The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough?

The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough?

www.cbsnews.com

In the world of energy, the Holy Grail is a power source that's inexpensive and clean, with no emissions. Well over 100 start-ups in Silicon Valley are working on it, and one of them, Bloom Energy, is about to make public its invention: a little power plant-in-a-box they want to put literally in your backyard.

(visit the link for the full news article)



Related News Links:
news.google.com.au
news.google.com.au
news.google.co m.au
news.googl e.com.au

[edit on 21/2/2010 by serbsta]

Is this the future of energy consumption? Your own 'bloom box' will power your whole home. You can exist independently from any big energy companies. Sounds like its too good to be true? Well this is the future according to many experts and the media is scooping up anything and everything it can from Bloom Energy as their website leaves a lot of unanswered questions, so far.


More from another source:

The idea is that you can generate your own energy with the Bloom Box, wirelessly, and keep it your own backyard pretty much. The ultima idea is that one day it will replace the big power plants and transmission line grid,and make them obsolete. It is truly a remarkable idea to even imagine.

The Bloom Box Energy device has been in works for around a decade – and the way it currently looks, it might be the talk of the next decade.

With such a buzz being generated around this invention and the massive risk Bloom Energy and its Bloom Box poses to current big time energy providers, what are the chances that we will actually see this idea come to fruition?

Bloom Energy | Be the solution


www.cbsnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

It sounds too good to be true, but I'm keeping my eyes on it anyway... It soudns like they've already got the actual product done, and just need to mass produce or refine the technique or finish safety tests or something... I didn't look very hard, but does it say anywhere when they'll unveil it to the rest of us?

Edit: OH, I'm going to go ahead and guess "Two and a half days." Their website is mostly a counter.

[edit on 21-2-2010 by Solasis]

this is can be very useful during the time of societal collapse

reply to post by serbsta


What is the countdown clock on the website supposed to signify? Is this a countdown to an official release?

While I tend to remain cautious of things that feel to good to be true, I will be watching this development.

...I only hope the feds don't get involved and declare it "unsafe" or anything to that effect once the product is ready for a public unveiling.

In the link, it says you put oxygen in one side and "FUEL" in the other. Hmmm sound just like a fuel cell, so if he can't get much better efficiency or much better cost, he may as well get in line.

Lends new meaning to Bloom Where You're Planted.

Good! This is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial spirit we especially need at this time. If the US still wants to base their energy needs on existing technology, so be it, as something like the Bloom Box would offer other countries the chance to upgrade their lifestyles to accommodate growing energy needs, without competing with the US for energy on the world market.

Hell, yeah, get off the grid (or minimize it/personalize it) for new customers in India, Africa, China!

No more Shill, Baby, Shill or oil/gas wars. Well...at least humans can now think of another reason for warfare.

Sounds great. I hope it's true. I guess if 60 Minutes is doing a segment on it there has to be some truth to it.

I'll be keeping my eye on this.

Yes, yes, this is just another marketing term for a fuel cell which can save energy but it's no nuclear fusion or perpetual motion device. It's pretty much along the lines of solar power but using up less room.

These aren't the droids you're looking for. Move along, move along.

BTW it took me 30 seconds to wiki this and be disappointed as usual.

Originally posted by blerk
Yes, yes, this is just another marketing term for a fuel cell which can save energy but it's no nuclear fusion or perpetual motion device. It's pretty much along the lines of solar power but using up less room.

These aren't the droids you're looking for. Move along, move along.

BTW it took me 30 seconds to wiki this and be disappointed as usual.

But from the sounds of it, it's a very very efficient one. No pollution byproducts, they say.

i know this is a new topic but im shocked it hasnt garnished more attention yet

if deserves more attention

its sad a fun story like the 67 year old ebm gains notoriety much quicker then this will, and probably more attention overall more then this ever will

personally i know nothing of this technology other then what the cnn clip showed, but i know i will be looking into it, hopefully more info can be shared by the members here who may have more knowledge on the subject

The country at the forefront of clean energy will be the new leader in the World Economy. Those countries that develop and build these technologies on their soil and export it will be the richest ones.

I saw that 60 minutes and the Bloom does look promising. The EBAY guy said their units produce about 15% of the total campuses power at half the natural gas bill used to supply the fuel to the cell versus a conventional power plant producing the same electrical output.

The make or break as I gathered from the special was the cost of the units, how long they'll last and if they'll maintain their efficiency over time.

The creator on the show when asked how much he sees the units costing for the average household he says around $3000/house.

High winds, ice storm, hurricane. At least you'd have power as long as your house remains standing.

reply to post by UberL33t


To be quiet honest, I'm not really sure. Maybe a press release stating how they plan to sell these to the public?

reply to post by XL5

I'm aware that it isn't particularly new technology. But, for whatever reason Bloom seems to be getting a heck of a lot more attention than any other fuel-cell product I've seen.

reply to post by DEEZNUTZ

$3000 per household isn't that hefty of a pricetag when you key in how much money it could save you on energy costs over a period of time and how much more efficient these are over regular solar panels.

[edit on 21/2/2010 by serbsta]

reply to post by serbsta


This is a solid oxide fuel cell. It will use propane or natural gas and produce electricity directly. It's efficiency is almost 50%, which is better than a conventional power plant.
The big advantage is the simplifed manufacturing process and the fact that it doesn't use platinum or palladium. The questions to be answered are its operability and lifetime.
How long will it last? How will it eventually fail, i.e., slow decay or rapid, catastrophic failure? When everyone has one, where will the natural gas come from [55% of our power comes from coal; where will the gas come from to replace it?]? As we start using these, how will they be integrated with the existing grid? Will they be idiot-proof? This last applies to all distributed power that works at the individual scale. These things will be the lawyers' delight if they let them go into individual houses.

Bloom energy countdown

Originally posted by pteridine
reply to post by serbsta

 

This is a solid oxide fuel cell. It will use propane or natural gas and produce electricity directly. It's efficiency is almost 50%, which is better than a conventional power plant.
The big advantage is the simplifed manufacturing process and the fact that it doesn't use platinum or palladium. The questions to be answered are its operability and lifetime.
How long will it last? How will it eventually fail, i.e., slow decay or rapid, catastrophic failure? When everyone has one, where will the natural gas come from [55% of our power comes from coal; where will the gas come from to replace it?]? As we start using these, how will they be integrated with the existing grid? Will they be idiot-proof? This last applies to all distributed power that works at the individual scale. These things will be the lawyers' delight if they let them go into individual houses.

That is exactly what I am afraid of. Some over-hyped accident, or similar event leading to lawsuits or government intervention. I hate bureaucrats...

reply to post by serbsta


No I agree $3000/household isn't a huge price and would be well worth it if it produces reliable output at say even $40/month in Natural Gas or if you're in a remote are Propane.

Will have to keep a eye on this.

Here is how i foresee this working. This will be unaffordable by most everyone. The top 10% will buy one and start powering their homes while the rest of us stay on the grid. They will still power their businesses on the grid because of some law but their actual home bills will get lower. GWB wasn't kidding about companies being to big to fail....the power companies are among them.

reply to post by Shark_Feeder

One option that would prevent tinkerers from killing themselves and then suing the company into bankrupcy would be local distributed power stations. These would be like sub-stations and would power local houses and businesses. No moving parts in generation or power conditioning wold require a minimum of oversight and maintenance of the station, but the distribution network would be vulnerable to weather and other disaster. This would remove the burden from the homeowner of purchase but would not result in much lower costs.