Saving money on your air conditioning bill is as easy as taking a few simple steps. Here are some simple and practical tips for reducing the amount of electricity your air conditioner will use this year.
• Tune it up. Those television and radio ads suggesting you get your air conditioning unit checked at the beginning of each season aren't just trying to drum up business. Your air conditioner will perform at its best and therefore use less energy if it's well maintained.
• Change the filter. In most cases, changing the filter every month is recommended, but check your manual and with your service contractor to make sure that's best. Clean filters allow air to flow into the machine more freely, and that helps the unit function better, saving you more money.
• Close off vents in unused rooms. There's no reason to send cold air into a guest bedroom if no one will be using it that day. Remove items that could be damaged by heat like electronic equipment and candles, then shut the door on the room until it's needed.
• Dress yourself for the heat. Don't wear long pants and heavy fabrics inside your home when temperatures are soaring outside. Instead, wear shorts and a t-shirt, for example, and don't put on your shoes or a cap unless you're going out. That way, you can turn up the thermostat and still be comfortable.
• Use fans. Air vents never seem to be located where they're blowing directly on you, so use a fan to pull the air from the vents to wherever you are, making you feel cool without turning down the thermostat. Remember, however, to turn off fans when you leave a room. A fan that isn't blowing on anyone is wasting energy, not saving it.
• Learn to adapt. Intentionally set the thermostat a couple of degrees warmer than you like, then see if you can manage. If you can, adjust it further upward. While you may have been setting it at 72 degrees, you could find that 78 is acceptable.
• Control light to control heat. This means turn off heat-generating items in the house (lights, monitors), but it also means using dark curtains to block direct sunlight from coming in the house (and heating it up).
By reducing the amount of your home you are cooling, learning to accept warmer temperatures and taking steps that allow you to produce and direct the cool air efficiently, you can save hundreds over the course of a hot summer.
That's money you can spend on something else, like a vacation somewhere cool.
Energy Efficient Home Can Help You Save Your Hard-Earned Money
For all those who are in the market to build their dream home, it is best to purchase the energy efficient products. You as a homeowner first need to measure the size of your home before taking any step in this regard. Obviously, you will have to regret in future if your household project was not designed with efficiency in mind. There are various places where you might install the products that may increase your monthly expenses. For example, the installation of such products like a well thought out HVAC system and correct windows can help you a lot in saving your hard earned money. And, of course, an energy efficient home does not promise save your pocket, but it also helps lessen maintenance of your resident.
Installing a HVAC system can be a major concern for those who are really serious about building an energy efficient home. It can benefit the homeowners in many ways. First, it can be quite beneficial to save your money. This system works only when there is a need to run. It means that you can leave the system on by setting up a constant temperature. It helps keep the temperature of your home constant without running your electricity units continuously. The more clean air you have, the better environment you will feel in your home. For this purpose, most of the home builders use advanced units that are really helpful in protecting the household projects from mold and dust particles. And, as a result, you get a home equipped with a safe and fresh air. An experienced builder primarily focuses on using the right types of insulation.
Maintenance is always required to keep the home in a good condition. Obviously, it is really impossible to ignore its importance anymore. People who build highly efficient homes know how the usage of right products and materials can make a big difference in lessening the maintenance upkeep. It means that the installation of energy efficient products can save your time that you might spend on the maintenance of your home.
Being a member of the green movement, you always tend to involve yourself in the building of a green or energy efficient home. If you succeed in saving the power and water to some extent, then you will definitely benefit the environment in many ways. This is important to implement since it helps you a lot in keeping your environment clean and tidy.
Important Reasons to Have a Home Energy Check Up
Are you aware of how important and beneficial a home energy check up can be? Let me tell you indeed how significantly it can help you to save on your energy bills.
The home energy check up is an evaluation of your home that you can do either by yourself or by hiring a professional to do it. This evaluation is really important when you are trying to saving energy as it helps you determine the exact areas your home that can be improved and made more energy efficient.
In order to make the check up as effective as possible it is best completed when your whole family is present. They all need to understand and be a part of implementing the changes that need to happen. If you have younger kids it is your responsibility to help them value the energy used around the house and therefore learn to use it wisely and efficiently.
Today more and more people want to save energy around their house but they want to do it their way. Unfortunately only a few of them actually take advantage of the resources and tools available to them. Some of those are the home energy check up, the home energy yardstick and government incentives, as well as many others.
As a family unfortunately your individual efforts may be offset by another member of the family's irresponsible actions. That is why everyone in your household must be a part of the check up and work together to implement the changes.
Here are 5 basic energy saving techniques:
• To switch off lights when you're not in the room is an easy energy conserving technique, yet not many people take advantage of it.
• Turn off your electronics instead of letting them sit on standby. You may assume that standby has the same energy saving potential to switching the item off but that's simply not true. The truth is that a TV on standby still consumes around 60% of the energy it uses while it is on. Off uses no energy.
• Use the new energy efficient light bulbs. These light bulbs have a number of advantages over the typical incandescent bulbs. They last 10 times longer, consume 25% less energy, and produce a brighter, whiter light. They operate cool which means they don't waste energy in the form of heat.
