•  panasonic aiming for battery-powered homes by 2011
•  battery breakthrough technology could power homes for pennies per kilowatt hour

we talk about battery-powered cars. why not battery-powered homes? these super batteries could even be fuel cells. it’s time to take innovation from the car to the home. it’s time. but, utility companies and government seem to conspire on discouraging homes to be off the grid.

but, as the u.s. power grid is already challenged, why not encourage houses to have the option to go off the grid during certain times of overload, when the house can subsist off the batter or fuel cell instead?

and as appliances get smarter, use less power, this surely seems possible today or in the next few years. the fuel cell or super battery that powers the home could get charged from the grid initially and/or through a combination of solar, wind, water, geothermal, natural gas and/or more.

the time is now, as millions every year go through more and more power outages due to severe weather. and, power outages can be quite harsh and even deadly in extreme heat or cold. as we become a wireless communication society with fewer and fewer landlines, why not evolve homes to have wireless electricity?

we have completed the net zero energy rehab of our 111-year-old historic folk-victorian home in ann arbor, mi. a net-zero energy home (also called zero energy home) is a home that produces as much or more energy than the occupants consume. this is accomplished by first reducing energy demand, typically by 60% – 70%, then meeting that demand by adding on-site renewable energy. we were inspired by the challenge of the late ray anderson, the founder of interface, inc., to create a society with zero environmental footprint.

we are now fulfilling our family’s goal to create a living building by rehabilitating a home that creates its own energy, creates zero waste and will be a restorative part of our community. in march 2011, we paid our last utility bill . . . ever. our home is believed to be the oldest home in america to achieve net zero energy. usa today honored the home as one of the “best green houses of 2010”

learn more at http://www.missionzerohouse.com

these wells greatly lower the cost of bringing steam turbines on line for geothermal energy. however west texas also has the advantage of great wind resources in the same regions as wells that have depth temperatures ranging in the 375 to near 500 deg f temperatures. by pumping water down these wells and producing steam turbine produced electricity can be economically has. now imagine that the water is pumped by high pressure wind pumps and as the “wet” steam at lower pressures is returned. this resource is augmented to higher pressure /higher heat stream through concentrated solar on it’s way to the turbines. since this is a recirculating system the water is then taken from it’s lower temperature/pressure state after the turbine in the collection vessels and pumped right back down the hot wells. in open bottom systems the oil and gas brought back to the surface through the return wells carrying steam may also be worth filtering out and collecting.

looking to the future, our vision for openei is to create an online, grassroots movement that not only fosters the sharing of knowledge within the community, but also disseminates that knowledge far and wide. as more and more people learn about the benefits of renewable energy—both to our planet as well as the bottom line—demand for its use will continue to grow, eventually outpacing the demand for other, less sustainable types of fuels and helping to reduce our global carbon footprint.

we realize that our vision is incredibly challenging, and thus we need as much community involvement as we can get. we are hoping that exposure of our project on pbs’s “planet forward earth day special” will help raise awareness and grow our community, ultimately generating the type of grassroots involvement this project needs to get off the ground and really have an impact.

the idea is to have a dual-power-type grid system.
xolargy is consultant group who specialise in alternative energy problem solving and design solutions studio.

these ideas are simply modifications through the use of solar and wind technology and creating hybrid designs from xolargy. meaning we are simply improving on existing common items and making them energy producing.

entry one
a dc home.
introducing the dc home, where all the appliances( majority) are dc powered. from plugs and outlets to lights and electronics. most portable products have to convert ac to dc anyway. in the conversation of alternative energy and design; there exist a inverter as part of what is called the balance of systems (bos). the bos system is in charge of converting the power generated from the sun from dc power to ac for home use. therefore by converting the home into dc power where there is a choice. it could run all the lights. in essence we getting rid off the need of an inverters. one must consider the significant investment of an inverter as they have a average life span of 7 to 10 years. if the whole residential house or small commercial building were to be designed as a dc powered home/structure, there would be no need for an inverter.

entry two
a solar city
using entry one’s argument. a city can be designed in the same way, pushing technology. the reason why “the power industry” chose ac over dc was because of the distance the power had to travel and the resistance to loosing any power while traveling these distances. meaning, ac power is a more practical solution, where the energy source is 100 miles away form the user.

