Fuel Cells Motorcycles, Trucks, Tanks, ATVs and Fire Hazards from Heat Exchanges
We have heard a whole lot of talk about fuel cells and of course it is a worthy endeavor. Portable generators, cars, transportation industry, Power generators, Ships, etc. can benefit. However in a mobile application such as a shuttle bus, car, truck, train, tractor, motor scooter or even a Segway air-cushioned platform mover, there is the problem of heat. The heat occurs on transfer of fuel. So if we are talking about a portable application the heat can make steam and the steam can be used for additional power needed also. In an off road application when we are in places of drought and extreme fire hard there is a significant problem which needs to be better addressed with the material sciences to control the heat. Everyone knows that 2-cycle motorcycles get hot and can cause fires if you are not careful.
Find Gas and Alternative Fuel Prices Anywhere in the U.S.
Things have changed a lot since I was driving across the country, or occasionally flying to a new destination and renting a car. I knew there’d be a gas station up ahead, and had a pretty good idea what prices would be when I stopped at the pump.
My, how things have changed. There are more fuel choices, and a trip to the MapQuest Gas Prices website will show you what I mean. (more…)
Sourse: Find Gas and Alternative Fuel Prices Anywhere in the U.S.
It Is Very Important When You Purchase A New Car To Do Your Research Online Through Car Websites
In automobile magazines there are a lot of models which may be compared. You can try to determine the size which is best for your needs: a two-door, a subcompact, a compact or a sedan model.Next you can compare the mileage ratings for different cars. These mileage ratings must be listed on window stickers and they respect environmental protection requirements. Mileage ratings are determined, by tests, through simulated city street and freeway driving. However the mileage you get on your vehicle may depend on your driving habits and on the vehicle itself. Mileage ratings may help you calculate how much the car will cost you to run. The most efficient car is one which provides a better mileage. Some easy calculations may help you save considerable sums of money.A hybrid vehicle, even if it has a higher initial cost, it will pay itself back in a few years by the amount of gasoline saved.Furthermore, the car buying folder must include all the data necessary in order to buy a car:1. information about all the car dealership in your area 2. purchase price, monthly payment, down payment, interest rates, length of loan 3. your free credit report at http://FreeCreditReport.com 4. data about the manufacturer, and car dealer incentives 5. offers on your trade in 6. worksheet about how much and what you are paying for 7. your driver’s license, if you take the car for a test drive 8. car insurance estimator 9. costs of different accessories of the car, provided by different car dealers 10. checkbook, proof of insurance, registration, etcNegotiating with dealersIt’s a buyers market which means you can bargain with dealers for a better deal, but you need to be prepared for the battle. Ourisman Hyundai offers internet pricing which is below invoice, and not many dealers can do this. To cross check their prices, go to http://Edmunds.com and select your car of choice learn about the INvoice and MSRP.Do some research on market values before you go shopping so you know the value of the car you’re buying and the value of your trade-in. That way you’ll be better placed to barter with the dealer. Have your finance arranged before you go shopping, but don’t tell the dealer. Dealers will often cut the price of a car believing they’ll make money on the finance. Don’t settle on the first car you inspect. Visit a number of dealers and compare deals before making a commitment.Look for a dealer well stocked with the car you want and he’ll be more prepared to deal.Start Bargaining!Ask the salesperson for the dealership’s lowest markup over their cost. And always bargain with the invoice price, never down from the sticker price. If the car you want is in tight supply, you may have to pay the full sticker price. Otherwise, $300 to $500 over the invoice price is reasonable.The advice you receive with your report takes you through the hard part, negotiating a fair price. The dealership’s “business manager” may try to sell you undercoating, rustproofing, fabric protection, extended warranty, windshield etching. If you want those extras, then go for it. Otherwise, make an offer and stick to it.
Sourse: It Is Very Important When You Purchase A New Car To Do Your Research Online Through Car Website Cars
Setting the record straight
Fred Thompson’s otherwise excellent comments re the president begging the Saudis for oil repeated a factual error many of the candidates are making. Thompson is quoted as saying: “It’s not in the United States’ long-term interest to go hat in hand begging people to do things that in the end we know they’re not going to do…What we need to concentrate on is diversifying our own energy sources here in this country and opening up what oil reserves that we have here … using nuclear more, using clean coal technology more and all the other things that we can do.”
Here’s the error: unlike in the 1970s, today the US hardly generates any electricity at all from oil. To be precise, a mere 2% of our electricity is generated from oil (and conversely only about 2% of our oil demand is due to electricity generation.) Therefore nuclear power, while a valuable technology, has nothing to do with reducing our oil demand; we’ve already diversified our power sector away from oil. The key source of oil demand, and the source of oil’s strategic value, is the transportation sector.
