From the outbox of Meyer’s video box
Have you thought about what it would be like to get “off the grid?” I’m not talking about dropping all contact with everyone you know (although that’s nice for a Sunday afternoon). But what about disconnecting from the electric grid and generating your own power? Some folks have already gotten into the game by installing solar panels on the roof or a wind turbine in the back yard. Those are certainly helping but can take up a lot of space. Enter the Bloombox: a brand new fuel cell technology that might just change the game.
Bloomenergy has developed a renewable fuel cell that can power a typical American household and is only the size of a brick. Put that brick into a “box” the size of a backyard tool shed and you can create your own power source. There are major companies using this technology without a hitch. The next step is getting the manufacturing costs down so that every home can have one. Are you ready to get off the grid?
Check out the complete 60 Minutes story here and read up on the product specs here.
One Comment
“Put that brick into a “box” the size of a backyard tool shed and you can create your own power source.”
That would be a “shed” 18’ long, making it a taxable structure for me.
10 tons? 10 tons! How much would it cost to bring to the site much less truck there and to have a concrete pad poured for the “shed” and install it?
Cogeneration, I believe, is the technical terminology.
An oversized natural-gas powered home generator is the reality.
70db at 6 feet may be somewhat quiet, but just imagine hundreds of them churning next door, across the street, down the block, everywhere you go.
I believe the water required for start-up is simply water for the cooling system.
And the fine print at the bottom:
“Remotely managed and monitored by Bloom Energy” at a yearly fee which basically makes you respondent to just another power company, a similar situation to what you are supposedly trying to evade from the onset.
Managed and monitored, yes. Maintained by whom?
These people aren’t dealing with the real world and real homes.
If your Madoff or Bloomberg or even Bradjolina you could easily afford these independent cogeneration plants.
As Joe the Homeowner, this just isn’t realistic and seems to be targeted at a frustration.
The cost? I can’t find the total typical cost.
I prefer my power generation come from a large gas powered power plant far, far away that is required to meet emissions dictated by the EPA.
Electricity is cheper when mass produced.
Upgrade the electrical transmission system by using componenets such as superconductors to make the grid more efficient.
Given a choice, I’d rather see solar panels or windmill generators on everyone’s rooves rather than hearing the collective din of emissing generators.