Category Archives: burning reduction methods

A Refridgerator That Uses No Electricity And No Greenhouse Gases – How cool would it be to own something patented by Einstein?

Posted on by
Reply

This recent article in the UK Guardian caught my attention. While I don’t post the whoooooooole thinggggggg because it really long, I include some other sites and some art.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/sep/21/scienceofclimatechange.climatechange

Einstein fridge design can help global cooling

Scientists relaunch a 1930 invention that uses no electricity and would reduce greenhouse gases

An early invention by Albert Einstein has been rebuilt by scientists at Oxford University who are trying to develop an environmentally friendly refrigerator that runs without electricity.

Modern fridges are notoriously damaging to the environment. They work by compressing and expanding man-made greenhouse gases called freons – far more damaging that carbon dioxide – and are being manufactured in increasing numbers. Sales of fridges around the world are rising as demand increases in developing countries.

Now Malcolm McCulloch, an electrical engineer at Oxford who works on green technologies, is leading a three-year projectto develop more robust appliances that can be used in places without electricity. 

His team has completed a prototype of a type of fridge patented in 1930 by Einstein and his colleague, the Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard. It had no moving parts and used only pressurised gases to keep things cold. The design was partly used in the first domestic refrigerators, but the technology was abandoned when more efficient compressors became popular in the 1950s. That meant a switch to using freons.

Einstein and Szilard’s idea avoids the need for freons. It uses ammonia, butane and water and takes advantage of the fact that liquids boil at lower temperatures when the air pressure around them is lower. ‘If you go to the top of Mount Everest, water boils at a much lower temperature than it does when you’re at sea level and that’s because the pressure is much lower up there,’ said McCulloch.

At one side is the evaporator, a flask that contains butane. ‘If you introduce a new vapour above the butane, the liquid boiling temperature decreases and, as it boils off, it takes energy from the surroundings to do so,’ says McCulloch. ‘That’s what makes it cold.’

Pressurised gas fridges based around Einstein’s design were replaced by freon-compressor fridges partly because Einstein and Szilard’s design was not very efficient. But McCulloch thinks that by tweaking the design and replacing the types of gases used it will be possible to quadruple the efficiency. He also wants to take the idea further. The only energy input needed into the fridge is to heat a pump, and McCulloch has been working on powering this with solar energy.

‘No moving parts is a real benefit because it can carry on going without maintenance. This could have real applications in rural areas,’ he said.

McCulloch’s is not the only technology to improve the environmental credentials of fridges. Engineers working at a Cambridge-based start-up company, Camfridge, are using magnetic fields to cool things. ‘Our fridge works, from a conceptual point of view, in a similar way [to gas compressor fridges] but instead of using a gas we use a magnetic field and a special metal alloy,’ said managing director Neil Wilson

 http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/Einsteins-Refrigerator/401711/product.html?cid=123620&fp=F&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=2823969

einstein.jpg 

Einstein’s Refrigerator

And Other Stories from the Flip Side of History

by Silverman, Steve

  • $9.95
  • $9.45
  • $0.50 (5%)
  • Paperback
  • 04/01/2001
  • 9780740714191
  • 2823969

:}

But think of the irony here, Einstein went from being a patent clerk to being a patent clerk. Or better yet he went from a patent clerk to being patented:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_refrigerator

 200px-einstein_refrigerator.png

From 1926 until 1933 Einstein and Szilárd collaborated on ways to improve home refrigeration technology. The two were motivated by contemporary newspaper reports of a Berlin family who had been killed when a seal in their refrigerator broke and leaked toxic fumes into their home. Einstein and Szilard proposed that a device without moving parts would eliminate the potential for seal failure, and explored practical applications for different refrigeration cycles. Einstein used the experience he had gained during his years at the Swiss Patent Office to apply for valid patents for their inventions in several countries, the two eventually being granted 45 patents in their names for three different models.

It has been suggested that most of the actual inventing was performed by Szilard, with Einstein merely acting as a consultant and helping with the patent-related paperwork. Additionally, Einstein’s name lent the research prestige and credibility.[1]

The refrigerator was not immediately put into commercial production, the most promising of their patents being quickly bought up by the Swedish company AB Electrolux to protect its refrigeration technology from competition. A few demonstration units were constructed from other patents.

