Comments on: U.S. Energy Use Drops in 2008 [Infographics]

By: Tom Lakosh

Tom Lakosh — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:55:18 +0000

At least 10% of that rejected heat can be converted to electricity by off the shelf Organic Rankine Cycle generators that can use wate heat as low as 165F. Pacific Northwest Labs are developing a Metal Organic Heat Capture molecule that could improve low temperature heat transfer considerably. Using this waste heat should be a DOE priority both in R&D and deployment. DOE should dispatch teams to every generation station to engineer ORC bottoming cycles to improve generation efficiency by >10%. This same principle can be used to capture waste heat from vehicle engines for increased hybrid power or elimination of alternators.

By: Tom Lakosh

Tom Lakosh — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:55:00 +0000

By: Bill W

Bill W — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:22:25 +0000

So, that huge amount of “Rejected Energy” is energy we can use in the future by improving efficiency, right? Of course, the fine print says those are just estimates based on 80% efficiency in non-transportation uses and 25% efficiency in transportation. Still, if those estimates are anywhere near accurate, there are large gains to be made by improving efficiency.

By: Bill W

Bill W — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:22:00 +0000