Comments on: Nanotechnology insulation to generate electricity

By: Ralph Lausa

Ralph Lausa — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:48:22 +0000

All comments previously not withstanding I’m willing to await the numbers.
It’s clear that “perfect” insulators do not exist. Therefor some heat/electric loss in practicality is always available. Low levels of such wattage could place the small amounts generated in more concentrated regions as, for example, the underside of a household’s roof discouraging the growth of molds. Instead the heat loss by convection is almost all lost through passive ventilation. Although the amounts of generated electricity are probably modest the transmissability as electric current becomes potentially useful over short distances.

By: Adrian Wilkins

Adrian Wilkins — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 16:39:09 +0000

It is rather disappointing to hear the CEO of a tech company claiming that his technology “creates energy” though. Reclamation, yes. Creation, no.

Without numbers I’m not enthused (yet). But the exposure of the idea is very encouraging ; it’s nice to see concepts that would previously have been dismissed as science fiction in many circles being taken seriously enough to enter a press release.

By: Brett Bellmore

Brett Bellmore — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 13:33:56 +0000

There’s nothing cool about it. Basic thermodynamics: You can only extract energy from a temperature difference by allowing heat to cross it, IOW, by *not* insulating. And the low temperature differences in the circumstances where this non-insulating “insulation” would be used imply very low efficiency.

So, you put insulation around a building to reduce heating and cooling costs, and then deliberately let 20-30 watts of heat cross the insulation, boosting your HVAC energy consumption by at least that much, in order to generate 1 watt of power? I don’t think so.

The proposed product would, as mandated by basic laws of physics, be both a lousy generator, and a lousy insulator.

Ok, I can see circumstances where it might be advantageous to deliberately enhance heat flow out of or into a building, for instance a large office building where waste heat exceeds heating requirements in the winter. Even then, though, I believe you’d almost certainly be better off with really good insulation, and a fan exchanging air with the outside.

By: Ethan Walker

Ethan Walker — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 08:49:59 +0000

I’m sorry, but it seems like there is something fundamentally wrong with this idea. To generate power, you need not only a thermal gradient, but also a flow of heat, which is not a desirable feature for an insulator. You could generate more power by allowing more heat to escape from the structure, but you would only be able to regain a fraction of the power you had lost by using an inferior insulator.

By: mike

mike — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 17:27:51 +0000

wait a minute…..it converts heat into electricity; so, it absorbs heat generated by the furnace primarily and converts ir into electricity. Doesn’t that just make the furnace work harder? Aren’t we just using the furnace to generate power?