22 Comments
- MercFox1, on 08/22/2008, -1/+4It's called co-generation.
Only one problem with it: Co-generation plants usually have to be very close to what they're heating and powering, or else the efficiency gain from harnessing the waste heat is lost during transportation as the heated air cools off, unless you want to spend lots of money on superinsulated piping.
I think Digg's a little slow on this one. Edison had the first recycled energy plant in 1882. - mrgodai, on 08/22/2008, -0/+2This sounds like a great tech for hybrid cars to get more MPG
- inactive, on 08/22/2008, -0/+2Next week we'll have another alternative fuel of the future....Sand.
- maximilen, on 08/22/2008, -2/+4Exactly. Harnessing pre-existing wasted energy is just as important as pursuing new renewable energy sources (if it makes economic sense of course, which it seems to be now).
- brettg102, on 08/22/2008, -0/+1...sometimes the stupidity, or ignorance more likely, of the internet absolutely stumps me. Read about co-generation in a Rankine Cycle...it's been around, well, since power generation has.
- itspuddingtime, on 08/22/2008, -0/+1to a point, you're right, but it's going to be impossible to recover ALL the energy put into the car's motion, and the energy output will never exceed the input.
- inactive, on 08/22/2008, -0/+1Apparently, everyone is a buried expert on Digg.
- stealthc, on 08/22/2008, -0/+1Can they harness the heat from the mouths of FOX News commentators?
- solboldi, on 08/22/2008, -0/+1Ok...but isn't it often still coal-based? Solar baby..that's the way to go.
- chumprock, on 08/22/2008, -0/+1Yes, and kick boxing is the sport of the future...
- sHockz, on 08/22/2008, -0/+1my point is that there are many ways to harness electricity and that we shouldnt just limit ourselves to just using one technology...if piggy backing multiple inputs creates a totally self sustained car, why wouldnt you design it? even if it cost $50,000 to get to the consumer, if there was no gasoline usage...im sure people would FLOCK to it. the prius isnt cheap...30k+ and people are re-selling them as soon as they drive them off the lot for more than they bought them for because the lines to buy them are so long.
also, i dont see a problem with mechanics having to learn a totally new car...it even opens up a new job market. im just saying....we have the technologies, why not try? - stonewall123, on 09/02/2008, -0/+1Small microturbines would work really well here. Capstone turbines are maintenance-free and are being used to drastically improve miles per gallon in hybrid buses as well as to generate offsite energy in a wide range of businesses. This would be a perfect place to install one of these.
- serif69, on 08/22/2008, -0/+1All of North Jersey just simultaneously pumped their fists and said "*****' a right".
- sHockz, on 08/22/2008, -1/+1so if you design a car with:
solar roof/hood/trunk
alternators that spin w/ the axels when coasting
air generated electricity with fans mounted on the front
and the heating element electricity this article talks about taken from the brake pads/rotors
dont you think you might be able to at least keep your car pretty damn charged at all points in time? I mean, if it is constantly generating electricity....meh, who knows. just thinking out loud > - inactive, on 08/22/2008, -1/+1Electrothermal devices such as these degrade over time...
In a few years after being installed, they will put out around %80 of what they put out when new. - inactive, on 08/22/2008, -0/+0I think we forget this breeds a whole new machine with all these components to it.
What will happen if something breaks on this. I just feel like it is too much technology to throw in a car too quickly. Any Mechanic is going to say.. "ahh.. what?"
Also, I can't say either way if and when it will work, but still, will it make any economic sense?
Granted, I don't shop at walmart because its crap and instead would prefer to spend more money on my groceries at a grocery store and clothes at a department store. - dubP, on 08/22/2008, -0/+0They already recycle exhaust heat, its called combined cycle.
- rynvndrp, on 08/22/2008, -0/+0Its called being second efficient. Not second as in a second efficiency after the first, but efficient in terms of the second law of thermodynamics. Second efficient is eliminating entropy increases where ever possible. Example: You can have a water heater and air duct fan next to each other in a room. Lets say the water heater has perfect insulation and loses no heat to the environment. Lets say theres a Carnot engine that runs the fan. Thinking in only one control volume for each, the system is maxed out in efficiency. However if you use the heat from the Carnot engine to heat water its more efficient. Its less first efficient if you look at just the water heaters as you use more fuel to run a Carnot engine than the heat you get out, but then you get to run the fan with better than Carnot efficiencies. The biggest problem is incorporating system engineering into device engineering.
- arzthaus, on 08/22/2008, -0/+0inefficient? yes. fuel of the future? no
- BryanJK, on 08/22/2008, -1/+1it might help, but if you want to get a lot of energy with this technology it will cause resistance when the car try's to move forward, causing inefficiency to an extent
- CAD420, on 08/22/2008, -10/+5112 diggs and not a single comment?? WTF?
- inactive, on 08/22/2008, -8/+1Queefs: Fuel of The Future?



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