• Improve the exterior of your home. Get rid of all sources of drafts of cold air coming into your home by eliminating any cracks and holes, this can save a lot of energy. You can do this with caulking or spray foam and weather stripping.
• Use the sun's natural heat to help heat your home. You can do this by opening your window curtains during day time and closing them at sunset. This allows your home to gain daytime heat from the sun and keep it in during the night.
Saving energy at home is not that difficult to do, yet many people are still not taking advantage of these common sense ideas that can save them money. There could be many more reasons that you need to know about your home that would make a home energy check up worth your efforts.
By completing a home energy check up you will know what you need to do to improve your home's energy efficiency. That along with the list above will allow you to make the changes necessary around your home. It is important that you realize that it is dependent on you to do the work.
General Information On Solar Powers
For obvious reasons, most people are pretty sure that they want to switch to solar powers. One of these obvious reasons is the cost of electricity which is very high, so they are interested in saving money, and the second reason is the health of the environment and their desire to think and act green. You should know that switching to solar powers is not as complicated and it may seem at the beginning.
There are two main ways to switch to solar powers. The first one is to go and get a professional, that will do all the work, such as calculating, building and installing the system. This option is very efficient and smooth, but also very expensive for most people. The second solution is to DIY, meaning, to build the system on your own. It is not so complicated, since there are many guides that will give you all the information. In the following paragraphs you will find some useful recommendations.
One known fact in the solar powers field is that the cost of the solar system installation will be reduced if your energy consumption is low. So, if you are looking to reduce the cost of installation of the solar system, you need to lower your electricity use first. The ways to do that are many, such as changing all the bulbs to LCD bulbs, and check all electrical instruments for their consumption of power.
So, if you were able to reduce your consumption, and now it is stable, you are going to make some calculations. You need to calculate the amount of energy you will consume from the solar system. They way it should be done is to take all the electrical instruments you have at home, and find their power consumption, and then multiply it by the hours per day that you use them. Now you can define how many panels you should install.
Now you can start building the system, after you calculated how many s0lar panels you need. A good recommendation is to remain connected to the grid, since you will need to have a backup for your new solar powers system.
Don't forget to call a professional electrician to come and do the wiring between the new system and your home. It is the safest and correct way to finish this project, and you will be able to be sure that everything regarding the system is working well and safe.
Tips to Converting Your Home Into One of the Most Energy Efficient Off Grid Homes
Due to the steadily deteriorating world economy, more and more homeowners are thinking of converting their homes into one of those off grid homes that is energy efficient and environmentally friendly as well. If you were trying to do this project a decade ago, it would be a mountain of a project. Luckily, the advancements of the technology that is involved with solar and wind energy production has made it possible for your average homeowner with a modest income to convert his own home into an energy efficient off the grid household. The materials as well as the tools that make building an off grid power system possible are now relatively cheaper and more available.
Such types of power systems take full advantage of the renewable or sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar to convert into consumable electricity. Semi off the grid households take advantage of wind or solar power to help minimize their electricity bills, while homes which are fully off the power grid completely eliminates the dependence on electricity derived from fossil fuels and other sources that is considered harmful to the environment. You not only consume free electricity, you are helping preserve the integrity of the environment as well. But in order for this to work, you need to consider significant changes in how your home consumes energy. Just because it is free and sustainable, does not mean that you go on with your wasteful ways in terms of electricity consumption.
First off, before you start this project of yours, you may want to consider talking to homeowners who are more experienced with off the grid living. Friends or neighbors who are living in an off the grid home can provide you with helpful insights on how to go about converting your home into an off the grid home. Perhaps you can ask them how to significantly minimize or reduce your energy consumption so that your household can be more energy efficient. By talking to such homeowners, you can even learn about the types of solar panels or wind turbines as well as the advantages and the disadvantages of such alternative power sources. Talk to them about the potential risks and the benefits of switching to renewable energy.
Before you start with your project, you need to have an accurate plan on how you will convert your home into an energy efficient off the grid home. If you are more of an old fashioned guy, you can go to your local library and do a research on the different ways you can switch to renewable energy sources. However, if you would prefer, the Internet can be a great source for information regarding solar or wind powered home plans and how to go about it. Finally, if you wish to be successful in converting your energy guzzling home into one of those energy efficient and eco friendly off grid homes, then you must learn everything you can about wind and solar energy. The type of energy source you choose will depend on the location of your home.
• Tune it up. Those television and radio ads suggesting you get your air conditioning unit checked at the beginning of each season aren't just trying to drum up business. Your air conditioner will perform at its best and therefore use less energy if it's well maintained.
• Change the filter. In most cases, changing the filter every month is recommended, but check your manual and with your service contractor to make sure that's best. Clean filters allow air to flow into the machine more freely, and that helps the unit function better, saving you more money.
• Close off vents in unused rooms. There's no reason to send cold air into a guest bedroom if no one will be using it that day. Remove items that could be damaged by heat like electronic equipment and candles, then shut the door on the room until it's needed.
