dagblog - Comments for "In The World After Abundance"

Thanks for link. I like the

EmmaZahn — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:47:11 +0000

In reply to In The World After Abundance

Thanks for link. I like the idea of simple solar power like the passive heating advocated and for ventilation and cooling in updraft and downdraft towers as well. Solar towers can also be used to generate electricity by driving turbines but my most favorite idea to generate electricity from solar energy is using a parabola, a fresnel lens and a stirling engine:

http://youtu.be/A_AFnW1bZL8

Excellent blog Donal. The

cmaukonen — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 01:19:49 +0000

In reply to In The World After Abundance

Excellent blog Donal. The system we have today is a compromise of efficiency between transmission and it's use at the end point as designed by Nicoli Tesla. With losses in all the components along the way.

The end use can be made somewhat more efficient by better design however this would also require a change supplied voltage. Our current use of 120 volts for most (but not all) solid state equipment is needlessly inefficient. But changing this would add inefficiencies in other areas such as heating and cooking unless the energy used to perform those tasks is changed from electric to other sources such as gas.

Solid state devices them selves are not always that efficient in all applications either. Most efficient in saturated switching and least efficient in linear wave amplification being only marginally more efficient than the vacuum tubes they replace.

Any transformation from one voltage/current to another is inefficient as there will be magnetic losses along the way.

To quote the King of Siam, "Tis a puzzlement"

Thanks for this one, Donal. I

quinn esq — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:40:50 +0000

In reply to In The World After Abundance

Thanks for this one, Donal. I think he's wrong in a number of places, but his discussion of lower-tech was more useful than the critics who just say, "We have to reduce drastically."

For instance, when he suggests using solar for diffuse heat, that makes a good deal of sense. And I also liked the links to articles on direct mechanical power from bikes.