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Energy storing alternatives to batteries in households

Image credit: Flickr/Patty, CC BY-NC-SA

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Alen Žibek
Alen Žibek Aug 18, 2022
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A good alternative to energy storage batteries is essential for a green and healthy future for humanity. Batteries are difficult to recycle and are not a long-term solution to the problem.
Production of energy and renewable resources is meaningless if energy is stored in batteries, both from an ecological and economic point of view.
We have to learn to store energy ecologically in other forms. The direction in which I would like to take the challenge is to transform the converted energy into the production of something that in some other or similar way brings us benefit in the best way possible.
In this challenge, you think both on a large scale (big power plants) and on a micro-scale (one household).
I am very much looking forward to your interesting contributions !
GO !
energy storagebattery technologybatteriesrenewable energy
2
Creative contributions

A very enthusiastic idea of energy stored in online "clouds"

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jnikola
jnikola Aug 22, 2022
Energy transfer through the "signals" just like the internet, voice or anything else
How would it work?
No device would need an energy source. The energy would be requested and sent via the internet. No wires, batteries or chargers, just a small kick-starter to start the energy transfer, similar to the car battery used for kick-starting the car's engine.
No, but how would it WORK?
I must admit I have no clear idea of how it could work. I did some research on energy transfer via waves and what I found is that we have a wireless energy transfer in short range and without obstacles (wireless charging), moderate power over the moderate distance, but harmful to people (microwaves) and currently no viable and non-harmful option to transfer enough energy through moderate or long distances. However, directional antennas and lasers could help achieving this.
We are getting closer
Recently I found a paper describing a novel 2-D materials that convert Wi-Fi signals to electricity. The researchers constructed a novels "rectenna", a device used to convert AC electromagnetic waves into DC electricity. They used molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) to build semicondictors, which are three atoms thick and are considered to be one of the thinnest semiconductors in the world. Materials and innovations like these make baterry-less future more viable and easier to imagine!
Do you have any other ideas?

[1]https://news.mit.edu/2019/converting-wi-fi-signals-electricity-0128

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Alen Žibek
Alen Žibek 2 years ago
Very interesting, I've heard about something similar before, now I'll definitely look into it in more detail. Thanks
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Compressed air

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jnikola
jnikola Aug 22, 2022
How would it work?
  • Solar panels, wind turbines or other types of power plants power the household and the excess energy is used to compress the air in big tanks that serve as a battery.
  • Develop devices whose engines are running on compressed air, which is slowly released under high pressure to power small generators that generate electricity
  • Develop ultra-thin converters for the existing mobilephones, vacuum cleaners and other devices that can be attached to them to make them run on compressed air
  • Compressed-air "batteries" can be recharged, can be maintained, adjusted, etc.
Why would it work?
Concepts of compressed air storage and compressed air-powered cars already exist . However, I am not sure why smaller devices such as vacuum cleaners or other thing never became reality. Maybe a good starting point would be to develop compressed air heat generators for camping or army uses.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed-air_energy_storage

[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_air_car#Tata_Motors

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Alen Žibek
Alen Žibek 2 years ago
Basically, the idea is interesting and it's always good to express it.
As a mechanical engineer, I see a lot of problems with this idea. Compressed air is the more expensive form of energy present in industry. Compressed air also requires enormous amounts of energy to produce, which is not a problem if you have plenty of it. Compressed air must first be dried and lubricated before it can be used, otherwise, condensation accumulates in the system, followed by corrosion and everything that goes with it. We also have to add the costs of inspecting the system and pressure vessels to prevent explosions or leaks. It can also become very dangerous. So generally speaking, the air is not as easy to compress.
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Shubhankar Kulkarni
Shubhankar Kulkarni2 years ago
The excess energy could be sent to the compression facilities. The compressed air cylinders could be used by scuba divers and other people who need air and slightly variable proportions of the air constituents is not a problem.
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General comments

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jnikola
jnikola2 years ago
I really like this challenge and can help you by linking my old challenge very similar (if not the same) as yours. However, no contributions were added, which makes me think it's a hard one.
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Alen Žibek
Alen Žibek 2 years ago
  • J. Nikola, I saw your post a little too late, but I left it posted anyway because it's still a very important topic. Thanks for your great contributions!
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Shubhankar Kulkarni
Shubhankar Kulkarni2 years ago
This is a worthy challenge for now. In the future, wouldn't the energy (from renewable resources) be sufficient enough so that we wouldn't need to store any of it locally (in the house)?
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Povilas S
Povilas S2 years ago
Shubhankar Kulkarni Think of remote devices - laptops, phones, Bluetooth speakers, etc. With time having an unhooked, mobile device is getting more and more popular, and more and more of those are being produced. They all have batteries
Alen Žibek Aren't rechargeable batteries enough? I agree that disposable batteries pose an ecological issue, but rechargeable ones - not so much. Usually, an integrated, rechargeable battery serves as long as the device itself. Maybe we should think of how to make them from more eco-friendly materials, but then the same is valid for other parts of household devices, not only batteries.
Whatever novel energy storage system we'd come up with, it would still be a battery of some sort. The only way to truly avoid batteries is for the device to take and convert the energy directly, without delay, so say a solar-cell-powered device that always gets enough sunlight to do its job is an example.
Another way is to turn to wireless power transmission systems, but they are currently very limiting. Maybe we should revive the ideas and experimentation on wireless power transmission started by N. Tesla.
Also, your challenge relates quite a lot to this idea.
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Alen Žibek
Alen Žibek 2 years ago
Povilas S The rechargeable batteries and not as much of a problem as the normal old ones. But if you use a battery power tool you would notice, how quickly the battery comes to the end of its life span. On a global scale, it's still a disaster. You are right, maybe the challenge is not set correctly. We should ask ourselves how to get rid of batteries and use energy directly from the source or produce as locally or on a micro-scale as possible. Nikola tesla was way ahead of us, wireless energy transfer seems to be the way to go at this moment.
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