Plans2Reality

Efficiency Doesn't Matter

Not for mass-market solar panels, anyway.

The goal of mass-market solar, otherwise known as grid-tied PV, is to generate electricity for the grid, so we don't have to burn as much coal, oil, etc. It's a fine idea.

But anyone in the fild will tell you that PV electricity is still a lot more expensive than coal-fired electricity, even when the sun is shining - never mind darkness. (And even if you factor in a pretty high carbon tax. Coal is cheap.)

Therefore, the goal is to get the cost of PV electricity down as far as possible - ideally as cheap as coal, even cheaper if possible.

Now, electricty is sold in units of kilowatt-hours (kWh). So we need to get the cost of PV, in terms of dollars per kWh, as low as possible. It doesn't matter how EFFICIENT a PV panel is, only how much it costs. Sunlight (unlike coal) is free, so it really doesn't matter if a panel is 10%, 15%, or 20% efficient - not if such efficiency comes at a cost.

There's nothing _wrong_ with efficiency, per se. And I am sure the boffins will find ways to improve it. But anyone who asks what a panel's efficiency is doens't understand the problem. The only meaningful question is, what's the cost per kilowatt-hour?

Kindle DX

I was blessed with the gift of a Kindle DX recently. Hats off to Amazon; I think they have clearly set the benchmarok for e-book readers. The unit is thin and light. The screen is _amazingly_ sharp and easy to read. It holds about a gazillion books (see Amazon site for details) and book download is automatic, via cell-phone technology. No charge for airtime, either.

The interface is intuitive, but it comes with a built-in manual anyway. Also comes with a dictionary.

I find it as easy to read as a book, and nearly as handy to carry. It won't fit in some places where a paperback would fit, but overall it is thin and light enough - even easier to carry than a netbook.

Font size is adjustable - great for older readers or bad light. You can rotate the Kindle and it shifts the display, too.

It charges via standard USB, so you can share charging bits with iPhones and many other devices.

No doubt someday someone will develop a better e-book reader - it may be Amazon, or not - but the Kindle DX is the benchmark today. Why, it's even better than an iPhone!

Photovoltaic Panels, Part One

Here at Plans2Reality World Headquarters we have been evaluating various solar technologies with an eye to getting our electricity bill down a little bit. Of course, we could just buy a system from a local contractor on a turnkey basis, but where's the fun in that?  ;-)

Market research led us to the usual vendors of traditional silicon flat panels, but also to another company with a novel idea: Solyndra. (http://www.solyndra.com)  

These guys make what looks like a giant barbeque grill. It's a bunch of tubes, each about an inch in diameter and about 36 inches long. Each tube is itself a PV panel. Forty of them in a row makes the grill.

They are designed expressly to be place on the flat roofs common to most large commercial buildings. Think of the roof of you average big-box store, or for that matter about 95% of the buildings here in Silicon Valley.

The panels sit on little legs, but they aren't tilted. You just carpet the roof with them and wire them up. Clever idea, huh?

More to come.

Electronica 2008, Day 2: Wearable Tech

There's a lot of buzz around wearable tech at this year's Electronica. Of course, in many ways we already have wearable tech, from Bluetooth headsets to armband-iPods to Wii game controllers.

But the technologists are pushing it further. Sensor nets are being used to monitor precise body movements to aid in exercise. Several companies have developed materials that generate electricity from random movement or heat.

Who knows what we'll be wearing in a few years? Something that charges all the other gadgets we own, for sure.

The Seven Wonders of the Internet

The good people at Network World Magazine have assembled an article on the Seven Wonders of the Internet World:

http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/16806

It's an interesting roundup. (Good job, Paul McNamara! - and kudos to the graphic artist.) Some of the entries are what you'd expect; some are surprising.

Questions to ponder:

- How has the Internet changed _your_ marketing and PR?
- Could you be doing more with it?

Wireless wireless?

It has been a contention of mine that each wireless device you buy adds one more wire to the number of wires you own. Here at Plans2Reality World Headquarters, we own dozens of wireless gizmos and therefore have multiple dozens of power wires snaking around to provide power for same.

But the whiz-kids at MIT seems to have found a good way to couple useful levels of energy over room-sized distances without wires:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/wireless-0607.html

The demo design moves 60 watts over a 2-meter range, though the apparatus is a bit bulky. Presumably at lower power levels and shorter distances, the device could be smaller. All in all an excellent idea, but how efficient is it? In particular, how much power does it use when it is idling, not charging anything?

Thanks, Veterans! And Those On Duty Now

The title says it all.

You are remembered, and appreciated. As you always will be, so long as there is liberty in the world.