Our R&D expert was looking out the panoramic windows at the new office. A picture perfect mountain stands within touching distance, in counterpoint to the bustling metropolis of downtown Sofia, laid out below. One of the nearby buildings has a solar installation. It is a simple two panel, 2x 100 watt arrangement.
Maybe, it was the view …
The conversation turned to the utility of a solar panel array attached to a water heating system. His own household system had worked without issue for more than 15 years, pumping hot water for showers, heating, regulating the temperature swings that panels endure on their seasonal cycle.
What he was pointing to was mixing elements to make a better whole. He was happy to use gas in winter, when a quick burst of heat makes a big difference to cold hands…
A rationing approach could be taken in summer, knowing that there would be enough hot water for a moderately hot shower. The entire system was maintained at 60 degrees centigrade. He had an insight that you could circulate water to a swimming pool. Using a handy nearby heat sink would also give better ambient swimming conditions in late Spring and early Autumn.
Energy storage does not have to be electrical, it can take many different forms. People obsess over deep cycle batteries, inverters and loops of wire, when natural materials (like clay bricks or water), prove the potential to store and distribute energy in tactile, human ways. The principles of thermal mass, insulation, and systemic logic, along with a small scale distribution loop, changes the game.
This is where a small IoT control device attached to some very simple sensors can give a lot of value. Each installation is site specific. That is the beauty of where (…and how) you live; it is unique. There are few general rules. Building your system does take iteration; trial and error. This doesn’t fit the “energy, on demand” model that vendors and utilities prefer, so most of the time the concepts get ignored.
But, do you know where it does work?
In exactly the places you want it to work; rural nodes, eco-developments, tourism sites, off-grid/semi-grid communities, agricultural operations, underserved remote outposts and holiday homes. This approach fits our motto of; “rugged tools that must work in extreme conditions.” We’re not proposing conveyor belt energy “production” – this is human scale,”layered, local energy states, using natural materials as storage and buffer.” It is putting art into science and not asking for permission to innovate.
