New fuel cell technology?

I find it interesting and would buy one in a heartbeat for the mentioned $2,000 to get away from my filthy dirtbag electrical utility. My house has natural gas hookup, so I would be good to go. While this isn't exactly renewable in the sense of solar, it is a huge improvement from greedy private electric utilities and would be much cheaper.
 
redrumloa said:
I find it interesting and would buy one in a heartbeat for the mentioned $2,000 to get away from my filthy dirtbag electrical utility. My house has natural gas hookup, so I would be good to go. While this isn't exactly renewable in the sense of solar, it is a huge improvement from greedy private electric utilities and would be much cheaper.
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I too would be all about jumping on board. You can however count on legislation -- even local -- to make it a nightmare to get hooked up, with the respective fees, taxes, inspections, etc...

I also have the question regarding the lifespan of the box considering it uses a chemical reaction to make the electricity.

Wayne
 
redrumloa said:
The Bloom Box?
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I've been considering one of these for a number of years (I'd never heard of Bloom before but, like the vid said, Bloom's not the only one that's been working on these).

What I'd like, though, is a system that will not only provide me with electricity but also let me reclaim waste heat for water. At 60% efficient (impressive) there is still a large amount of waste heat to capture. I heat my household water with gas right now and my pool with a mix (heat pump until it's too cold then gas).

The other thing I would need to make things perfect would be negative metering which is available in BC I believe. However, electricity prices are very low in BC (lots of Hydro).
 
Not sure I would. Here, natural gas is way more expensive then electricity. Of course, I'd need to know exactly how much gas I'd need for the electricity it makes. People around here are investing into geothermal heating to get away from the cost of natural gas, but that has a $20,000 price tag.
 
Ars is a little skeptical: Bloom Energy fuel cell claim raises hype, questions

In a binge of hype that might make Dean Kamen blush, the world has been introduced to Bloom Energy, a new entrant to the fuel cell business that claims to be ready to revolutionize the energy economy. Plug a Bloom Box in to your building's natural gas line, the company claims, and you can start getting clean power at a price that beats the grid. Unfortunately, for the moment, that's about all it's saying.
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Facts like they have monster sized customers like Google and their chief engineer worked for NASA helps legitimacy. The technology is real, the question is the ability to mass produce at a price atractive for Joe Six Pack.
 
redrumloa said:
Facts like they have monster sized customers like Google and their chief engineer worked for NASA helps legitimacy. The technology is real, the question is the ability to mass produce at a price atractive for Joe Six Pack.
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I know. But the Ars article also pointed out that these large customers are also receiving government subsidies for the "green" energy. that in part makes it worth their while. Will those subsidies last for ever? I'm sure many Republicans would like to see them go away.
 
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