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Another cool energy storage technique is using subterranean flywheels. They'd probably require less maintenance than other similar energy storage mechanisms.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you have any recommendations on how to learn more about this? My brother has a steep hill on his property and Ive been wondering about the feasibility of PSH. How high the tank should be, the equipment, the power output.
This isn't quite what you're after, but it's a pleasent read. https://ludens.cl/paradise/turbine/turbine.html there have been some discussions on here about it too. It at least gets you all the right words to start googling for turbine options which helped me to do some back of the envelope math. It's a steeper hill than seemed feasible to me.
He doesn't need the pumped storage part of the equation due to a natural water flow, but it is part of the solution at least.
Slightly of-topic: compressed air is the preferred source of power for the tools of Amish people, since their religion doesn't allow them to use electricity or internal combustion engines. https://www.cottagecraftworks.com/home-goods/self-sufficient...
Slightly of-topic: compressed air is the preferred source of power for the tools of Amish people, since their religion doesn't allow them to use electricity or internal combustion engines. https://www.cottagecraftworks.com/home-goods/self-sufficient...
I vaguely know some Mennonites. One guy has a cell phone and car transmission repair businesses, and computers, but he only uses those things for certain tasks and does not keep the technology in his home. He uses it at work. He locks up his phone and pc when not using them for work.
Not that this guy is representative or anything, just an anecdote. Neither group is homogeneous, and I don’t mean to single anyone out.
The different approaches to technology, and the varied applications of technology, in service both to secular and sacred ends is interesting to me.
For fixed-site applications of sufficient land area and scale, it's difficult to beat pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH). The round-trip efficiency is around or above 70%, the same or better than CAES. CAES is probably best used in applications similar to flywheel (FES), away from occupied areas.
Do you have any recommendations on how to learn more about this? My brother has a steep hill on his property and Ive been wondering about the feasibility of PSH. How high the tank should be, the equipment, the power output.
I suspect the amount of energy is far less than you are imagining... It takes a lot of water to generate a useful amount of energy. This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66YRCjkxIcg) does an interesting demo and points out that a 5 gallon bucket on a ladder has the same potential energy as a watch battery.
This article seems to assume we'd convert the compressed air to electricity, but I could think of a bunch of applications that could use mechanical air power instead. Blenders, washers, dryers, dish washers, garage door openers. Basically anything that uses a motor.
I doubt there's much of an ecosystem/incentive to build a compressed air --> conversion systems that are general enough for anything to use.
Slightly of-topic: compressed air is the preferred source of power for the tools of Amish people, since their religion doesn't allow them to use electricity or internal combustion engines. https://www.cottagecraftworks.com/home-goods/self-sufficient...
I've been obsessed with technology that skirts religious laws for a while now. Whole house pneumatic systems to run $800 dollar non-electric blenders. Elevators that spend the sabbath atomically opening on each floor. Automatic timers to complete forbidden circuits. I would love to spend an hour or two with a rabbinical scholar. Does walking in front of a motion senor complete a circuit? Are you allowed to ask an AI…
Slightly of-topic: compressed air is the preferred source of power for the tools of Amish people, since their religion doesn't allow them to use electricity or internal combustion engines. https://www.cottagecraftworks.com/home-goods/self-sufficient...
I've been obsessed with technology that skirts religious laws for a while now. Whole house pneumatic systems to run $800 dollar non-electric blenders. Elevators that spend the sabbath atomically opening on each floor. Automatic timers to complete forbidden circuits. I would love to spend an hour or two with a rabbinical scholar. Does walking in front of a motion senor complete a circuit? Are you allowed to ask an AI…
For fixed-site applications of sufficient land area and scale, it's difficult to beat pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH). The round-trip efficiency is around or above 70%, the same or better than CAES. CAES is probably best used in applications similar to flywheel (FES), away from occupied areas.
This guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMLu9Dtw9yI) makes some good points about how cheap and scalable the technology is for medium-scale energy storage. It uses tried and tested, reliable and simple components for example