After reviewing some of the details of Honda’s experimental solar-power hydrogen refueling station in Torrance, CA and its fuel cell vehicle several questions concerning efficiency and practicality come to mind. It most be noted that solar and hydrogen don’t emit harmful byproducts such as carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide so both technologies […]
Entries from October 2007
Solar and Hydrogen: Energy Economics
October 31st, 2007 · 1 Comment
Tags: Hydrogen Energy · Energy Independence · Solar Efficiency · Hydrogen Economics · Specific Energy · Solar Energy Economics · Energy Density · Energy Security · Automobile Fuel Efficiency · Alternative Energy · Solar Energy · Fuel Efficiency · Carbon Emissions · CO2 Emissions · Fuel Costs · Energy Economics
Solar and Hydrogen Energy - where vehicle fuel efficiency is headed
October 17th, 2007 · 2 Comments
Despite efforts that have enabled the U.S. to limit its demand for oil, world oil demand is up significantly. Advances in technology such as solar energy and vehicle fuel cell could help the world reduce its dependence on oil.
Figure 1 Oil and Gold Prices
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the […]
Tags: Energy Security · Automobile Fuel Efficiency · Transportation Energy Economics · Oil Energy · Energy Independence · Hydrogen Energy · Biodiesel Energy · Fuel Cells · Hydrogen Economics · CO2 Emissions · Hydrocarbon Fuels · Alternative Energy · Solar Energy · Historic Energy · Energy Costs · Fuel Efficiency · Fuel Costs · Carbon Footprint · Carbon Emissions · Energy Economics
Economics of Solar Energy – price parity and efficiency: Are we there yet?
October 12th, 2007 · No Comments
With the Solar Decathlon is taking place in Washington DC today promoting commercially available solar energy technology and oil prices pushing to an all time high of $84/barrel, where are we in terms of cost parity with hydrocarbon fuels. Advances in solar energy technology, lower production costs, and rapidly rising oil costs […]
Tags: Energy Security · Oil Energy · Solar Efficiency · Semiconductor Band Gaps · Solar Energy Economics · Hydrocarbon Fuels · Fuel Costs · Solar Energy · Alternative Energy · Energy Costs · Fuel Efficiency · Solar Stocks
A small investment produces huge savings on your electric bill
October 9th, 2007 · No Comments
My September electric bill arrived the other day and I was interested in comparing my energy savings after swapping 60 and 100-watt light bulbs for Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL), as recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Our progress in migrating to solar and wind energy is moving slower than expected. […]
Tags: Fuel Costs · Carbon Footprint · Carbon Economics · CO2 Emissions · Carbon and Climate · Carbon Emissions · Energy Costs · Home Energy Economics · Coal Energy · Solar Energy · Wind Energy · Energy Economics
The DOE’s Change a Light, Change the World campaign misses the bigger point.
October 4th, 2007 · 1 Comment
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is quite correct in suggesting that if every household in the U.S. substituted a 100-watt standard light bulb for a Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFL), it would eliminate an amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent to one million automobiles. However, it is the bigger picture that matters, - […]
Tags: Carbon and Climate · Global Warming · Transportation Energy Economics · Automobile Fuel Efficiency · Energy Independence · Energy Security · Oil Energy · CO2 Emissions · Alternative Energy · Coal Energy · Fuel Efficiency · Carbon Emissions · Carbon Economics · Carbon Footprint · Energy Economics
With choices like Biodiesel and Ethanol, what’s the best fuel for your vehicle?
October 3rd, 2007 · No Comments
With the rapid growth in vehicle use around the world, it would be nice to know what are the most efficiency, economic, and least carbon emitting fuels. The number of motor vehicles on the road is increasing rapidly. The number of cars and trucks in China is up over 3,600 percent in the […]
Tags: Automobile Fuel Efficiency · Energy Security · Transportation Energy Economics · Ethanol Energy · Carbon and Climate · Energy Independence · Hydrogen Energy · Biodiesel Energy · Energy Density · Specific Energy · Fuel Cells · Natural Gas Energy · Propane Energy · Fuel Efficiency · Alternative Energy · Wind Energy · Solar Energy · Carbon Emissions · Carbon Footprint · Oil Energy · CO2 Emissions · Carbon Economics · Hydrocarbon Fuels · Energy Economics
What’s Pushing Solar Energy Efficiency?
October 1st, 2007 · 1 Comment
From our post last week we visited some research at California Institute of Technology’s division of Chemical and Chemical Engineering The Lewis Group and its focus on energy conversion and trade-offs between costs and efficiencies for photovoltaic (PV) devices.
We are providing a brief and very oversimplified analysis of the physics behind […]
Tags: Solar Efficiency · Semiconductor Band Gaps · Energy Security · Energy Costs · Solar Energy · Alternative Energy · Energy Economics