therefore the idea is to create a city that generates its own power. whether it is ac power or dc power is irrelevant compared to the idea and the notion of a city producing its own power with alternative energy technology, e.g solar, geo-theremal, and wind. the city becomes the a source of power and it is the user.

let me give you a visual, have you seen the at&t commercial where there are roles of fabric dropping down from tall buildings?

entry three
solar building wraps.
if you live in la, or in other big cities you will see dinosaur big advertizements on buildings. there are images on a giant tarp which is both advertisement and a solar array. these are see through or translucent material.

entry four
solar advertisement box letters.
imagine a typical lit box letters or letter box, where we have installed a flexible thin strip of solar panels, along with re-chargeable batteries and led lights. the top of the metal box are solar panels. solar power box lights.

entry five
solar billboards.
solar power panels on top of bill boards.

entry six
solar tint and spandrel glass.
again with the advancement of solar technology we are designing a solar building tint. printable.
as well as suggesting custom solar panels for spandrel glass or (blacked out glass) all on glass buildings. notice all the black in this photo, this is the area in between the floors. imagine if they were all solar panels wired to provide electricity for the whole building.

solar hybrids
introducing the solar revolution.
the idea is create and re-shape the world using solar and wind.

intro to solar and wind.
solar: currently we are limited on how we “currently” design a solar array. it is usually limited by a two dimensional plane (2-d). meaning, it has to be installed on a roof top or land (i.e. building a pier free-standing structure to mount the solar panels). no matter how you see it; it is still a two dimensional structure.

so let me ask you this question. what “living thing” has evolved and advanced over the course of thousands of years to trap light? trees and vegetation. this is the core of our designs: to introduce three dimensional (3-d) designs.

entry seven
solar imitation vegetation. type 1 solar tree.
now for the trees and vegetation ideas are more complex. interesting enough my vision is not far from the sherwin-williams bees animated tv commercial. note the solar tree at the end. it
gives you the main idea.

entry eight
type 2 solar imitation palm tree.
if we see some of the beautifully palm lines streets in la and imagine the them solar panels hybrids.
but have you seen these imitation palms. they are cell towers.
using these imitation mono poles; we have designed a solar hybrid by applying thin cell technology. it is flexible and durable and wind tested.

entry nine
type 3 solar imitation conifer ( pine) tree.
similar to the palm design, this is a conifer, a 80 ft. imitation cell tower.

entry ten
type 4 solar imitation grass.
we are working with imitation grass manufactures to develop a the thin cell solar hybrid technology.

entry eleven
type 5 solar imitation landscape, including the solar xmas tree.
this holiday season, buy a pre-lit imitation tree instead of buying a real tree, which has been cut and will dry up in your home. buy one that you can use for years. and if you really want to go all the way. this smaller version of the solar imitation conifer ( pine) tree this is the xmas tree which can be used and placed out side your home or business campus as imitation power producing solar hybrid.

light is three dimensional. light is both a photon and a wave, meaning that light bends and by using these properties with the most recent advancements in thin cell research we have created a variety of solar hybrid designs utilizing thin cell technology. in essence, the solar technology has evolved.

please visit our web site, at xolargy the solar revolution.

wind: the same concept of constraints exist with conventional and current wind technology. we are limited because we choose to give incentive to large corporations instead of every household or installing these units on top of existing things like power poles. but by using the tube wind technology. we introduce the solar and wind street light power pole.

for example, everyone has see a typical power pole right?
we have designed a power pole where we installed a power generating wind turbine on top of this pole. imagine how many power poles there are in america? a wind turbine will generate electricity, day or night, whenever the wind blows. her are some for example:
1. helix wind turbine

2. everwindpower.com created a roof top demo: 10kw magnetically levitated vawt
3. pacwind.net made a huge one called the 500 watt vawt
4. we have the technology to create larger scale applications like this one along side this freeway, vertical axis wind turbine

wind technology can be used simultaneously with the above mentioned designed (type 2, and type 3).