• Dress yourself for the heat. Don't wear long pants and heavy fabrics inside your home when temperatures are soaring outside. Instead, wear shorts and a t-shirt, for example, and don't put on your shoes or a cap unless you're going out. That way, you can turn up the thermostat and still be comfortable.
• Use fans. Air vents never seem to be located where they're blowing directly on you, so use a fan to pull the air from the vents to wherever you are, making you feel cool without turning down the thermostat. Remember, however, to turn off fans when you leave a room. A fan that isn't blowing on anyone is wasting energy, not saving it.
• Learn to adapt. Intentionally set the thermostat a couple of degrees warmer than you like, then see if you can manage. If you can, adjust it further upward. While you may have been setting it at 72 degrees, you could find that 78 is acceptable.
• Control light to control heat. This means turn off heat-generating items in the house (lights, monitors), but it also means using dark curtains to block direct sunlight from coming in the house (and heating it up).
By reducing the amount of your home you are cooling, learning to accept warmer temperatures and taking steps that allow you to produce and direct the cool air efficiently, you can save hundreds over the course of a hot summer.
That's money you can spend on something else, like a vacation somewhere cool.
Energy Efficient Home Can Help You Save Your Hard-Earned Money
For all those who are in the market to build their dream home, it is best to purchase the energy efficient products. You as a homeowner first need to measure the size of your home before taking any step in this regard. Obviously, you will have to regret in future if your household project was not designed with efficiency in mind. There are various places where you might install the products that may increase your monthly expenses. For example, the installation of such products like a well thought out HVAC system and correct windows can help you a lot in saving your hard earned money. And, of course, an energy efficient home does not promise save your pocket, but it also helps lessen maintenance of your resident.
Installing a HVAC system can be a major concern for those who are really serious about building an energy efficient home. It can benefit the homeowners in many ways. First, it can be quite beneficial to save your money. This system works only when there is a need to run. It means that you can leave the system on by setting up a constant temperature. It helps keep the temperature of your home constant without running your electricity units continuously. The more clean air you have, the better environment you will feel in your home. For this purpose, most of the home builders use advanced units that are really helpful in protecting the household projects from mold and dust particles. And, as a result, you get a home equipped with a safe and fresh air. An experienced builder primarily focuses on using the right types of insulation.
Maintenance is always required to keep the home in a good condition. Obviously, it is really impossible to ignore its importance anymore. People who build highly efficient homes know how the usage of right products and materials can make a big difference in lessening the maintenance upkeep. It means that the installation of energy efficient products can save your time that you might spend on the maintenance of your home.
Being a member of the green movement, you always tend to involve yourself in the building of a green or energy efficient home. If you succeed in saving the power and water to some extent, then you will definitely benefit the environment in many ways. This is important to implement since it helps you a lot in keeping your environment clean and tidy.
Important Reasons to Have a Home Energy Check Up
Are you aware of how important and beneficial a home energy check up can be? Let me tell you indeed how significantly it can help you to save on your energy bills.
The home energy check up is an evaluation of your home that you can do either by yourself or by hiring a professional to do it. This evaluation is really important when you are trying to saving energy as it helps you determine the exact areas your home that can be improved and made more energy efficient.
In order to make the check up as effective as possible it is best completed when your whole family is present. They all need to understand and be a part of implementing the changes that need to happen. If you have younger kids it is your responsibility to help them value the energy used around the house and therefore learn to use it wisely and efficiently.
Today more and more people want to save energy around their house but they want to do it their way. Unfortunately only a few of them actually take advantage of the resources and tools available to them. Some of those are the home energy check up, the home energy yardstick and government incentives, as well as many others.
As a family unfortunately your individual efforts may be offset by another member of the family's irresponsible actions. That is why everyone in your household must be a part of the check up and work together to implement the changes.
Here are 5 basic energy saving techniques:
• To switch off lights when you're not in the room is an easy energy conserving technique, yet not many people take advantage of it.
• Turn off your electronics instead of letting them sit on standby. You may assume that standby has the same energy saving potential to switching the item off but that's simply not true. The truth is that a TV on standby still consumes around 60% of the energy it uses while it is on. Off uses no energy.
• Use the new energy efficient light bulbs. These light bulbs have a number of advantages over the typical incandescent bulbs. They last 10 times longer, consume 25% less energy, and produce a brighter, whiter light. They operate cool which means they don't waste energy in the form of heat.
• Improve the exterior of your home. Get rid of all sources of drafts of cold air coming into your home by eliminating any cracks and holes, this can save a lot of energy. You can do this with caulking or spray foam and weather stripping.
• Use the sun's natural heat to help heat your home. You can do this by opening your window curtains during day time and closing them at sunset. This allows your home to gain daytime heat from the sun and keep it in during the night.
Saving energy at home is not that difficult to do, yet many people are still not taking advantage of these common sense ideas that can save them money. There could be many more reasons that you need to know about your home that would make a home energy check up worth your efforts.
By completing a home energy check up you will know what you need to do to improve your home's energy efficiency. That along with the list above will allow you to make the changes necessary around your home. It is important that you realize that it is dependent on you to do the work.
