Environment & Energy

Ilsa

(61,707 posts) Tue Mar 6, 2012, 11:30 PM Mar 2012

Geomagnetic Storms Could Blow Away the Power Grid

http://smartenergyportal.net/article/geomagnetic-storms-could-blow-away-power-grid-fixes-are-possible-when-and-if-we-get-concerne?YM_MID=1296124&YM_RID=kdl8%40pge.com

Geomagnetic Storms Could Blow Away the Power Grid: Fixes are Possible When And If We Get Concerned Enough

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It took the 12 hour Northeast blackout of 1965, which knocked out power to 30 million customers, to get us seriously working on coordinated, interstate transmission standards. The result was the formation of the North American Reliability Council (NERC) in 1968. We can also thank the disaster for pushing the development of transmission SCADA and programmable relays. There have been other less spectacular area-wide transmission outages since then (particularly in the Northeast for some reason). These have also resulted in major (overdue) operating changes.

Waiting for disasters to occur in order to take action may save a few bucks, but sometimes the potential risk is so high you can’t afford to let happenstance happen. You don’t want to check for a possible retinal aneurism by continuing to lift weights at the gym!

When we discuss grid security we usually are thinking ‘cyber-security’. But the power system is far more vulnerable to other types of attacks, such as physical destruction of critical system components. These mostly go ignored. (see Cyber-threat or Cyber-hype?)

Then there’s the 800 pound-gorilla-sleeping-in-the-closet threat: a geomagnetic storm which, if big enough, could shut down the world’s power grids so destructively that they would be out for weeks, possibly months.

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Geomagnetic Storms Could Blow Away the Power Grid (Original Post) Ilsa Mar 2012 OP

Solar panels and batteries... enough to run the refrigerator and freezer, anyway. DCKit Mar 2012 #1

Do you KNOW how much power a Refrigerator NEEDs?? happyslug Mar 2012 #2

We've got 16-80 watt solar panels at the farm. DCKit Mar 2012 #3

There is a difference between a kilowatt and a kilowatt hour. kristopher Mar 2012 #4

Very true Throckmorton Mar 2012 #5

DCKit

(18,541 posts)

1. Solar panels and batteries... enough to run the refrigerator and freezer, anyway.

Reply to Ilsa (Original post)

Tue Mar 6, 2012, 11:54 PM

Mar 2012

Somebody should be selling these kits by now.

happyslug

(14,779 posts)

2. Do you KNOW how much power a Refrigerator NEEDs??

Reply to DCKit (Reply #1)

Wed Mar 7, 2012, 09:19 PM

Mar 2012

For example a 4.4 Cubic inch Compact Refrigerator uses 274 kwh per year.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_326299-47224-LFPH44M4LM_4294857965_44_?productId=3256590&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl_Compact%2BRefrigerators_4294857965_44_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

And this is an "Energy Star" rated Refrigerator:
http://pdf.lowes.com/energyguides/012505747373.pdf

Please note the 274 Kilowatt hours is a YEARLY amount, so you have to divide it by 365 to see how much you would use in a day, or .75 Kilowatts hours or 750 Watts hour (What most people call 750 WATTS).

.http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/homes/rea14.shtm

Solar panels run about $1.41 per watt, or for 750 watt Refrigerator that comes to $1057.50 for a panel, that will provide the power needed but only during daylight.

Solar power for sale site, yes a place to buy your Solar power "kits":
http://www.wholesalesolar.com/

For a larger (normal kitchen size) refrigerator the numbers are higher, 590 kwh on a yearly basis, which comes to 1.61 kwh per day or 1610 watts. At $1.41 per watt, that comes to $2270,10 in panels needed.

At these prices, it MIGHT be better to leave the food ROT, it is cheaper.

Remember the $2270,10in solar panel is what is needed just to run the Refrigerator. Running any fans (for example for the Furnace during winter) will be additional and I will NOT even bring up Air Conditioning.

Just pointing out the COST of using Solar Panels as a backup. In a rural situation a mixed system would be better, i.e, Solar Roof, Wind power electrical and a water system (The water system could be a water tank that is filled with water by the Wind Turbine and the Solar Panels when the power from those two sources are NOT being used elsewhere, then when there is no wind and the Sun is down, the water is released to run a water powered generator. This combination tends to be CHEAPER then using batteries to "store" the electrical power).

In urban areas, wind turbines tend to be viewed as dangerous, as are water towers, thus the Solar Panel have to be viewed as a backup in itself or with some sort of high end battery storage system.

Just pointing out the restrictions as to Solar Panels at the present time, looking at the numbers it may be better to leave the food go bad then to spend the money on a solar panel system to backup power to the refrigerator.

DCKit

(18,541 posts)

3. We've got 16-80 watt solar panels at the farm.

Reply to happyslug (Reply #2)

Thu Mar 8, 2012, 12:14 AM

Mar 2012

The fridge and chest freezer run on LP.

There is at least one company that makes very low energy (Danfoss compressor, 4" insulation) fridges and freezers, claiming that they only require two panels for power.