The invention of Freon in 1930 rendered the vapour compression process the standard for refrigeration.

:}

Then there is view of the regular fridge:

http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/Sculptureprize05/Detail.cfm?IRN=139757

german-art.jpg 

:}

Rammed Earth Homes – Simple ways that people used in the past to build their house that are being revived today

Posted on by
1

If folks just used their common snse and the materials around them the USA could have low energy consuming elegant housing:

http://www.rammedearthhomes.com/

 rotator.jpg

Offering:

  • Passive-solar design/build
  • Rammed earth wall construction for homes, businesses, gardens, art projects.
  • Passive-solar-design and rammed-earth-technical consultation with architects, engineers and owner-builders.
  • Rammit Yourself workshops. 

 Work continues on our home in 2008. If you would like to participate in a workshop format during this process, please, in an email to Julie@RammedEarthHomes.com 

state your first, second and third choices for workshop dates. We will try to compile workshops that accommodate dates within those choices.

If you would like to discuss possible dates, please call Julie at 520.896.3393. Reservations for chosen dates may be made by phone.

 :}

This site is so huge. It contains 12s of books. If you want to build a house, this site is a must visit.

 http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/rammedearth.htm

 buildtodaylogo.jpg

Rammed Earth

Ramming earth to create walls is at least as old as the Great Wall of China. It is really quite similar to adobe and cob techniques, in that the soil is mostly clay and sand. The difference is that the material is compressed or tamped into place, usually with forms that create very flat vertical surfaces. Modern rammed earth typically utilizes heavy mechanized equipment to move and compress the material . The walls are normally at least a foot thick to give enough bulk to be stable and provide the thermal mass for comfort. It is best to apply insulating material to the outside of the building to keep the interior temperature constant. The interior surface can be finished in a variety of ways, from natural oil to more standard surfaces. Rammed earth houses tend to have a very solid, quiet feeling inside.

:}

This site is also extremely helpful:

http://www.diyrammedearth.com/

Do It Yourself


Rammed Earth

We are Bill & Stephen Betzen, a father and son team who started the planning process in 2004 to build a rammed earth home in Dallas, Texas by 2009.  We are on schedule. We want to share research we have done and make connections with similarly interested Do It Yourself (DIY) people also interested in rammed earth construction and benefits.

Our home is planned to be a 2400 sq ft, 2 story home with a covered balcony and porch surrounding the home. The ground floor earthen walls will be 2 ft thick with 18″ thick walls above the second floor. The goal is a home that will be as cool as possible in the hottest Dallas summer. With a home fully surrounded by both a shaded porch and a shaded balcony, as well as many trees, we hope the worst Dallas summer sun will never heat the thermal mass of the rammed earth walls. Combined with a ventilated, reflective metal roof over insulation, we hope that annual air-conditioning needs will be greatly reduced if not totally eliminated.

Our research shows rammed earth construction to be the most simple, environmentally responsible method for building the thermal shell of a home.  It will be a strong, quiet, healthy, termite-free, fire-resistant, comfortable home, one weighing 300+ tons and lasting many generations. It will save thousands of dollars annually in utility and maintenance costs along the way. 

Stephen’s mother and maternal Hungarian ancestors were born in, built, and lived in rammed earth homes for hundreds, if not thousands of years. They speak fondly of the quiet, year-around comfort of their rammed earth homes. We will simply add about 3-5% cement to the mixture, with a reflective, ventilated roof, and extra shade for the Dallas heat.

Continue to explore what is already online about rammed earth with www.google.com or with some of the following links, including the web ring at the bottom of the page linking with similar web pages.

  1. At http://www.rammedearthhomes.com/ you will find Quentin Branch’s pages describing the work he does in Arizona with rammed earth.

  2. You can find research done in 2004 in Del Rio Texas relating to the cooling qualities of rammed earth in an article linked online at http://www.toolbase.org/techinv/techResources.aspx?technologyID=144. It is the research by John J. Morony titled “Logged Data for Heat Wave, Del Rio, Texas, 31 May – 2 June 2004.”  It shows the superior ability of rammed earth to stay cool, even in direct sun in a heat wave, when compared to cement brick or adobe construction.  With our plans we need to know what happens when you keep these walls in the shade.