General Information On Solar Powers
For obvious reasons, most people are pretty sure that they want to switch to solar powers. One of these obvious reasons is the cost of electricity which is very high, so they are interested in saving money, and the second reason is the health of the environment and their desire to think and act green. You should know that switching to solar powers is not as complicated and it may seem at the beginning.
There are two main ways to switch to solar powers. The first one is to go and get a professional, that will do all the work, such as calculating, building and installing the system. This option is very efficient and smooth, but also very expensive for most people. The second solution is to DIY, meaning, to build the system on your own. It is not so complicated, since there are many guides that will give you all the information. In the following paragraphs you will find some useful recommendations.
One known fact in the solar powers field is that the cost of the solar system installation will be reduced if your energy consumption is low. So, if you are looking to reduce the cost of installation of the solar system, you need to lower your electricity use first. The ways to do that are many, such as changing all the bulbs to LCD bulbs, and check all electrical instruments for their consumption of power.
So, if you were able to reduce your consumption, and now it is stable, you are going to make some calculations. You need to calculate the amount of energy you will consume from the solar system. They way it should be done is to take all the electrical instruments you have at home, and find their power consumption, and then multiply it by the hours per day that you use them. Now you can define how many panels you should install.
Now you can start building the system, after you calculated how many s0lar panels you need. A good recommendation is to remain connected to the grid, since you will need to have a backup for your new solar powers system.
Don't forget to call a professional electrician to come and do the wiring between the new system and your home. It is the safest and correct way to finish this project, and you will be able to be sure that everything regarding the system is working well and safe.
Tips to Converting Your Home Into One of the Most Energy Efficient Off Grid Homes
Due to the steadily deteriorating world economy, more and more homeowners are thinking of converting their homes into one of those off grid homes that is energy efficient and environmentally friendly as well. If you were trying to do this project a decade ago, it would be a mountain of a project. Luckily, the advancements of the technology that is involved with solar and wind energy production has made it possible for your average homeowner with a modest income to convert his own home into an energy efficient off the grid household. The materials as well as the tools that make building an off grid power system possible are now relatively cheaper and more available.
Such types of power systems take full advantage of the renewable or sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar to convert into consumable electricity. Semi off the grid households take advantage of wind or solar power to help minimize their electricity bills, while homes which are fully off the power grid completely eliminates the dependence on electricity derived from fossil fuels and other sources that is considered harmful to the environment. You not only consume free electricity, you are helping preserve the integrity of the environment as well. But in order for this to work, you need to consider significant changes in how your home consumes energy. Just because it is free and sustainable, does not mean that you go on with your wasteful ways in terms of electricity consumption.
First off, before you start this project of yours, you may want to consider talking to homeowners who are more experienced with off the grid living. Friends or neighbors who are living in an off the grid home can provide you with helpful insights on how to go about converting your home into an off the grid home. Perhaps you can ask them how to significantly minimize or reduce your energy consumption so that your household can be more energy efficient. By talking to such homeowners, you can even learn about the types of solar panels or wind turbines as well as the advantages and the disadvantages of such alternative power sources. Talk to them about the potential risks and the benefits of switching to renewable energy.
Before you start with your project, you need to have an accurate plan on how you will convert your home into an energy efficient off the grid home. If you are more of an old fashioned guy, you can go to your local library and do a research on the different ways you can switch to renewable energy sources. However, if you would prefer, the Internet can be a great source for information regarding solar or wind powered home plans and how to go about it. Finally, if you wish to be successful in converting your energy guzzling home into one of those energy efficient and eco friendly off grid homes, then you must learn everything you can about wind and solar energy. The type of energy source you choose will depend on the location of your home.
Wow! Wow! Wow!
I have been reviewing several green energy products lately and I have recently stumbled upon Tesla Secret. So I wanted to go ahead and give you my Tesla Secret review.
Now like I said, I’ve been reviewing lots of green energy products and I have never seen anything like Tesla Secret before.
If any of you have done any research on Nikola Tesla, you know that he is basically the father of modern electricity, and he received very little credit for this. Because of Tesla we have alternating current, he invented phosphorescent light bulbs, he researched what he called “radiant energy.” And, while he was not credited with inventing the radio, the first radio produced by Marconi, utilized 17 of Tesla’s patents.
Click here for Tesla Secret
And yet, through all of this, Nikola Tesla was viewed as a madman.
Now I don’t think any Tesla Secret review would be complete without a full look at the type of man Tesla was.
When Tesla was working with Westinghouse on developing and creating alternating current, he had signed a contract with Westinghouse in which he would receive a percentage of every kilowatt hour that was sold to Westinghouse’s customers. However, after Westinghouse had completed the facilities and generators and infrastructure which delivered power, Westinghouse was going bankrupt. Tesla, in an extreme act of kindness, tore up the contract, thus allowing Westinghouse to no longer be indebted to Tesla. This act cost Tesla millions of dollars, and, had the contract not been destroyed, he would have been set up financially for life.