entry twelve
well solar hybrid
the reforestation of america, reforestion of mother earth.
we must face the fact that there has to be a continual effort to replenish the very thing that allows us to breath oxygen. tress! we have developed large scale reforestation design project which will actually help with wild fires. let me explain. consider a 200 to 500 acre land in a valley. the design utilizes solar technology, entry nine type 3, the energy is used to pump water into a tank or man made lake. this new water source would be used as a fire deterrent against wild fires. nevertheless, the water in this storage tank would be used to irrigate the plants. this self sustained eco system is similar to system designs for farmers and the agriculture industry.

entry thirteen
solar window blinds.
the design of massive manufacturing of vertical or horizontal solar blinds hybrid applicable in residential but more efficiently in a tall commercial buildings. the solar blinds would all be wired to produce electricity back into the grid.
entry fourteen
team

utility a dc power grid- utility company
again recognizing that the movement is to introduce a dc power grid. every city should have one.: a dc web grid.

the dc grid is now more practical because the energy would be produced locally; where it is used. this is true sustainability and every city should at least be given a choice on how their energy is produced. this was the fundamental fight with pg&e sponsored california proposition 16 in the recent polls. it was defeated.

realizing that most portable personal devices and equipment run on dc powered including dc powered cars. this is the future, this is our future!

again, imagine a world where we no longer have to burn coal for power, no more “burning” period! we have to stop burning things; only then are we free.

in conclusion.

the fight between edison and tesla continues. is it ac or is it dc? that is not the true question, the question is will this technology be to help mankind and people in general or will it be used to help big companies and corporations? the idea is to first accept that the old thinking was in fact “big oil’s” way of thinking, i.e. making money.

we have to be cautious not to create a “death star” or a cybertron, an earth covered in foil, concrete and metal. this was the message of the recent movie avatar, the earth in this movie had no more trees, no more vegetation.

so there it is the $200 million dollar questions.
i will use this money to give this technology to the world.

the off gases from the sanitation of our wastewater can generate electricity and the sludge further composted or converted via microbes to enhance other components of the system. forests have regenerated themselves forever, why shouldn’t we? i am creating a small food and water generating system that can be dropped in the middle of a desert or buried underground that will create a closed loop regenerative waste to life system capable of sustaining life for humans where it would otherwise be impossible. the balance is the key to a truly sustainable, energy independent life that reduces carbon footprints and with the exception of taxes result in freedom from tyranny, foriegn oil or utility grid dependence.

remodels like what we are doing now will pay it self back in 4 yrs, earth berm has a long history of thousands of yrs. and is used in the north cold areas and the hot desert areas too. most of the planet has used it in the past and its not the type of construction that takes long or trained employees to build. earth berming does not have to look like the old idea of bermed houses. they can look like regular walls or southwest style, or red brick or the same as what we think stick housing is now! businesses can do it too as long as they have the space to. also if we just make the building codes so that they use steel studs in walls inside and outside this will slow the demand for lumber and save trees. we do not need cap and trade to get the same results if there is no demand for lumber they will cut loging lumber its about money here. if we can get other nations to do this too it will save our forrest. if we set the meat import amounts to the levels of today there is not as much reason to slash and burn forrest.

it makes far more sense to reduce demade for the use of the forrest than to tax and police them and destroy local tribes and ways of life to bring in roads and development for policeing them. this bull about hi teck is just marketing. why would one want to buy a solar system when the pay back now is 7 yrs to 9 yrs when earth berming is 4 yrs tops. if you already have an earth berm house and want solar that would make more sense to split the investment pay back time between the two for a better return on the investment.

as far as tax credits they are after the fact you have to spend it first to get it back if you have the taxable income. why not just exempt sales tax on earth berm remodel project materials. with just showing your building permit. that is front loading the project not back loading it. if we think out of the box this can go much further here. i am not that much into internet things. but i do have a lot of other ideas that would help us out. e mail me if you want and i will let you know how my project is going and if you are in northern az. you can visit and i will show you our alpaca ranch and earth berm project too. ron nyberg

why incrementally reduce carbon footprint when it is “simply” possible to completely eliminate carbon footprint?

simply understand, expand and harness two simple technologies…the magnifying glass and the prism.