  3. How To Build a Rammed Earth House is a 1973 article published in Mother Earth, written by John O McMeekin about the home he had build 25 years earlier of rammed earth, and continued to live in at that time.  It appears he still lives there now but we are attempting to verify that at this time. His utility bills would be very interesting to compare with his neighbors in similar sized homes.

  4. Introduction to rammed earth is a web site from the UK and covers the basic facts about rammed earth.

  5. Steve Davis’ rammed earth house web pages with FAQ’s.

  6. Rogers Rammed Earth, a DIY home with photos.

  7. Green Home Building: Rammed Earth Questions and Answers by Leonard Jones, P.E.

  8. Contemporary Rammed Earth Homes Benefits

  9. Australia’s guide to environmentally sustainable homes – Passive Cooling – the basics!

  10. National Association of Home Builders Research Center web site

If you know of rammed earth building resources near Dallas please let us know.  We are searching

:}

Fast Super Efficient Houses – Why is America so far behind?

Posted on by
1

This is at one time really cool, a really cool site and depressing if you live in the heart of the energy hog.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/09/12/sustainable-homes-from-easy-domes/

easydomes2.jpg

:} I can’t say enough about this publication. Its great! :}

 Echoing the structures of Buckminster Fuller’s Geodesic Domes, Danish Architect Kári Thomsen and Engineer Ole Vanggaard have created Easy Domes, a series of quick assembly, low-energy homes! Following the success of the first Easy Dome home built in 1992 for the Greenland Society on The Faroe Islands, a number of dome-shaped cottages were erected as tourist getaways. Since then, the buildings have been put into production and delivery of these fabulous prefab buildings was initiated early this summer!

The unique shape of the Easy Dome, called an icosahedron, is designed to optimize the amount of interior space inside each home. Made up of several hexagonal pieced together, the dome hosts a wealth of interior nooks and crannies, making it stand out from other prefab home designs.

The dome offers individuals the opportunity to build their own high quality homes, coming with pre-built wooden sections, ready to assemble on either a concrete or timber plinth. Once on site, the dome houses take only one day to raise and seal, and for domes less than 500 square feet, no crane is needed to complete construction. The load construction is extremely strong and built for extreme weather, including wind speeds of 200 mph with one meter of wet snow on the roof.

The completed two-floor homes come with living room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms and are constructed using only sustainable and recycled materials. The exterior is covered with non-toxic impregnated pinewood, and the roof is covered with grass. The construction is ventilated on the exterior and insulated with wood-wool or flax, with fiber gypsum to cover all installations and cables. The floor is made up of a plate of reinforced concrete with pressure-resistant insulation and vitrified gravel underneath. Laying on top of the concrete are insulation and floorboards. Furthermore, each home is installed with solar panels and a brick stove, both of which are thermostat-controlled and connected to a water tank. Other renewable energy systems are also available

With a minimum use of materials, the domes are sustainable, energy efficient, spacious and cost-efficient. There is also the potential to erect two or three domes together.

 :}

You can find much more at their site:

 http://www.easydomes.com/

easydomes1.jpg 

The Easy Domes concept sets up for advantages in a very quick and easy assembling and raising of the building and its finish. On a concrete or timber basic it takes one day to raise and seal the construction which is made of quality plywood and 3×4? to 3×6″ timber in pinewood.

All sections are premade and ready to assemble with bolts and nuts and the sealing of the edges with asphaltpaper or rubber. The climate shelter and finish out – and inside are also precutted plates / sections ready for mounting.

Floor, partition walls and windows and doors are offered as the house by this becomes ready for kitchen, bathroom, furniture, lamps and other installations done by the dome owner.

The Easy Domes products are certified and of high quality and precision made materials fullfilling  international building rules and standards.  Transport is easy in container  and no crane is needed to erect buildings untill the 50 sq.ft. domes.

As domes are geometrical structures optimized on loads and climate conditions – with a minimum use of materials –  advantages are reached in a sustainable, energy efficient and  spatial building on a very suitable cost level.