However, Tesla went on and did a great deal of research into his radiant energy. His ultimate goal was to produce free energy for everyone. He even had a backer, by the name of J.P.Morgan, who was funding Tesla’s construction of Wardenclyffe Tower, which was to be the first commercial supplier of radiant energy. However, Morgan thought that Tesla was attempting to build a radio tower, and as soon as he got an inkling of an idea that Tesla was up to something else, he pulled all funding for the project. J.P.Morgan also had Telsa blacklisted amongst other financial backers, so that Tesla was never able to complete the Wardenclyffe Tower.
Why does this matter? Well, in my Tesla Secret review, I wanted to show you the type of man Nikola Tesla was. He was an incredible humanitarian, who also happened to be a genius, who also happened to be very misunderstood in his own time.
Tesla Secret details exactly how to construct Tesla’s radiant energy generator. And this is a very simple device to construct. It costs less that $100 to make, and runs day and night. The plans you get when you download this eBook include screenshots of Tesla’s actual patent papers, and you are taken step by step through the whole process. You are also provided with a full 100% money back guarantee, so there is really no risk.
These plans have been hidden from the public for a long time because they could put a lot of people out of business. When I decided to create this Tesla Secret review, I was literally overcome with excitement as I saw how easy it really was to produce energy that anyone can use anywhere. So I want to personally thank Tesla Secret for providing this information to all of us.
Okay, so that’s it, that is my Tesla Secret review. If you want more info…
Check out Tesla Secret Here
I have been reviewing several green energy products lately and I have recently stumbled upon Tesla Secret. So I wanted to go ahead and give you my Tesla Secret review.
Now like I said, I’ve been reviewing lots of green energy products and I have never seen anything like Tesla Secret before.
If any of you have done any research on Nikola Tesla, you know that he is basically the father of modern electricity, and he received very little credit for this. Because of Tesla we have alternating current, he invented phosphorescent light bulbs, he researched what he called “radiant energy.” And, while he was not credited with inventing the radio, the first radio produced by Marconi, utilized 17 of Tesla’s patents.
Click here for Tesla Secret
And yet, through all of this, Nikola Tesla was viewed as a madman.
Now I don’t think any Tesla Secret review would be complete without a full look at the type of man Tesla was.
When Tesla was working with Westinghouse on developing and creating alternating current, he had signed a contract with Westinghouse in which he would receive a percentage of every kilowatt hour that was sold to Westinghouse’s customers. However, after Westinghouse had completed the facilities and generators and infrastructure which delivered power, Westinghouse was going bankrupt. Tesla, in an extreme act of kindness, tore up the contract, thus allowing Westinghouse to no longer be indebted to Tesla. This act cost Tesla millions of dollars, and, had the contract not been destroyed, he would have been set up financially for life.
However, Tesla went on and did a great deal of research into his radiant energy. His ultimate goal was to produce free energy for everyone. He even had a backer, by the name of J.P.Morgan, who was funding Tesla’s construction of Wardenclyffe Tower, which was to be the first commercial supplier of radiant energy. However, Morgan thought that Tesla was attempting to build a radio tower, and as soon as he got an inkling of an idea that Tesla was up to something else, he pulled all funding for the project. J.P.Morgan also had Telsa blacklisted amongst other financial backers, so that Tesla was never able to complete the Wardenclyffe Tower.
Why does this matter? Well, in my Tesla Secret review, I wanted to show you the type of man Nikola Tesla was. He was an incredible humanitarian, who also happened to be a genius, who also happened to be very misunderstood in his own time.
Tesla Secret details exactly how to construct Tesla’s radiant energy generator. And this is a very simple device to construct. It costs less that $100 to make, and runs day and night. The plans you get when you download this eBook include screenshots of Tesla’s actual patent papers, and you are taken step by step through the whole process. You are also provided with a full 100% money back guarantee, so there is really no risk.
These plans have been hidden from the public for a long time because they could put a lot of people out of business. When I decided to create this Tesla Secret review, I was literally overcome with excitement as I saw how easy it really was to produce energy that anyone can use anywhere. So I want to personally thank Tesla Secret for providing this information to all of us.
Okay, so that’s it, that is my Tesla Secret review. If you want more info…
Check out Tesla Secret Here
A great way to get a cheap electricity bill is to generate your own.
Typically for a large scale power station to approach operational efficiency in computer models, steps must be taken to increase the electrical conductivity of the conductive substance. The heating of a gas to plasma or the addition of other easily ionizable substances like the salts of alkali metals accomplishes this increase in conductivity. In practice a number of issues must be considered in the implementation of a MHD generator: Generator efficiency, Economics, and Toxic byproducts. These issues are affected by the choice of one of the three MHD generator designs. These are the Faraday generator, the Hall generator, and the disc.
Faraday generator
The Faraday generator is named after the man who first looked for the effect in the Thames river (see history). A simple Faraday generator would consist of a wedge-shaped pipe or tube of some non-conductive material. When an electrically conductive fluid flows through the tube, in the presence of a significant perpendicular magnetic field, a charge is induced in the field, which can be drawn off as electrical power by placing the electrodes on the sides at 90 degree angles to the magnetic field.
There are limitations on the density and type of field used. The amount of power that can be extracted is proportional to the cross sectional area of the tube and the speed of the conductive flow. The conductive substance is also cooled and slowed by this process. MHD generators typically reduce the temperature of the conductive substance from plasma temperatures to just over 1000 °C.
