CAT can stop global warming

October 19, 2004

CAT can stop Global Warming

Currently Available Technology (CAT) is the latest thinking to stop global warming. Many experts have added up all the CAT and say “No pie-in-the-sky energy discoveries are needed to stop global warming”, just implement CAT and we can eliminate the need for the burning of fossil fuels. There will also be a boost in the economy when the import of foreign oil is eliminated.

Global warming is the slow temperature rise of our planet due to mans’ burning of fossil fuels. Nobody knows the eventual outcome. We can only model and speculate. So, what’s the worst that can happen? Well, this slow temperature rise is already killing off some species. Maybe the extinction of an unnoticed little plant or animal could cause a biological chain reaction that would cause the extinction of man. Or, perhaps this slow temperature rise will start to thaw the earths’ frozen methane and cause it to be released. Since methane is a super greenhouse gas, all the earths’ frozen methane would quickly be released in a chain reaction. This big jump in heat and methane would definitely extinguish life on earth. There is another chain reaction happening today. 8 years ago there was internet talk of carbon credits for growing trees. Trees are great at consuming CO2 and storing carbon. Unfortunately, with just a little temperature rise, more forests are ablaze. This is one chain reaction that has to be stopped, quickly.

Do a Google search of “thinking the unthinkable” and you will find a range of things from your computer crashing to burning in hell for an eternity. The extinction of man and many other innocent species is truly at the top of the unthinkables list.

Now is NOT the time for contemplating the odds of the unthinkable happening. Now is the time for ACTION.

Heat Exchangers NF Inc. (HENF) has developed several technologies that can help eliminate global warming. Rather than sit on these technologies for future use, HENF has decided to give them away for free. Probably not a good business decision but the alternative is unthinkable. HENF will continue to direct all its’ efforts to manufacturing and selling its’ main product, the shower smart faucet.

The following technologies are offered freely by HENF for others to use: Hopefully others will develop and deploy these technologies in a much more timely fashion 1. A Smart Control Switch for the electric hot water tank 2. A Vacuum Insulated electric hot water tank 3. Vacuum Insulated hot water pipe.

1. A Smart Control Switch for the Electric Hot Water Tank Articles have been written about using the battery of a plug-in hybrid as an energy storage device. This is a good idea but plug-in hybrids are scarce and their batteries are small and expensive. There is a much better solution. There exists today, a huge, untapped energy storage device. It is the residential, electric hot water tank.

HENF compared the electric hot water tank to the lead acid battery to calculate the “best buy” for storing energy. Sears sells both of these so their prices and warranties can be used in the comparison. The electric hot water tank is 20 times better than the lead acid battery when product price, product life and energy storage capacity are used in the calculation for storing energy.

The problem with the current electric hot water tank is that it is not smart. The heating elements turn on during expensive, peak power time and therefore the usable storage capacity is reduced. Adding a smart switch to the electric hot water tank maximizes usable energy storage and solves two big problems for the Power Company. The Power Company can then make wind and solar a bigger percentage of their generation capacity with these two problems solved.

The Power Companies’ #1 problem is peak power. Their daily power output curve has two big peaks and two big valleys. The big peaks are at 8:00am and at 5:00pm when everybody is showering, eating, washing dishes etc. If a Power Company has 1 million smart switches on electric hot water tanks they have 8,000 megawatt-hours of storage capacity. By using this storage capacity, the Power Company can wait until a valley before they heat all the water in the tank. This delay in turning on the heating elements takes the tops off the peaks and puts it into the valleys. The daily power output curve of the Power Company has now become a flat line. They no longer need maximum generating capacity to meet peak times.