If we want to stop kowtowing to the Saudis and their ilk, our focus must be on stripping oil of its strategic value, making it just another commodity We can do this through fuel choice in the transportation sector - through flex fuel vehicles and plug in hybrids which provide a platform on which fuels can compete and open up the transportation fuel market to competition. Salt, after all, was once a strategic commodity too; with the advent of electricity and refrigeration salt lost its strategic value and power to determine world affairs.
Sourse: Setting the record straight
San Francisco recycles festive grease into biofuel
Local media reported San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) had begun picking up used cooking oil this Christmas season from residents under the SFGreasecycle program (SFG), which aspires to alter waste grease into biofuel for vehicles running the city.
Sourse: San Francisco recycles festive grease into biofuel
Biodiesel Basics
We’ll be adding some new stories on biodiesel on the Edmunds Green Car Guide soon, as well. But if you want to keep up with everything green on a daily basis, including the new Ford “Ecoboost” direct injection technology, Caddy’s E-flex hydrogen small SUV concept, and the latest on CAFE and fuel economy regulation, lithium ion battery developments, hybrids and so on, keep your eyes on the Green Car Advisor. It covers a world where technological development is progressing faster than you can say, “Fill ‘er up!”
Sourse: Biodiesel Basics
Energy Saving Tips: - Top 10 Energy Saving Tips to Cut Your Fuel Bills
If you use both gas and electricity in your home, your annual fuel bills will have risen by around ?400 since 2003. This translates to an increase of around 50% in electricity prices and a massive 90% in gas prices across the UK.
The good news is that you could cut the cost of these increases in half by being more energy efficient and switching to the cheapest energy supplier.
TOP 10 ENERGY SAVING TIPS
Apply these energy saving tips and you could save hundreds of pounds in lower energy bills every year.
1. Shop around for your energy…
If you have never switched your energy supplier you could save up to ?270 by changing to a new company. You can compare all UK energy providers for free by using an online price comparison site.
2. Pay by direct debit?
You don?t have to switch your energy supplier to reduce your bills. If you don’t currently pay by direct debit you could save around ?150 a year and even more by using an online account.
3. Get free advice…
Your local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre can give you free, expert advice on saving energy and applying for any grants available in your area to help with the cost of energy improvements to your home. You can contact your local centre on 0800 512012.
4. Save money on heating?
Simply turning your thermostat down by 1?C could cut your heating bills by up to 10%. Heating water for bathing and washing is another area you can save money by setting the cylinder thermostat at 60?C/140?F.
5. Keep the heat in…
Draughty doors, windows and floors can be a major source of heat loss from your home. By using draught excluders on your keyholes, letter boxes and doors together with blocking gaps under skirting boards with newspaper, you can shave ?5-?10 off your bills every year! If you have old or poorly fitting windows, double-glazing can cut heat loss through windows by 50% and reduce your heating bill by up to 100 a year. At night, closing your curtains and tucking them behind any under-window radiator will stop heat escaping through your windows.
6. Use the off button…
By switching unused appliances off such as televisions, videos and computers instead of leaving them on standby can save around ?37 a year. Turn off lights when you leave an empty room and let in as much natural light as possible during the day.
7. Buy a jacket?
Fitting an insulating jacket for your hot water tank only costs a few pounds and pays for itself within months. A jacket that’s at least 75mm thick could save around ?20 a year.
8. Only use what you need?
By only filling your kettle with the water you need, it will boil quicker and save you money! But the opposite applies when using the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher. Try to use a full load with these appliances and wash clothes on a low temperature programme as modern washing powders will be just as effective at lower temperatures.
9. Have a light bulb moment…
Saving energy can be as easy as changing a light bulb. By replacing standard bulbs with energy efficient ones you can save up to ?9 on your annual electricity bill. Priced from just a few pounds, energy efficient light bulbs last around 12 times and pay for themselves with lower bills.
10. Give your home an energy health check…
To understand which energy saving tips and improvements will be most effective for your home, use the Energy Saving Trust online home energy check. Visit www.est.org.uk.
Visit our compare energy prices page for a full list of energy price comparison websites.
