeo1 wrote:
Michael Stritzki used $100,000 of his own money
The state's Board of Public Utilities funneled $250,000 for Stritzki's home from a Clean Energy Program. The remaining $150,000 came from private and corporate sponsors and loans.
So 1/2 million dollars to keep a few ppl warm !
Not exactly very clever is it ? What a truly pointless waste of money.
Graham
Not only the money it took, but think of all the greenhouse gasses produced and the resources it took to manufacture, transport, install and maintain, not exactly a green project. I am sure it would have to operate for several decades (which we all know it won't) to come out ahead.

Hydrogen is the least 'green' fuel ever imagined.
It makes fossil fuels look highly environmentally sound.
Graham

wrong again jackass, try hydro produced hydrogen: Legislation aims to lure research cos.
BW Exclusives The Truth About Inflation FedEx Delivers a Cautionary Message Homebuilders Take Another Hit Whole Foods and the Celebrity Farmer PR's Best and Worst of 2006 Story Tools order a reprint digg this save to del.icio.us COLUMBIA, S.C.
Proposed legislation would create a $15 million fund to lure companies involved in hydrogen fuel technology to South Carolina, House Speaker Bobby Harrell said.
The legislation requires a grant administrator to work with several universities in South Carolina that already are involved hydrogen fuel cell research.
"This plan is centered around two things: developing a clean alternative fuel and creating jobs for our citizens," said Harrell, R-Charleston. "For this to happen, we need to encourage private sector involvement in this field."
He predicted the future hydrogen fuel economy will be dominated by companies that "are not currently household names."
"I hope we will one day have some Bill Gates-type of business leaders running their companies from South Carolina headquarters," Harrell said.
The South Carolina Hydrogen Infrastructure Development Fund would be available to private companies that work with the universities of South Carolina, Clemson, South Carolina State and the Savannah River National Laboratory.
The legislation also requires state agencies to consider purchasing equipment and machinery operated by hydrogen fuel cells and provides a sales tax exemption for equipment operated by or used to distribute hydrogen fuel cells, he said.
Edgar Berkey, vice president of Concurrent Technologies Corp., a nonprofit research and development group, said South Carolina was in a cycle that could last for 10 years.
"The introduction of major new technology usually is slower than people would wish," said Berkey, an adviser on the state's hydrogen strategy. "South Carolina is taking a leadership role in setting up the pieces that are going to be necessary to be among the leaders."
The financial incentives could be important to help the University of South Carolina lure research partnerships with private companies. The university has been seeking tenants for a private alternative fuel research building currently under construction.
Harrell wants South Carolina to lead the nation in a hydrogen fuel industry, which he estimated to be worth $2.6 trillion in the next few decades.
"For South Carolina to lead the nation in this new industry will require that chief executive officers live here," Harrell said. "Otherwise, I'm afraid the technology will be developed here and exploited elsewhere."
Todd Wright, director of the federal Savannah River National Laboratory near Aiken, said the state has a strong research team including a half century of experience with hydrogen at the Savannah River Site, the National Science Foundation-designated fuel cell research center at USC and Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research at Greenville.
Savannah River already is working with automakers to solve the problems with generating and storing hydrogen fuels, and BMW plans to bring about two dozen cars fueled by both gasoline and hydrogen to the United States.
Some of them will be tested out of the company's facilities near Greer, said BMW Manufacturing spokesman Bobby Hitt.
Eeyore wrote:

EXT wrote:
"Eeyore" wrote lkgeo1 wrote:
Michael Stritzki used $100,000 of his own money
The state's Board of Public Utilities funneled $250,000 for Stritzki's home from a Clean Energy Program. The remaining $150,000 came from private and corporate sponsors and loans.
So 1/2 million dollars to keep a few ppl warm !
Not exactly very clever is it ? What a truly pointless waste of money.
Graham
Not only the money it took, but think of all the greenhouse gasses produced and the resources it took to manufacture, transport, install and maintain, not exactly a green project. I am sure it would have to operate for several decades (which we all know it won't) to come out ahead.
Hydrogen is the least 'green' fuel ever imagined.
It makes fossil fuels look highly environmentally sound.
Graham

lkgeo1 wrote:

wrong again jackass, try hydro produced hydrogen:

There's nothing 'green' whatever by taking the most expensively produced electrical energy and then instantly throwing away most of its value by turning it into hydrogen.
Graham

lkgeo1 wrote:

wrong again jackass, try hydro produced hydrogen: Legislation aims to lure research cos.

We can consume all the hydro power we can ever produce without having to waste any by storage as hydrogen. Making hydro hydrogen is a complete waste of energy causing the burning of additional fossil fuels to make up for that waste.
lkgeo1 is the jackass, and is off topic in .homepower as usual.

http://tinyurl.com/cyd9y
just_ed53spam@yahoo.com wrote:

lkgeo1 is the jackass, and is off topic in .homepower as usual.