Electricity Saver?

cormie

Hi,
Does anyone know if there is such a thing that will allow night electricity generated to be stored for daytime use so you would only ever pay night rates?

Any feedback appreciated:)

DublinDilbert

No there's nothing comercial out there...

One idea might be to make & store hydrogen at night time with the cheap electricity, then pass it through a fuel cell during the Day time to create DC power, then with a power inverter you should have some nice AC again This also assumes that the losses in the system aren't greater than the saving between day & night time electricity!!!!

http://www.hydrogenics.com/

gammama

For domestic consumers, I think not. I suspect that any device available today will cost more to charge than useful electricity it could produce.

George Monbiot talks about this in his book "Heat" for electricity companies, page 114.

Paraphrasing what he says.

Electricity companies use "pumped storage": they use excess electricity to pump water from one reservoir up a mountain to a second reservoir. Then they generate electricity by hydroelectric means when they need it. He says losses involved in pumped storage are 20-25%.

He says other storage methods lose 60% (compressed air in underground caverns and electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen).

He mentions "flow batteries, flywheels or superconducting magnetic energy" as only being suitable for much shorter periods but doesn't elaborate.