The main practical problem of a Faraday generator is that differential voltages and currents in the fluid short through the electrodes on the sides of the duct. The most powerful waste is from the Hall effect current. This makes the Faraday duct very inefficient. Most further refinements of MHD generators have tried to solve this problem. The optimal magnetic field on duct-shaped MHD generators is a sort of saddle shape. To get this field, a large generator requires an extremely powerful magnet. Many research groups have tried to adapt superconducting magnets to this purpose, with varying success.
Hall generator
The most common answer is to use the Hall effect to create a current that flows with the fluid. The normal scheme is to place arrays of short, vertical electrodes on the sides of the duct. The first and last electrodes in the duct power the load. Each other electrode is shorted to an electrode on the opposite side of the duct. These shorts of the Faraday current induce a powerful magnetic field within the fluid, but in a chord of a circle at right angles to the Faraday current. This secondary, induced field makes current flow in a rainbow shape between the first and last electrodes.
Losses are less than a Faraday generator, and voltages are higher because there is less shorting of the final induced current. However, this design has problems because the speed of the material flow requires the middle electrodes to be offset to "catch" the Faraday currents. As the load varies, the fluid flow speed varies, misaligning the Faraday current with its intended electrodes, and making the generator's efficiency very sensitive to its load.
Disc generator
The third, currently most efficient answer is the Hall effect disc generator. This design currently holds the efficiency and energy density records for MHD generation. A disc generator has fluid flowing between the center of a disc, and a duct wrapped around the edge. The magnetic excitation field is made by a pair of circular Helmholtz coils above and below the disk. The Faraday currents flow in a perfect dead short around the periphery of the disk. The Hall effect currents flow between ring electrodes near the center and ring electrodes near the periphery.
Another significant advantage of this design is that the magnet is more efficient. First, it has simple parallel field lines. Second, because the fluid is processed in a disk, the magnet can be closer to the fluid, and magnetic field strengths increase as the 7th power of distance. Finally, the generator is compact for its power, so the magnet is also smaller. The resulting magnet uses a much smaller percentage of the generated power.
Generator efficiency
As of 1994, the 22% efficiency record for closed-cycle disc MHD generators was held by Tokyo Technical Institute. The peak enthalpy extraction in these experiments reached 30.2%. Typical open-cycle Hall & duct coal MHD generators are lower, near 17%. These efficiencies make MHD unattractive, by itself, for utility power generation, since conventional Rankine cycle power plants easily reach 40%.
However, the exhaust of an MHD generator burning fossil fuel is almost as hot as the flame of a conventional steam boiler. By routing its exhaust gases into a boiler to make steam, MHD and a steam Rankine cycle can convert fossil fuels into electricity with an estimated efficiency up to 60 percent, compared to the 40 percent of a typical coal plant.
A magnetohydrodynamic generator might also be heated by a Nuclear reactor (either fission or fusion). Reactors of this type operate at temperatures as high as 2000 °C. By pumping the reactor coolant into a magnetohydrodynamic generator before a traditional heat exchanger an estimated efficiency of 60 percent can be realised. One possible conductive coolant is the molten salt reactor's molten salt, since molten salts are electrically conductive.
MHD generators have also been proposed for a number of special situations. In submarines, low speed MHD generators using liquid metals would be nearly silent, eliminating a source of tell-tale mechanism noise. In spacecraft and unattended locations, low-speed metallic MHD generators have been proposed as highly reliable generators, linked to solar, nuclear or isotopic heat sources.
Economics
MHD generators have not been employed for large scale mass energy conversion because other techniques with comparable efficiency have a lower lifecycle investment cost. Advances in natural gas turbines achieved similar thermal efficiencies at lower costs, by having the turbine's exhaust drive a Rankine cycle steam plant. To get more electricity from coal, it is cheaper to simply add more low-temperature steam-generating capacity.
A coal-fueled MHD generator is a type of Brayton power cycle, similar to the power cycle of a combustion turbine. However, unlike the combustion turbine, there are no moving mechanical parts; the electrically conducting plasma provides the moving electrical conductor. The side walls and electrodes merely withstand the pressure within, while the anode and cathode conductors collect the electricity that is generated. All Brayton cycles are heat engines. Ideal Brayton cycles also have an ideal efficiency equal to ideal Carnot cycle efficiency. Thus, the potential for high energy efficiency from an MHD generator. All Brayton cycles have higher potential for efficiency the higher the firing temperature. While a combustion turbine is limited in maximum temperature by the strength of its air/water or steam-cooled rotating airfoils; there are no rotating parts in an open-cycle MHD generator. This upper bound in temperature limits the energy efficiency in combustion turbines. The upper bound on Brayton cycle temperature for an MHD generator is not limited, so inherently an MHD generator has a higher potential capability for energy efficiency.
The temperatures at which linear coal-fueled MHD generators can operate are limited by factors that include:
However, no testing at those aggressive conditions or size has yet occurred, and there are no large MHD generators now under test. There is simply an inadequate reliability track record to provide confidence in a commercial coal-fueled MHD design.