San Antonio Makes Money Off Human Waste – That’s right TX city makes cash off doodoo

Posted on by
Reply

http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/11/san-antonio-generating-gas-from-sewage/

 San Antonio Generating Gas from Sewage

Written by Ariel Schwartz

Published on September 11th, 2008


san antonio

San Antonio, Texas is making use of its 140,000 tons of sewage generated each year to capture methane gas. The city’s utility board of trustees approved a contract this week to sell 900,000 cubic feet of natural gas derived from the sewage each day to Ameresco, a Massachusetts energy services company.

Though methane is a potent greenhouse gas, it has a variety of uses. The substance can be used for fuel in gas turbines or steam boilers, and it is also used as vehicle fuel in the form of compressed natural gas. Additionally, NASA is researching methane as a potential rocket fuel.

According to Steve Claus, the chief operating officer of the water system, San Antonio’s sewage generates 1.5 million cubic feet of gas each day—enough to fill seven commercial blimps or 1,250 tanker trucks. The facilities needed for the project will be ready in about two years.

San Antonio will get $250,000 a year for the methane—a sum that I hope will go towards more renewable energy efforts in the area.

:}

 http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN0937395520080909

San Antonio residents produce about 140,000 tons a year of a substance gently referred to as “biosolids,” which can be reprocessed into natural gas, said Steve Clouse, chief operating officer of the city’s water system.

“You may call it something else,” Clouse said, but for area utilities, the main byproduct of human waste – methane gas – will soon be converted into natural gas to burn in their power plants.

 The private vendor will come onto the facility, construct some gas cleaning systems, remove the moisture, remove the carbon dioxide content, and then sell that gas on the open market,” Clouse said.

The gas will be sold to power generators, he said.

Some communities are using methane gas harvested from solid waste to power smaller facilities like sewage treatment plants, but San Antonio is the first to see large-scale conversion of methane gas from sewage into fuel for power generation, he said.

Following the agreement, more than 90 percent of materials flushed down the toilets and sinks of San Antonio will be recycled, he said. Liquid is now used for irrigation, many of the solids are made into compost, and now the methane gas will be recycled for power generation.

(Reporting by Jim Forsyth, Editing by Chris Baltimore and Lisa Shumaker)

:}

 http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/900732.html

The utility already sells for reuse a portion of the water that’s cleaned up at its wastewater treatment plants. It also has contracts to turn up to 80 percent of biosolids into compost that’s sold for use in yards and gardens.

“As far as we know, SAWS is the only city in the United States that has completed the renewable recyclable trifecta,” Clouse”.

Clouse said it will take 18 to 24 months for construction of facilities needed for the contract.

:}

Not so delicate post

:}

http://sustainablog.org/2008/09/12/in-praise-of-poop-3-san-antonio-harnesses-power-from-sewage-methane/

For this the third entry in the annals of excellent excrement (after cow and E. coli poop), we will have to travel deep down into the heart of Texas…and then even farther down into the sewers of San Antonio. So don your rubber body suit, gas mask, and sense of humor, for sewage is no longer just stuff to be dumped and forgotten.

No, San Antonio is out to prove that sewage, and specifically the methane that it gives off oh so (i.e., too) naturally without any bother or cost to us, can be used as a source of alternative fuel…I mean it is natural gas, after all.

:}

:}

Houses That Heat Themselves – I had to stop with the surface transportation stuff – if we were smart we would all use horses

Posted on by
Reply

http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3098:new-experimental-homes-will-heat-themselves&catid=919:housing&Itemid=233

New experimental homes will heat themselves      
Friday, 12 September 2008 10:20
“We’ve learnt the lessons of the 1970s,” construction officials insist. DENSITY, compactness and insulation are the current focus of architects and planners. New housing in Finland is being built more compactly than previously so that heating is more energy- and cost-efficient. Constructed in the right way, advocates maintain, compacter housing does not even require a heating system.This sort of design is being experimented north of Helsinki in Tikkurila, Vantaa, where semi-detached houses are being built without a separate heating system.

