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His energy bill is $0.00

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mwkruse
in ,

Christian Science Monitor: His energy bill is $0.00

A New Jersey civil engineer powers his home with solar panels and hydrogen tanks. Can it work in the mainstream?

EAST AMWELL, N.J. – Mike Strizki lives in the nation's first solar-hydrogen house. The technology this civil engineer has been able to string together – solar panels, a hydrogen fuel cell, storage tanks, and a piece of equipment called an electrolyzer – provides electricity to his home year-round, even on the cloudiest of winter days.

Mr. Strizki's monthly utility bill is zero – he's off the power grid – and his system creates no carbon-dioxide emissions. Neither does the fuel-cell car parked in his garage, which runs off the hydrogen his system creates.

It sounds promising, even utopian: homemade, storable energy that doesn't contribute to global warming. But does Strizki's method – converting electricity generated from renewable sources into hydrogen – make sense for widespread adoption?

According to some renewable-energy experts, the answer is "no," at least not anytime soon. The system is too expensive, they say, and the process of creating hydrogen from clean sources is itself laced with inefficiency – the numbers just don't add up.

Strizki's response: "Nothing is as wildly expensive as destroying the whole planet." ….

Comments

4 responses to “His energy bill is $0.00”

  1. Virgil Avatar
    Virgil

    I thought this was very cool until I read this:

    The total cost, $500,000, was paid for in part with a $250,000 grant from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

    I guess one can do anything as long as it’s on someone else’s penny. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Exactly! I enjoy keeping of on the technological changes but most great technical innovations seem to start with the hobbiest and the wealthy, then prices fall and market penetration expands. People experiementing with this stuff ususally leads to the breakthroughs. I am not sure how much should be done at taxpayer expense.

    Reply
  3. Mark Avatar
    Mark

    One of the members of my church’s “Green Team” has also reached the breakeven point (also in NJ). He has a farm house with solar panels and a geothermal heat/cooling system. He reports that he may reach the breakeven point this year, due to conservation efforts.
    I wish I could point to a website for his efforts but I don’t think he’s created one.
    His costs were paid in part by the state, but not to the level of the person listed above.

    Reply
  4. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    I also now of someone in the the Kansas City area where I live that has a home that nearly approaches zero and did so with no gvmt help except for tax breaks. It is fun to watch this stuff develop.

    Reply

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