U25B MHD testing in Russia using natural gas as fuel used a superconducting magnet, and had an output of 1.4 megawatts. A coal-fired MHD generator series of tests funded by the U.S. Department of Energy in 1992 produced MHD power from a larger superconducting magnet at the Component Development and Integration Facility (CDIF) in Butte, Montana. None of these tests were conducted for long-enough durations to verify the commercial durability of the technology. Neither of the test facilities were in large-enough scale for a commercial unit.
Superconducting magnets are used in the larger MHD generators to eliminate one of the large parasitic losses: the power needed to energize the electromagnet. Superconducting magnets, once charged, consume no power, and can develop intense magnetic fields 4 teslas and higher. The only parasitic load for the magnets are to maintain refrigeration, and to make up the small losses for the non-supercritical connections.
Because of the high temperatures, the non-conducting walls of the channel must be constructed from an exceedingly heat-resistant substance such as yttrium oxide or zirconium dioxide to retard oxidation. Similarly, the electrodes must be both conductive and heat-resistant at high temperatures. AVCO's coal-fueled MHD generator at the CDIF with tests of water-cooled copper electrodes capped with platinum, tungsten, stainless steel, and electrically conducting ceramics.
Toxic byproducts
MHD reduces overall production of hazardous fossil fuel wastes because it increases plant efficiency. In MHD coal plants, the patented commercial "Econoseed" process developed by the U.S. (see below) recycles potassium ionization seed from the fly ash captured by the stack-gas scrubber. However, this equipment is an additional expense. If molten metal is the armature fluid of an MHD generator, care must be taken with the coolant of the electromagnetics and channel. The alkali metals commonly used as MHD fluids react violently with water. Also, the chemical byproducts of heated, electrified alkali metals and channel ceramics may be poisonous and environmentally persistent.
Typically for a large scale power station to approach operational efficiency in computer models, steps must be taken to increase the electrical conductivity of the conductive substance. The heating of a gas to plasma or the addition of other easily ionizable substances like the salts of alkali metals accomplishes this increase in conductivity. In practice a number of issues must be considered in the implementation of a MHD generator: Generator efficiency, Economics, and Toxic byproducts. These issues are affected by the choice of one of the three MHD generator designs. These are the Faraday generator, the Hall generator, and the disc.
Faraday generator
The Faraday generator is named after the man who first looked for the effect in the Thames river (see history). A simple Faraday generator would consist of a wedge-shaped pipe or tube of some non-conductive material. When an electrically conductive fluid flows through the tube, in the presence of a significant perpendicular magnetic field, a charge is induced in the field, which can be drawn off as electrical power by placing the electrodes on the sides at 90 degree angles to the magnetic field.
There are limitations on the density and type of field used. The amount of power that can be extracted is proportional to the cross sectional area of the tube and the speed of the conductive flow. The conductive substance is also cooled and slowed by this process. MHD generators typically reduce the temperature of the conductive substance from plasma temperatures to just over 1000 °C.
The main practical problem of a Faraday generator is that differential voltages and currents in the fluid short through the electrodes on the sides of the duct. The most powerful waste is from the Hall effect current. This makes the Faraday duct very inefficient. Most further refinements of MHD generators have tried to solve this problem. The optimal magnetic field on duct-shaped MHD generators is a sort of saddle shape. To get this field, a large generator requires an extremely powerful magnet. Many research groups have tried to adapt superconducting magnets to this purpose, with varying success.
Hall generator
The most common answer is to use the Hall effect to create a current that flows with the fluid. The normal scheme is to place arrays of short, vertical electrodes on the sides of the duct. The first and last electrodes in the duct power the load. Each other electrode is shorted to an electrode on the opposite side of the duct. These shorts of the Faraday current induce a powerful magnetic field within the fluid, but in a chord of a circle at right angles to the Faraday current. This secondary, induced field makes current flow in a rainbow shape between the first and last electrodes.
Losses are less than a Faraday generator, and voltages are higher because there is less shorting of the final induced current. However, this design has problems because the speed of the material flow requires the middle electrodes to be offset to "catch" the Faraday currents. As the load varies, the fluid flow speed varies, misaligning the Faraday current with its intended electrodes, and making the generator's efficiency very sensitive to its load.
Disc generator
The third, currently most efficient answer is the Hall effect disc generator. This design currently holds the efficiency and energy density records for MHD generation. A disc generator has fluid flowing between the center of a disc, and a duct wrapped around the edge. The magnetic excitation field is made by a pair of circular Helmholtz coils above and below the disk. The Faraday currents flow in a perfect dead short around the periphery of the disk. The Hall effect currents flow between ring electrodes near the center and ring electrodes near the periphery.
Another significant advantage of this design is that the magnet is more efficient. First, it has simple parallel field lines. Second, because the fluid is processed in a disk, the magnet can be closer to the fluid, and magnetic field strengths increase as the 7th power of distance. Finally, the generator is compact for its power, so the magnet is also smaller. The resulting magnet uses a much smaller percentage of the generated power.
