Comments on: Highview’s CryoEnergy System Efficiently Stores Energy With Liquified Air http://inhabitat.com/highviews-cryoenergy-system-efficiently-stores-energy-with-liquified-air/ Green design & eco innovation for a better world Sun, 19 May 2013 18:10:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: David Barry http://inhabitat.com/highviews-cryoenergy-system-efficiently-stores-energy-with-liquified-air/comment-page-1/#comment-396224 David Barry Sun, 07 Oct 2012 16:49:11 +0000 http://inhabitat.com/?p=232016#comment-396224 The comment by Chris offspring, above makes a good point. Can some use be found for the waste heat produced when cooling the air to liquify it....? However I do have one quibble with the article. It points out that this is a better option than batteries but goes on to say that it is the "most efficient" As the Higview material makes clear, currently the most efficient way of storing electricity on a large scale is pumped storage. The problem is that you need a suitable site for pumped storage, and these are a matter of the right geography so while further pumped storage is being developed in Scotland the potential for more of it is limited. Hence the need to look for other methods. www.davidbarry.posterous.com The comment by Chris offspring, above makes a good point. Can some use be found for the waste heat produced when cooling the air to liquify it….?

However I do have one quibble with the article. It points out that this is a better option than batteries but goes on to say that it is the “most efficient” As the Higview material makes clear, currently the most efficient way of storing electricity on a large scale is pumped storage. The problem is that you need a suitable site for pumped storage, and these are a matter of the right geography so while further pumped storage is being developed in Scotland the potential for more of it is limited. Hence the need to look for other methods.

http://www.davidbarry.posterous.com

]]> By: Chris Offspring http://inhabitat.com/highviews-cryoenergy-system-efficiently-stores-energy-with-liquified-air/comment-page-1/#comment-310625 Chris Offspring Sat, 02 Apr 2011 02:59:26 +0000 http://inhabitat.com/?p=232016#comment-310625 I'm still thinking about this: while it sounds nice to have "cold air", this air would be so cold, it would instantly freeze you. So powering a turbine with it would mean you'd have to pre-heat said turbine. That said, i'm wondering why this article doesn't talk about the heat, that is produced when you cool down the air to cryogen. (And the cooling is definitly accomplished with the help of a heat exchanger) Storing the heat and then reusing it to keep the turbine from becoming a very giant paper weight, sounds like a good plan to me. And while we are at it: why use waste heat? It's an option but not the only possibility. Setting up such cryoenergy systems near server farms or internet exchange points would wastly improve the efficiency of either the cryoenergy system or the server farm / IXP (or in general: everything that needs cooling, which right now is accomplished by normal electricity-using air-conditioners) Or look at big cities: Skyscrapers look nice with their all-glass covers, but need a lot of cooling in summer. Set up a cryoenergy system in each skyscapers basement and you can lower their energy consumption by quite a bit. I’m still thinking about this:
while it sounds nice to have “cold air”, this air would be so cold, it would instantly freeze you. So powering a turbine with it would mean you’d have to pre-heat said turbine. That said, i’m wondering why this article doesn’t talk about the heat, that is produced when you cool down the air to cryogen. (And the cooling is definitly accomplished with the help of a heat exchanger)
Storing the heat and then reusing it to keep the turbine from becoming a very giant paper weight, sounds like a good plan to me.
And while we are at it: why use waste heat? It’s an option but not the only possibility. Setting up such cryoenergy systems near server farms or internet exchange points would wastly improve the efficiency of either the cryoenergy system or the server farm / IXP (or in general: everything that needs cooling, which right now is accomplished by normal electricity-using air-conditioners)
Or look at big cities: Skyscrapers look nice with their all-glass covers, but need a lot of cooling in summer. Set up a cryoenergy system in each skyscapers basement and you can lower their energy consumption by quite a bit.

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