We've seen individual homes that are completely off-grid, but there are very few residential developments that have this distinction. Thailand-based development company CNX Construction is set to debut the world’s first 24-hour, solar-powered hydrogen storage multi-house complex.
The Phi Suea House in Chiang Mai, Thailand utilizes this innovative energy storage technology to power not just one, but four family homes as well as several support buildings with the clean, green energy of the sun.
The genius of this project is that it solves problems inherent with solar panels—they only work when the sun is out and can generate more energy than needed. Although the nascent battery industry solves some of these problems, "they are not well suited for long term use," CNX Construction said.
"Power storage in batteries is also not ideal for huge amounts of energy," the company pointed out. "In general, batteries are expensive, heavy and made from dangerous materials with questionable recycling processes."
In September, EcoWatch wrote about a similar project: a solar-powered hydrogen fuel cell generator that has been set up in Honolulu, Hawaii's port. Hydrogen fuel cells are a hotly debated issue because most projects use natural gas as the power source and it’s still seen as cost-prohibitive on a commercial scale. These respective solar-hydrogen projects, however, offer a clean energy storage alternative.
So how does it work? According to Cityife Chiang Mai, "during the day, solar panels on five of the structures capture energy from the sun and send it to the energy building. The energy building then distributes power to the buildings on the compound while also converting water into hydrogen gas."
CNX Construction explained:
The best way to store energy is to generate hydrogen gas via electrolyzers with solar energy and pure water during the day. Electrolyzers produce hydrogen gas by using an electric current to separate water into its composite gases: hydrogen and oxygen.
During night or when we need additional energy the hydrogen is used to produce power with a fuel cell.
Our energy storage is a hybrid battery-hydrogen system which maximizes the advantages of both the batteries and fuel cell. Batteries take the very fast and short loads, while the massive permanent energy load is supplied by the hydrogen/fuel cell.
The process is 100 percent clean as its only byproducts are oxygen gas and water, the company said. Learn more about the technology in the video below:
“It’s a dream to have 24-hour access to the power of the sun. With our renewable power system and hydrogen energy storage, we have fulfilled this dream,” Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, initiator of the Phi Suea House project, said in a press release.
While the energy storage system is what makes this project unique, many other design considerations make this house "the greenest of green," a CNX Construction representative told EcoWatch.
"A strong motivation in this project is to create a residence that is 100 percent self-reliable," the rep said. "That is done through the production of their own energy, but is also seen in the permaculture, fish pond and rain water-collection system."
The compound will also feature solar hot water panels to heat water, double-glazed windows, thick walls, natural ventilation, efficient fans to reduce air conditioning use and large windows and lower-power LED lamps to minimize the energy required for lighting, Gizmag reported.
Gizmag also noted that a partial excess of the electricity generated by the panels will be stored in two 2,000-Ah lead-acid battery banks.
The project is set for completion by the end of this year. By that time, CNX Construction will have installed 114 kilowatt of photovoltaic panels. The company estimates that with the initial installation, an average of 247 kilowatt hour will be generated every month, or enough to power all four homes and all other equipment and infrastructure, including the water pumps.
The company has not released cost figures for the project, but said, "We have calculated a return on our investment (ROI) based on 5 to 6 Thai Baht/kilowatt hour. The time for a ROI will be around 15 years as of today."
"Due to its widening acceptance, the cost of similar systems will drop within the next 3 to 5 years and will generate a much faster ROI," the release added.
The official opening of the Phi Suea House is set for Jan. 29, 2016.
45 Days 'til the World's First 24Hour #Solar Powered #Hydrogen Storage Residence! https://t.co/uegqBCWMmO #PhiSueaHouse #fuelcells #innovate— Phi Suea House (@Phi Suea House)1450271101.0
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"Now that we are spending more time at home, we are noticing the large number of delivery vans and lorries driving through cities," said Netherlands environment minister Stientje van Veldhoven, announcing plans to ban all but zero-emission deliveries in 14 cities.
"The agreements we are setting down will ensure that it will be a matter of course that within a few years, supermarket shelves will be stocked, waste will be collected, and packages will arrive on time, yet without any exhaust fumes and CO2 emissions," she added.
She expects 30 cities to announce zero emission urban logistics by this summer. City councils must give four years' notice before imposing bans as part of government plans for emission-free road traffic by 2050. The city bans aim to save 1 megaton of CO2 each year by 2030.
Help to Change
To encourage transport organizations to go carbon-free, the government is offering grants of more than US$5,900 to help businesses buy or lease electric vehicles. There will be additional measures to help small businesses make the change.
The Netherlands claims it is the first country in the world to give its cities the freedom to implement zero-emission zones. Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht already have "milieuzones" where some types of vehicles are banned.
Tilburg, one of the first wave of cities imposing the Dutch ban, will not allow fossil-fuelled vehicles on streets within its outer ring road and plans to roll out a network of city-wide electric vehicle charging stations before the ban comes into effect in 2025.
"Such initiatives are imperative to improve air quality. The transport of the future must be emission-free, sustainable, and clean," said Tilburg city alderman Oscar Dusschooten.
Europe Takes Action
Research by Renault shows that many other European cities are heading in the same direction as the Netherlands, starting with Low Emission Zones of which Germany's "Umweltzone" were pioneers. More than 100 communes in Italy have introduced "Zonas a traffico limitato."
Madrid's "zona de baja emisión" bans diesel vehicles built before 2006 and petrol vehicles from before 2000 from central areas of the city. Barcelona has similar restrictions and the law will require all towns of more than 50,000 inhabitants to follow suit.
Perhaps the most stringent restrictions apply in London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which charges trucks and large vehicles up to US$137 a day to enter the central area if they do not comply with Euro 6 emissions standards. From October, the ULEZ is being expanded.
Cities are responsible for around 75% of CO2 emissions from global final energy use, according to the green thinktank REN21 - and much of these come from transport. Globally, transport accounts for 24% of world CO2 emissions.
The Rise of Online Shopping
Part of the reason for traffic in urban areas is the increase in delivery vehicles, as online shopping continues to grow. Retailer ecommerce sales are expected to pass $5billion in 2022, according to eMarketer.
The World Economic Forum's report The Future of the Last-Mile Ecosystem, published in January 2020, estimates that e-commerce will increase the number of delivery vehicles on the roads of the world's 100 largest cities by 36% by 2030.
If all those vehicles burn fossil fuels, the report says emissions will increase by 32%. But switching to all-electric delivery vehicles would cut emissions by 30% from current levels as well as reducing costs by 25%, the report says.
Other solutions explored in the report include introducing goods trams to handle deliveries alongside their passenger-carrying counterparts and increased use of parcel lockers to reduce the number of doorstep deliveries.
Reposted with permission from the World Economic Forum.