The Power Companies’ #2 problem is balancing the electricity supply to equal the demand. When wind and solar generators are constantly coming on-line and going off-line, the Power Company must take fossil fuel generators off-line and on-line to balance the electricity flow to equal the demand. It is a delicate balance to bring one generator on-line and take another off-line. It is not as easy as just throwing a light switch. With the smart switch for the electric hot water tank, the Power Company can now also control demand. Turning on or off one million smart switches on electric hot water tanks is just as easy as throwing a light switch. Not all one million, at a time will be turned on or off but enough to balance a generator going off-line or coming on-line. One million smart switches on electric hot water tanks is equal to 3,500 megawatts of electricity flow.

HENF calls this switch “smart” but it is only smart because it is controllable from the central computer at the Power Company. The smart switch includes a high amp relay (either solid state or electro-mechanical) and communication chip. The cost of a smart switch is very reasonable. HENF has estimate that each switch, installed and remotely controlled would cost less than $20 each for 1,000,000 switches. This cost includes the switch, amortized R&D costs, the central computer at the Power Company and installation.

The smart switch is Currently Available Technology (CAT). Many companies have the technical ability to build the smart switch but Quebec Hydro is probably the best. They have done a lot of R&D in the area of communications over their power lines and they are presently, looking into supplying the internet over their power lines. It is very likely that Quebec Hydro already has off-the-shelf technology to build these switches and to set up the computer control to control thousands of hot water tanks, individually or in manageable groups

The smart switch will save the homeowner money because they will be using the less expensive, off-peak power to heat the water in their electric hot water tanks. The homeowner would be unaware that at times their tank is only half full of hot water because the central computer at the Power Company would anticipate their needs.

2. A Vacuum Insulated electric hot water tank

The Vacuum Insulated electric hot water tank is a double walled tank with a vacuum between the walls. Just think of it as a huge Thermos bottle. Heat can not travel through a vacuum by conduction or convection. Radiated heat can travel through a vacuum but the amount of radiated heat is negligible if the tanks’ walls are shiny. A conventional electric hot water tank will loose more than 500 Kw-hours per year of heat out through its’ insulation. 500 Kw-hours per year is the same amount of energy as having a 60 watt light bulb on continuously, for a year. This costs about $50 per year. A Vacuum Insulated electric hot water tank would loose less than 5 Kw-hours per year. That is less than $.50 per year. In a hot climate, there is an added savings because your air conditioner does not have to pump this lost heat out of your house. This added savings might be another $25 per year.

HENF has done $400K of R&D into the Vacuum Insulated electric hot water tank: 1. Materials testing and selection 2. Product design 3. Production equipment design

HENF estimates a 75 unit/day production facility to manufacture Vacuum Insulated electric hot water tanks would cost $7M and take 1 year to complete.

3. Vacuum Insulated hot water pipe

Aquacraft Inc. found in their Tampa Project that a lot of water was being used at the kitchen and bathroom faucets. Much of this water is cold water that is purged from the hot water pipe before hot water can be used. Purging this water is a pure waste of water and heat. Aquacraft Inc. also found in their Tampa Project that showering is the #1 user of water. Again, cold water is purged before showering. With Vacuum Insulated hot water pipe this water will stay hot for many hours thus eliminating all the wasted water of purging. It is a time saver, an energy saver and a water saver. Time savings or convenience must be considered as the main marketing factor.

It is more complicated to test the energy savings of Vacuum Insulated hot water pipe because it is more dynamic and dependant on water consumption (family size)

Vacuum Insulated hot water pipe is for new construction or major renovation because it has to be installed inside the walls. This limits installations as compared to the Vacuum Insulated electric hot water tank.

HENF has done $300K of R&D into the Vacuum Insulated hot water pipe:

1. Materials testing and selection 2. Product design 3. Production equipment design

HENF estimates a 60,000 ft/day production facility for the Vacuum Insulated hot water pipe would cost $10M and take 1 year to complete.

For the longer, more technical version, click on www.showersmartfaucet.com/cat.htm These technologies are some of the pieces to the energy puzzle which can stop global warming. HENF and many others believe that it is the existing technologies, like these, that can stop global warming


Tags: Electricity, Renewable Energy, Technology