Patio Heating at it's Worst
I thought that we had hit a low with gas fired patio heaters, then some bright spark decided to make something even more convenient - electric patio heaters.
The worst thing is that now all of the pubs and restaurants are using them to heat their outdoor seating areas. I walked past a pub last night, the temperature was below freezing, the electric patio heaters were on and there was nobody sitting outside.
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Credit Crunch
With all of the talk of banks failing and credit problems spinning around the world it feels like there may be a shift to good old fashioned values and with that maybe people will start caring again for engineering. For so long the brokers have considered themselves all important with huge salaries and stating that they are the backbone of the UK.
Well, maybe it is time the engineering community showed the bankers of the UK who fundamentally underpins the countries wealth and prosperity. With all of the environmental pressure and people looking for lower energy solutions the UK is in a good position.
Looking at it another way, not having so much money floating around may make people properly assess what is good for the environment rather than just what is trendy or over hyped by venture capitalist money.
With all of the talk of banks failing and credit problems spinning around the world it feels like there may be a shift to good old fashioned values and with that maybe people will start caring again for engineering. For so long the brokers have considered themselves all important with huge salaries and stating that they are the backbone of the UK.
Well, maybe it is time the engineering community showed the bankers of the UK who fundamentally underpins the countries wealth and prosperity. With all of the environmental pressure and people looking for lower energy solutions the UK is in a good position.
Looking at it another way, not having so much money floating around may make people properly assess what is good for the environment rather than just what is trendy or over hyped by venture capitalist money.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Nanosolar
At last it looks like the cost (and hopefully this equates to the energy cost of manufacture) is coming down. Nanosolar are quoting $0.99/Watt. With the exchange rate that equates to about 50pence/Watt.
If we assume that electricity costs 7 pence/kWhr then this means we need to generate 7kWhr before we break even.
Lets assume we get 5 hours of sunshine a day and so that means 5 Whr/day and so 200 days to generate 1 kWhr.
That means 1400 days to breakeven. That's just under 4 years, not so bad.
At last it looks like the cost (and hopefully this equates to the energy cost of manufacture) is coming down. Nanosolar are quoting $0.99/Watt. With the exchange rate that equates to about 50pence/Watt.
If we assume that electricity costs 7 pence/kWhr then this means we need to generate 7kWhr before we break even.
Lets assume we get 5 hours of sunshine a day and so that means 5 Whr/day and so 200 days to generate 1 kWhr.
That means 1400 days to breakeven. That's just under 4 years, not so bad.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Thanks Dinosaurs, now lets move on with elegance…
The average person weighs 75kg and yet requires a vehicle weighing 1500kg to haul them around. That really is quite obscene when you think carefully about it. Is it vanity, greed or just all of the manufacturers have become dinosaurs laboriously sticking to their old ways and not daring to do anything different.
There are some out there that have always promoted lightweight design e.g. Lotus. This has always been with performance in mind and not the pursuit of fuel economy. I can forgive them for that as there has to be a reason and being environmentally friendly has only just started to sell.
If we take a good look at the Toyota Prius we see a very hi-tech vehicle with a huge amount of components that gives a reasonable fuel economy. The vehicle weighs an incredible 1325kg. Is this an elegant solution? The following quote comes to mind:
"To define it rudely but not inaptly, engineering is the art of doing that well with one dollar which any bungler can do with two after a fashion.”, Arthur M. Wellington
There are a new breed of vehicle designs that are turning up with a very strong environmental theme e.g. Aptera – daring design, fantastic fuel economy claims and a vehicle that weighs around 386kg, this just feels more sensible. A simple fundamental concept where weight is kept to a minimum, aerodynamic drag is reduced and the power unit is simple and much smaller as a result of the diet.
The average person weighs 75kg and yet requires a vehicle weighing 1500kg to haul them around. That really is quite obscene when you think carefully about it. Is it vanity, greed or just all of the manufacturers have become dinosaurs laboriously sticking to their old ways and not daring to do anything different.
There are some out there that have always promoted lightweight design e.g. Lotus. This has always been with performance in mind and not the pursuit of fuel economy. I can forgive them for that as there has to be a reason and being environmentally friendly has only just started to sell.
If we take a good look at the Toyota Prius we see a very hi-tech vehicle with a huge amount of components that gives a reasonable fuel economy. The vehicle weighs an incredible 1325kg. Is this an elegant solution? The following quote comes to mind:
"To define it rudely but not inaptly, engineering is the art of doing that well with one dollar which any bungler can do with two after a fashion.”, Arthur M. Wellington
There are a new breed of vehicle designs that are turning up with a very strong environmental theme e.g. Aptera – daring design, fantastic fuel economy claims and a vehicle that weighs around 386kg, this just feels more sensible. A simple fundamental concept where weight is kept to a minimum, aerodynamic drag is reduced and the power unit is simple and much smaller as a result of the diet.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Zero Emissions?
Zero emission house - I would like to see the full analysis of the material and energy cost of building this so that it can be compared with a conventional house. Then we can fully understand the cradle to grave costs.
The big problem is the outside styling is not so great and do you really want to invite friends round?
Zero emission house - I would like to see the full analysis of the material and energy cost of building this so that it can be compared with a conventional house. Then we can fully understand the cradle to grave costs.
The big problem is the outside styling is not so great and do you really want to invite friends round?
Monday, February 13, 2006
Carbon Capture
"UK 'should pursue' carbon capture"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4695478.stm
What? This is just another half baked idea that will reduce the efficiency of our power stations by up to 25% and one where we have to build the infrastructure to pipe the captured carbon dioxide to an old unused oil well where we can store it? Surely this is a vicious circle with us requiring access to old oil wells, the very oil wells that we have been trying to break our dependency on. In addition, what happens when we have filled them all up? This really is a case of looking after our own interests and leaving the problem for our descendents to sort out.
How about an alternative approach? Why not grow trees, cut them down and store them in mines, oil wells or landfill? We could cap the landfill and collect the methane as the trees rot and use this to power an internal combustion engine to generate electricity. We can understand and develop the ideas to make this a sustainable process. Then 20 years down the line if we decide this is not such a great idea we can use the methods and ideas we have developed and rather than bury the material we can turn it into ethanol or burn it directly. This way we do not leave a legacy, other than a lot of buried wood and that is nothing more than the natural process.
There are a number of other governments that are thinking long term:
"Sweden plans to be world's first oil-free economy"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1704955,00.html
"UK 'should pursue' carbon capture"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4695478.stm
What? This is just another half baked idea that will reduce the efficiency of our power stations by up to 25% and one where we have to build the infrastructure to pipe the captured carbon dioxide to an old unused oil well where we can store it? Surely this is a vicious circle with us requiring access to old oil wells, the very oil wells that we have been trying to break our dependency on. In addition, what happens when we have filled them all up? This really is a case of looking after our own interests and leaving the problem for our descendents to sort out.
How about an alternative approach? Why not grow trees, cut them down and store them in mines, oil wells or landfill? We could cap the landfill and collect the methane as the trees rot and use this to power an internal combustion engine to generate electricity. We can understand and develop the ideas to make this a sustainable process. Then 20 years down the line if we decide this is not such a great idea we can use the methods and ideas we have developed and rather than bury the material we can turn it into ethanol or burn it directly. This way we do not leave a legacy, other than a lot of buried wood and that is nothing more than the natural process.
There are a number of other governments that are thinking long term:
"Sweden plans to be world's first oil-free economy"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1704955,00.html
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