Generator efficiency
As of 1994, the 22% efficiency record for closed-cycle disc MHD generators was held by Tokyo Technical Institute. The peak enthalpy extraction in these experiments reached 30.2%. Typical open-cycle Hall & duct coal MHD generators are lower, near 17%. These efficiencies make MHD unattractive, by itself, for utility power generation, since conventional Rankine cycle power plants easily reach 40%.
However, the exhaust of an MHD generator burning fossil fuel is almost as hot as the flame of a conventional steam boiler. By routing its exhaust gases into a boiler to make steam, MHD and a steam Rankine cycle can convert fossil fuels into electricity with an estimated efficiency up to 60 percent, compared to the 40 percent of a typical coal plant.
A magnetohydrodynamic generator might also be heated by a Nuclear reactor (either fission or fusion). Reactors of this type operate at temperatures as high as 2000 °C. By pumping the reactor coolant into a magnetohydrodynamic generator before a traditional heat exchanger an estimated efficiency of 60 percent can be realised. One possible conductive coolant is the molten salt reactor's molten salt, since molten salts are electrically conductive.
MHD generators have also been proposed for a number of special situations. In submarines, low speed MHD generators using liquid metals would be nearly silent, eliminating a source of tell-tale mechanism noise. In spacecraft and unattended locations, low-speed metallic MHD generators have been proposed as highly reliable generators, linked to solar, nuclear or isotopic heat sources.
Economics
MHD generators have not been employed for large scale mass energy conversion because other techniques with comparable efficiency have a lower lifecycle investment cost. Advances in natural gas turbines achieved similar thermal efficiencies at lower costs, by having the turbine's exhaust drive a Rankine cycle steam plant. To get more electricity from coal, it is cheaper to simply add more low-temperature steam-generating capacity.
A coal-fueled MHD generator is a type of Brayton power cycle, similar to the power cycle of a combustion turbine. However, unlike the combustion turbine, there are no moving mechanical parts; the electrically conducting plasma provides the moving electrical conductor. The side walls and electrodes merely withstand the pressure within, while the anode and cathode conductors collect the electricity that is generated. All Brayton cycles are heat engines. Ideal Brayton cycles also have an ideal efficiency equal to ideal Carnot cycle efficiency. Thus, the potential for high energy efficiency from an MHD generator. All Brayton cycles have higher potential for efficiency the higher the firing temperature. While a combustion turbine is limited in maximum temperature by the strength of its air/water or steam-cooled rotating airfoils; there are no rotating parts in an open-cycle MHD generator. This upper bound in temperature limits the energy efficiency in combustion turbines. The upper bound on Brayton cycle temperature for an MHD generator is not limited, so inherently an MHD generator has a higher potential capability for energy efficiency.
The temperatures at which linear coal-fueled MHD generators can operate are limited by factors that include:
- (a) the combustion fuel, oxidizer, and oxidizer preheat temperature which limit the maximum temperature of the cycle;
- (b) the ability to protect the sidewalls and electrodes from melting;
- (c) the ability to protect the electrodes from electrochemical attack from the hot slag coating the walls combined with the high current or arcs that impinge on the electrodes as they carry off the direct current from the plasma; and
- (d) by the capability of the electrical insulators between each electrode.
However, no testing at those aggressive conditions or size has yet occurred, and there are no large MHD generators now under test. There is simply an inadequate reliability track record to provide confidence in a commercial coal-fueled MHD design.
U25B MHD testing in Russia using natural gas as fuel used a superconducting magnet, and had an output of 1.4 megawatts. A coal-fired MHD generator series of tests funded by the U.S. Department of Energy in 1992 produced MHD power from a larger superconducting magnet at the Component Development and Integration Facility (CDIF) in Butte, Montana. None of these tests were conducted for long-enough durations to verify the commercial durability of the technology. Neither of the test facilities were in large-enough scale for a commercial unit.
Superconducting magnets are used in the larger MHD generators to eliminate one of the large parasitic losses: the power needed to energize the electromagnet. Superconducting magnets, once charged, consume no power, and can develop intense magnetic fields 4 teslas and higher. The only parasitic load for the magnets are to maintain refrigeration, and to make up the small losses for the non-supercritical connections.
Because of the high temperatures, the non-conducting walls of the channel must be constructed from an exceedingly heat-resistant substance such as yttrium oxide or zirconium dioxide to retard oxidation. Similarly, the electrodes must be both conductive and heat-resistant at high temperatures. AVCO's coal-fueled MHD generator at the CDIF with tests of water-cooled copper electrodes capped with platinum, tungsten, stainless steel, and electrically conducting ceramics.
Toxic byproducts
MHD reduces overall production of hazardous fossil fuel wastes because it increases plant efficiency. In MHD coal plants, the patented commercial "Econoseed" process developed by the U.S. (see below) recycles potassium ionization seed from the fly ash captured by the stack-gas scrubber. However, this equipment is an additional expense. If molten metal is the armature fluid of an MHD generator, care must be taken with the coolant of the electromagnetics and channel. The alkali metals commonly used as MHD fluids react violently with water. Also, the chemical byproducts of heated, electrified alkali metals and channel ceramics may be poisonous and environmentally persistent.
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