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To: edamo who wrote (96049)	4/18/2001 8:11:13 PM
From: LLCF	Respond to of 436258

<remember this is a country that can't program a vcr, doesn't know if they have air in their firestone tires and would be less likely to check the specific gravity in their battery or maintain the bearings in their alternator...> Ah, yes... hence the beauty of increasing energy prices! DAK

To: edamo who wrote (96049)	4/18/2001 8:54:46 PM
From: FR1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

edamo, I guess we can have a discussion on this one. Here are my thoughts: fuel cells will find a niche, much like solar and wind.... Solar and wind are limited by whatever nature delivers you (your square inch of space). Very difficult to run a house on these power sources. There is not enough energy there on a good day and a bad day yields nothing. Fuel cells are not in that category. The power output of fuel cells, just like hot water from your home hot water heater, is only limited by the supply of gas. fuel cells need storage and an inverter.... True, but the units are, as I understand, going to be turn key. The fuel source would be your natural gas line. Natural gas feeds a reformer which strips hydrogen off the low chain hydrocarbons. That feeds the fuel cell. All you see is a big box that runs all the juice in your house. If you live in the country, you can use propane tanks. Metal Hydrides store hydrogen waiting to be used. the biggest problem with most of the alternate sources is that the prime mover .... doesn't deliver ready to use alternating current without an interface.. Consider the fact that gas/coal etc have incredible waste compared to fuel cells. The fuel cell uses each atom of hydrogen in the hydrocarbon chain (more or less). At the central power plants we simply explode the gas and try to capture some of the power in a turbine. Then we have to convey the juice for hundreds of miles through wires to your house. A tremendous waste compared to the fuel cell. remember this is a country that can't program a vcr.. The idea is to deliver a fuel cell that is no more difficult to manage than a water heater. Consider also the other pluses: 1) You are independent of the grid and are allowed to feed juice back into the grid for (small) profit. Black out worries diminish and you can always connect to the grid if you want. 2) You can genrerate the hydrogen necessary for things like your car, batteries, etc from your home generator. This fall Coleman will put out a hydrogen fuel cell camping lantern. Plus you have all the "good green hype" going for the marketing department of these companies.