Forty years ago Arthur C. Clarke made the observation in a book, on his predictions for the future that the ultimate aim of technology development was super cheap energy delivered anywhere. He went on to point out that the likeliest solution was somehow harnessing sola energy. At the time such energy was available for dollars per installed watt. He pointed out that the installed cost needed to drop below $1.00 per watt.
I think that it is no accident that Nanosolar chose an opening price of $1.00 per watt.
We are now entering a future of free energy. I am saying this because solar energy needs no fuel and potentially needs almost no upkeep. Nanosolar has announced that their $2,000,000 solar cell printing tool can produce sufficient product to replace a 600 MW nuclear power plant in one year. I do not need a cost analysis to understand that the operating cost for producing that nuclear power plant equivalent is peanuts.
This means that a paid for installed base will be very cheap to operate long after it is paid for. Nuclear was attractive only because the fuel cost was small compared to plant capacity. That plant costs rose to hugely offset those efficiencies was never expected. We now have an energy source that can be built out and paid for without any direct fuel costs.
This is free energy. Even more compelling, it is clearly feasible to build efficiently down to any scale. That means folks, that I can walk over to any location on earth and access this energy to drive whatever I want. The grid no longer really matters.
I have already discussed the potential of a solar driven stand alone atmospheric water harvester. Recently, all the necessary breakthroughs have fallen in place to allow this product to be actively pursued. And I have attached a student design concept that employs the key principles to produce an emergency water and power source.
I cannot make it any clearer. Energy storage is around the corner and solid state refrigeration is now also feasible and around that same corner. We have cheap solar power from Nanosolar deliverable shortly.
This allows us to completely reengineer the human environment. The most optimistic imaginings of a utopian future are now possible. We will all live in living spaces able to provide full environmental control while supplied solely by the sun. We will travel in very light electric vehicles constantly recharging. And we can do this while situated anywhere we please.
Ask yourself what you can do with free energy. Six billion people will soon have that option.
Check out this link for images of the proffered device.
Student Designer
Mr Scott Norrie
University
UNSW
Product Description and Principal Function(s)
The harshness of remote areas can often take a toll on its visitors. Ill-conceived plans, misguided adventure and automotive breakdown can intensify the strain of isolation. In these environments, a lack of water can lead to severe dehydration and even death. Ersa is a transportable, renewable source of power and water for the remote 4WD user. The product is stored within the 4WD and used to generate water from the air for survival purposes.
Why does the product represent design excellence and why do you believe it deserves an Australian Design Award?
The design is responding to the problem of severe dehydration and death in remote areas due to lack of water in an innovative way. Ersa allows the user to generate water from the surrounding air in survival situations. The design utilises renewable energy (30W solar module) in creating water and allows for the use of this power to charge portable devices such as GPS units, mobile phones and also allows the user to trickle charge the vehicle’s battery. The product is entirely original and unique.
Currently, becoming stranded in remote areas involves limited access to power and a finite supply of water. Ersa is a solution to this problem. People who use 4WD vehicles in remote areas (such as recreationalists, jackeroos, tourists, aid workers, etc.) can benefit from this product.
The form of the product lends itself to simple operation in emergency situations. The large hinges and flush line between the fold out wings suggest they should fold out to operate. All buttons and indicators have been simplified and where possible include illustrative as opposed to text based interfaces so the product can just as easily be used by a remote aid worker as it could by a visiting tourist. The form of the product also suggests an aspect of operation and visual and tactile cues inform where the wings fold out from and suggest the location of the water. The visual language of the product reveals ruggedness and ‘transportability’ whilst suggesting the product is clean and involves water.
The way in which the design is carried, transported and its operation has utilised ergonomics and semantics in order to simplify its use and to provide access to product functions in emergency situations.
The design has carefully considered environmental issues including sustainability. Ersa is designed to be a standalone, sustainable product with renewable energy integrated within the product in the form of solar cells.
Product footprint, material choice, appropriate wall thickness and design for disassembly are examples of the design’s environmental considerations.
Ersa is manufactured as top and bottom ribbed shells (High Heat ABS) that house an inner assembly that is first assembled to a support piece that is layered and fixed between the two shells during assembly. The design has considered injection moulding parameters and assembly procedures in order to create a long life, durable product whilst reducing manufacturing costs.
The product is conscious of safety and standards and all bought in parts (such as the battery and charge controller) must meet their own relevant standards.
