What's on the Horizon for Independent Energy

by Chuck Hall

Several companies are manufacturing hydrogen fuel cells that will eventually have the capacity to run both your home and your electric vehicle. Some of these companies are offering power stations that are now available on the market. The problem is that many of these cannot meet the demands of the average home. Not only that, but they operate on hydrogen that is made from natural gas. Natural gas isn’t a sustainable resource. While it is possible to split hydrogen from regular tap water, none of these companies is currently offering such a system. This is probably because with the current technology, the process of splitting hydrogen from water isn’t very efficient. This may change in the future as the technology progresses.

If an efficient way to manufacture hydrogen can be found, it could be the perfect energy source. The only by-product of hydrogen as a fuel is water. This water can then be converted back into hydrogen. The best way to do this would be to use free energy from the sun to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Although it takes about nine times more energy to split hydrogen from water than you get back by burning the resulting hydrogen, if you’re using sunlight to do it, does it really matter? So far, the government hasn’t found a way to tax sunlight, so it’s still a free commodity. Nine times zero is still zero, so using sunlight to manufacture hydrogen fuel is, to my mind, the way to go.

Another alternative source of home energy is a biodiesel generator. This works just like a regular diesel generator, except that it runs on renewable biodiesel fuel. You can get more product information on biodiesel generators from Powered Generators at: www.poweredgenerators.com/biodiesel-generators.html.

The drawbacks to using this as a primary source of power are similar to those of using a regular diesel generator: they can be noisy, require routine maintenance, and need a steady source of fuel. A more reasonable option for biodiesel generators would be to use them as an emergency backup for a solar, wind, or micro hydroelectric station.

Ultimately, the best way of achieving off-the-grid energy independence with a stand-alone system is probably by using a mixture of technologies in a combination that works for you. For example, you might use a hybrid solar and wind system with a battery storage unit, supplemented by a biodiesel generator for emergency situations. You can mix and match technologies in any way you choose. The more you diversify, the less you run the risk of your system going down when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.