1. look at two “practical applications” of focusing (“concentrating”) light energy with a magnifying glass:

any child with a magnifying glass can ignite fossil fuels (leaves, paper, or tinder for a camp fire).

any child with a magnifying glass can also boil a glass of water into steam.

expand this from child’s play into commercial application… perhaps innovative new technology can harness concentrated light energy to generate “high pressure steam”. it just may be practical to replace (fossil fuel or atomic energy) boiler technology that generates electricity at power plants around the world today!

“carbon footprint” is the result of burning fossil fuel… just breath smoke and fumes from burning leaves, paper and camp fires, or witness “particulate” belching from power plant chimneys… or catch a breath of poisonous gas from
combustion engine exhaust pipes. (additionally, “nuclear footprint”, (the side effect of atomic powered electric generating plants) is perhaps even more lethal… because spent “radioactive” fuel rods dangerously decay for “thousands of years”, while the threat of accidents or terrorism can become instantaneous global catastrophes.)

fossil fuel and atomic energy are simply “dirty”… and (for that reason alone) are effectively “obsolete”.

while it might as well be a “top secret” from the general public, innovative “energy beam” technology is just about available to power boilers generating steam at any terrestrial power station. “concentrating light”, or “energy beam” technology” is a new technology that simply has no carbon footprint, (and additionally, no atomic footprint!).

practical technology to boil water into steam (to turn turbines) to generate electricity is no longer absolutely dependent on fossil fuels or atomic energy.

2. harnessing light energy with a prism. (dispersion)

any child playing with a prism understands “dispersion”… visible light separates into the colors of the rainbow as it passes through the prism. (this is just the opposite of light energy “concentrating” at the focal point as it passes through a magnifying glass!)

these two unique, yet “interchangeable” and “complimentary” characteristics of light energy are already keys to harnessing energy in a multitude of common devices serving the world today.

just as the individual colors of the rainbow are identifiable because each color has its own unique “wave length” and “frequency”, each separate and individual type of energy outside the visible light spectrum has its own unique and individual “wave length” and “frequency”. it is as simple as choosing your favorite radio or television station, or the setting on your microwave oven.

solar energy (visible light waves from the sun), radio waves, television waves, microwaves, x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, sonar, radar, gamma rays, beta rays… every individual type of energy is simply a variation of “wave length” and “frequency” of energy.

modern technology already uses radio, television and microwave energy for communications across the earth with “dish antennas” to send and receive energy to and from satellites in orbit, and between dish towers for cell telephones.

interestingly, energy from the sun… contains every wave length and frequency of energy available to be harnessed by each “specialized” technology invented and currently available for practical applications in modern society.

it is not science fiction to state that mankind commands 21st century “space age” technology and resources today.

since mankind has access to “space age” technology… rockets, satellites and “dish antenna” for transmission of energy from place to place… it is possible to completely eliminate fossil fuel (and even atomic energy) to generate steam to turn turbines at electric power plants.

it is simply time to replace “obsolete boilers” generating electricity at power plants around the world today.

instead of boiling water with fossil or atomic energy, it is simply time to deploy in geostationary orbits new “energy beam” satellites at leo (low earth orbit) to:

1. “collect” solar energy 24/7.
2. “convert” solar energy into “microwave” energy.
3. using “dish technology”… “beam” microwave energy (from new “collecting and conversion” satellites) to new power plant “receiving dish” boilers to generate steam.

simply replace every fossil fuel and atomic energy boiler with a new microwave dish “energy beam” boiler… immediately eliminating power plant carbon (and atomic energy) footprint.

in fact, japan plans to test launch the first “energy beam” satellite technology in 2013 for satellites that will be designed to power 500,000 households per satellite. (this is not science fiction or idle speculation… test launch is only three years away.)

there are 110 million “electric utility” households across america… divide by 500,000 households per satellite:: 220 “energy beam” satellites could convert all fossil fuel and nuclear power plants across america… perhaps in only 6 to 8 years.

it does not take harry potter to wave his magic wand to eliminate global “carbon footprint”… a decade of transition to “energy beam” power plant technology can “really” get the job done.

“dare to be naive.” buckminster fuller