Tags: save power, cut electric bill, cheap electricity, plug and save, energy saver, reduce energy, cheap fuel, how to save energy, energy survey, solar panels
Sourse: Energy Saving Tips: - Top 10 Energy Saving Tips to Cut Your Fuel Bills
Uses of Fuel
From Wikipedia
petroleum, in some form or other, is not a substance new in the world’s history. More than four thousand years ago, according to Herodotus and confirmed by Diodorus Siculus, asphalt was employed in the construction of the walls and towers of Babylon; there were oil pits near Ardericca (near Babylon), and a pitch spring […]
Sourse: Uses of Fuel
Georgia’s Biofuels Refinery to Make 9 Million Gallons of Cellulosic Methanol a Year
The Methanol Institute(MI) reports:
On November 6th, the first commercial plant to turn trees and wood scraps into biofuels officially opened in Soperton, Georgia. According to the Department of Energy, the Range Fuels plant is expected to produce 40 million tons of cellulosic ethanol and 9 million tons of cellulosic methanol each year. The Department of Energy will fund more than $1.2 billion for this plant and five similar ones in the works. The groundbreaking ceremony was headlined by Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who focused his speech on praising ethanol: “These six sites differ in their location and in the feed stocks that they will use, but they will all help us move toward the day when biofuels made from cellulosic ethanol can be made in near every part of the country.” In response, MI’s John Lynn wrote a letter to Bodman saying “As Range Fuels’ project advances, we encourage you to include methanol in the discussion. The methanol industry is seeing increased interest in renewable methanol and we expect to see new plants opening around the country over the next several years. Through its many applications, methanol can and should be a significant part of the solution.”
Both methanol and ethanol are alcohol fuels that can power flexible fuel vehicles, cars that can run on any combination of alcohol and gasoline and cost an auto manufacturer less than $100 extra to make over the cost of a gasoline only car. There is no reason for the Department of Energy to pick one fuel as a winner and ignore others - let them all compete. For more on the potential of flexible fuel vehicles to break the stranglehold of oil producers, click here: The Alcohol Standard by Robert Zubrin. For an article by Ford Motor’s Roberta Nichols about gasoline-ethanol-methanol fuel flexibility, click here.
MI adds another bit of important news from China, which is moving aggressively towards fuel choice:
“At the 5th International Clean Vehicle Technology Exhibition in Beijing, Chang’an Automobile Company presented the Ben Ben methanol-fueled car, and Geely Automotive stated the Haifeng methanol vehicles have been put into large-scale production and might be launched at the end of this year.”
Sourse: Georgia’s Biofuels Refinery to Make 9 Million Gallons of Cellulosic Methanol a Year
Solar and Hydrogen Energy - where vehicle fuel efficiency is headed
Despite efforts that have enabled the U.S. to limit its demand for oil, world oil demand is up significantly. Advances in technology such as solar energy and vehicle fuel cell could help the world reduce its dependence on oil.
Figure 1 Oil and Gold Prices
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released the Fuel Economy Guide for 2008 model year vehicles Fuel Economy Leaders: 2008 Model Year Coming in first place is the Toyota Prius (hybrid-electric) with city/highway miles per gallon (MPG) of 48/45. With higher fuel costs more people are factoring in fuel efficiency into their purchase decision. However, it is the purchase of pickup trucks and SUV that account for most of the vehicle purchases in the U.S. and these vehicles are dramatically less fuel-efficient than hybrids and small four-cylinder automobiles.
Despite the trend towards larger vehicles, the U.S is not experiencing a rapid rise in oil demand. Yet oil prices continue to climb. While geopolitical risk may account for the bulk of the recent price increase, latest information from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Total Petroleum Consumption shows increasing oil demand from China.
Figure 2 Oil Demand: U.S. and China
Figure 2 illustrates that while oil demand in the U.S. has grown only modestly since 2000, the growth in China’s oil demand is rising rapidly. The recent data from the EIA shows oil demand through Q2/07. The demand for oil in the U.S. is up 5% from 2000 while in China oil demand is up 59% over the same period.
Improving vehicle fuel efficiency may abate rapidly rising oil demand in the U.S., but more emphasis on diesel and hybrids could take us a lot further. For example, Toyota has been slow to introduce its diesel line of pickup trucks in the U.S. while it offers a broad line of more fuel-efficient vehicle outside the U.S. Toyota offers several cars and trucks in Europe with impressively high fuel efficiencies that are not available in the U.S. Infact, the Toyota Hilux two-wheel drive pickup truck offers a four-cylinder diesel engine with an MPG of 44.8 on the highway and 29.1 in the city.
We are also seeing progress on fuel cell vehicles that could ultimately ameliorate are demand for oil, if not eliminate it entirely, all with no carbon dioxide or other emissions. We see most major automakers developing hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles. Honda for one has the right concept in employing solar energy to make hydrogen.
Honda’s experimental hydrogen refueling station in Torrance, CA increases the solar incre3ases the efficiency of hydrogen fuel by using solar energy to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen is then used to power Honda’s Honda’s FCX concept hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with the only emission being pure water vapor. These fuel cell vehicles may not be ready for prime time, they provide a clear reality to what is achievable.
The bottom line is that supply and demand dictate price and the availability of cheap oil is on the decline. Further research into solar and hydrogen fuel cells could significantly change our dependence on oil.
Sourse: Solar and Hydrogen Energy - where vehicle fuel efficiency is headed
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