Electric Power
Introduction
In Space Heat we outlined the development of
Free Heat ™ units to heat individual rooms. Now we take
up the matter of Electric Power. Part of our philosophy for using
energy extracted from the active vacuum is that we should extract
the energy in the form in which we desire to use it. So why can't
we extract electric power from the active vacuum? The answer is
that we can for it has been done most notably with the Motionless
Electric Generator (
MEG)
which is in limbo due to lack of funding. So, lacking that
solution we propose using heat from the active vacuum with we did
for the Free Heat ™ units in Space
Heat and Transportation.
Another aspect of our philosophy is Point of Use (POU) which we demonstrated in Hot Water. So, for the instant case, Electric Power, we recommend producing the Electric Power when and where it is used. To implement this we need a family of different electric generators that use heat extracted from the active vacuum.
| 100 Watts | 250 Watts | 500 Watts |
| 1 KW | 2.5 KW | 5 KW |
| 10 KW | 25 KW | 50 KW |
| 100 KW | 1 MW | 10 MW |
| 100 MW | 1 GW | 10 GW |
The smaller units, up to 5 KW will primarily be needed for portable/emergency power. A single family house requires 10 to 50 KW. Commercial buildings will require up to 1 MW. An industrial enterprise might require as much as 100 MW.
Frequently statements about alternative energy will say the unit is enough for thousands homes. When you seen these claims always divide the amount of power being produced by the number of homes the alternative energy source will supply. If the resulting power per home is less than 10,000 watts (10 KW), you'll know the story is not true. For example, a story may say that a 20 MW windmill turbine will supply enough electric power for 20,000 homes. Divide 20,000 KW (20 MW) by 20,000 and you get 1 KW--not enough to run a 1,500 watt electric bathroom heater. A heat pump may require 4 KW to run and more than 10 KW to get started.
Next, we need to consider what kind of prime mover we
should use of different size generators in different
locations. The possibilities include all the different
engines discussed for
Transportation plus thermophotoelectric generators.
The other possibilities consist of an alternator driven
one of the engines discussed in Transportation. The
different engines all have different characteristics that
will affect the suitability for different applications.
For example, a very small gas turbine (micro-turbine)
could be used for applications requiring power up to, say,
50 KW, but it will probably be unacceptably noisy for
many applications (the speed of the compressor/turbine
increases as the output power decreases). The a Stirling
Engine is noted for high efficiency and quiet operation.
Steam Engines are about the only choice for electric
power levels above 100 MW; but they require quite a long
time to bring up to operating power. Gas Turbines fill
the gap for electric power capacities from about 50 KW to
50 MW.
Here is a chart showing the ranges of electric power output
for the different engines:
Thermophotoelectric --------|
Stirling Engine ----------------------|
|- micro-turbine -|
|--------- Gas Turbine -----------|
|--------- Steam Turbine ---------|
|------|----------|------------|------------|-------------|-------------|------------|--------------|
0
100 W
1 KW
10 KW
100 KW
1 MW
10 MW
100 MW
1 GW
This chart is an approximation based present
capabilities of the different engines. The
development will probably proceed from low
capacity units to larger units unless someone
steps forward with a need for a larger unit earlier
in the extended development cycle. If the idea of
POU catches on for electric power generation, there
will probably never be the need to convert or build
any units larger than, say, 200 MW.
Updated: May 21, A.D. 2009