by Ethan Johnson
May 23, 2008

Pop quiz. What's this?

Of course, it is a flashlight. If you've seen one, you've seen them all.

What's this?

For many years, this was a punchline. Now, it's a tangible, practical example of the future of power generation and consumption.

Whaaaat?

I'm no engineer, and I am decidedly out of my depth even broaching this topic, but I'm going to claim Pundit's Privilege (I'd rather be heard than right) and blather on anyway.

For a long time, electricity, along with other energy sources has been subject to what I'll call a distributed model of production and consumption. The electricity is produced somewhere (usually a power plant of some sort) and a network of cables and whatnot carries it to your home, for example. In turn, you pay the electric company for your monthly consumption.

The aforementioned solar flashlight, on the other hand - or is that "in"? - is effectively self-contained. The solar cell charges 3 rechargeable AA batteries, which in turn allows for up to 7 hours of continuous use between charges. While this may seem trivial, an initiative called the BOGO Light (www.bogolight.com) is providing much-needed light where a distributed model of energy production/consumption is difficult to implement or maintain. The enticement, besides being a Kool Kid who owns a solar-powered flashlight, is that for every light you buy, one gets sent to a place of your choosing: Africa (my choice), Iraq, Afghanistan, and so forth. Check the site for more details.

Now: I mention this not only to show off my BOGO Light, but to talk a bit about the future of power generation and consumption. The news is full of stories about the price of crude oil, concerns about Peak Oil and Climate Change/Global Warming. I think Oil is a dead-end. Necessarily so, as it is a finite resource. The sooner a replacement energy source/strategy can be developed, the better. I think we as energy consumers can not only influence that strategy, but assume a leadership role.

Whaaaaat?

Whether this is perception or reality, "consumers" either are relegated to a position of waiting around for the Next Big Thing, or opt to adopt the Next Big Thing in due time. The forced conversion from analog TV signals to digital in the US is an example. Perhaps one day the forced adoption of hybrid-fuel vehicles will be in play. Those who have adopted the New Thing in advance of any mandate can rest easy, while others come to terms with the change.

As I survey the energy landscape here in Texas, one thing that bothers me is that "alternative" or "green" energy really isn't taking off as much as I'd hoped. Considering how much sunlight falls on North Texas, there aren't many good excuses for not building solar panels into new construction. Or so I thought. Officially, solar panels are not automatically included in new construction because Texas doesn't offer any sort of incentive to do so. That is, no incentive for the builder. The future homeowner may beg to differ.

I have been mulling over what I will tentatively call "Power Plus". In short, typically we in the US engage in what I'll call one-off behavior. We drive our cars. We run our air conditioners/furnaces. We cook meals on the stove.

However, each of these activities involves the consumption of energy, which must in turn be replenished. We have to gas up the car, pipe in more electricity, or more natural gas. Depending on how these fuel sources are being produces, not only are market forces a factor (high prices), but the eventual exhaustion of the fuel source is a possibility. What we as consumers do not do is find a way to turn the consumption of energy into an opportunity to simultaneously produce it.

Whaaaaat?

Here is a simple example: If I were to mount a solar panel to the roof of my minivan, I could in turn charge a battery while I'm driving around - or even leaving it parked in the open air somewhere. In turn, I could use that battery to power something else "off the grid", which reduces reliance on an energy provider by that many kilowatts. It may sound trivial, but behold my latest acquisition:

This sucker will run various electrical items for up to 50 hours on a single charge. May sound pointless, but: Every summer we're sure to have a power outage that lasts several hours. Usually during peak heat. And every summer I kept threatening to buy one of these units, and never did. That day has arrived. Next power outage, we can run an electric fan for roughly 25 hours. Most outages have top-ended at 6 hours. 6 long, stagnant, oh-my-God-kill-me-now hours.

Ideally, I'd like to rig up a solar recharging system that keeps this unit entirely off the grid and at the ready. This unit has the added benefit of acting as a car battery jump-starter and air compressor. Sweet. $100 on sale, if you're wondering. I could theoretically passively charge the unit from the van while it sits out in the driveway, or in a parking lot somewhere.

Here is another blown (no pun intended) opportunity:

We had some turbine fans installed on our roof while we got the roof patched. The heat from the attic makes the fans spin, which airs out the attic, reducing the temperature. I was skeptical at first, but they really do suck air out of the attic and our air conditioner turns off in the middle of the day on hot days. That's a huge money-saver. (In fact, as I type this, our A/C is set for 75F. Current temperature outdoors is 92F with a heat index of 99F. The A/C is OFF. That's HUGE.)

BUT, since these fans spin constantly (to my knowledge), they could be charging a battery or two. I'm no electrical engineer, but even a trickle charge from the spinning turbines beats not harnessing any energy. Right? Anyway, it seems like there's a missed opportunity there.

As for solar, it may not be cost-effective (yet) to retrofit a home with solar panels. BUT, how many panels does it take to power enough batteries that in turn can keep a refrigerator/freezer running during a power outage? It would reduce food spoilage, and therefore unnecessary demand. Failing that, what if the TV/entertainment system was powered via solar panels/batteries? Yet another way to reduce demand and save that many kilowatt hours. Again, perhaps this is utterly untenable from a cost-effectiveness standpoint, but come on, if they can make a solar flashlight that costs under $20, we can think smarter about our energy consumption AND production.

Or you can wait around for the politicians and energy companies to decide what's next. <EM>

(More articles like this one may be found here.)