The house will draw its heat primarily from the people, household appliances and lamps it contains. Jorma Vuoritsalo realises that, for many people, it’s hard to believe that a house’s contents alone could provide adequate heat, but he remains convinced that he won’t need to freeze in his new home.

Quite the opposite, according to Pekka Haikonen, director of development at Paroc, a company specialising in building insulation. He argues that, when built correctly, self-heating homes are perfectly pleasant since the internal temperature is self-regulating and heat is naturally distributed evenly. Paroc, along with the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), is responsible for the design and execution of the Tikkurila development.

According to Paroc’s estimates, residents of the planned homes will face heating expenses of some 350 euros per year, whereas the annual bill incurred in heating the current average single-family house is closer to 1,200 euros. Even more strikingly, the energy consumed annually by one of the new experimental houses will be less than a sixth of that currently swallowed by a more conventional model.

An unpleasant flashback?

Compacter housing models are not an easy idea to market to Finns since they often provoke fears of poor air circulation and mould. Many have unpleasant memories of the houses built in response to the energy crisis of the 1970s, which were soon riddled with damp and mould-related damage.

But the lessons of the 1970s have been learnt, Helena Säteri reassures people. The director general of Finland’s environmental administration explains that the key is to ensure that air circulation in densely-built housing is both thorough and effective.

Pekka Rönkkö is also quick to calm fears of stuffy interiors. A product manager at Paroc, Rönkkö’s role as a technical expert on the Vantaa project has left him confident that every room in the new houses will contain fresh, well-circulated air.

Circulation won’t come in the form of an unpleasant draught, however, since air coming into the building will first be heated. Normally, this process will not require any power, since it will utilise the heat already inside the house.

When required, though, air entering the house can also be heated electrically. This may be necessary during winter following a period when the house has been empty and the internal temperature has fallen, when the family has returned from a winter holiday, for example.

Improving older buildings

Older houses are not easily modified in order to make them dense enough to go without a separate heating system, but they can certainly be made more energy-efficient, Rönkkö says. The key is to insulate them properly.

In particular, he encourages people to concentrate on insulating the building’s foundations, calling it a small but lucrative investment which fundamentally improves a house’s energy-efficiency and dramatically reduces annual electricity expenses.

Double glazing for the windows is slower to pay for itself long-term, he concedes, but remains a worth-while investment. Moreover, better-insulated windows reduce unwanted draught, which makes a house a much more pleasant place to live in.

Rönkkö also has a message for the housing cooperatives of apartment buildings: when renovating the building’s facade, it makes sense to improve insulation at the same time.

:}

:}

At Least Buy A Scooter If Nothing Else – Stop burning up the world

Posted on by
Reply

http://greenlivingideas.com/scooters/electric-scooters-personal-eco-transports.html

Electric Scooters, Personal Eco Transports

If you live in just about anywhere in Europe or Asia, it’s unlikely that you’d need to be sold on the merits of motor scooters (also known by the eponym Vespas)—those fun, economical, and stylish two-wheel vehicles that are simply perfect for driving—and parking—in crowded cities. 

But keep reading—you just might be surprised by some of the scooter’s environmental implications.  On the other hand, if you live in the U.S., you might want to start thinking about this admittedly unconventional alternate form of transportation.

Green Scooters

Okay, so they’re comfortable, cheap, small and therefore convenient—they’re even cute and fun.  But if I make it my primary mode of transport, what am I really doing for (and not doing “to”) Mother Nature?  The answer is:  it depends.  (Doesn’t it always?).  Scooters are known for their incredible fuel efficiency, just like motorcycles.  Gas-powered scooters can easily attain 60-80 mpg, music to the ears of anyone who last calculated the mileage of his SUV, sedan, or even compact car.  Scooters might use less gas than a conventional car, but they still require it, and by now, we must all be familiar with the intricate politics of gasoline usage—foreign oil dependency, global warming, unsustainable fossil fuel, and the list goes on.  

AND nothing can beat the electric scooter, greenest of the green.  Practically silent with no emissions, an electric scooter is a stalking panther through the urban jungle, leaving not a trace behind.  With electricity costing only one-tenth that of gas, you might be wondering why you ever thought the marvel of scooter fuel efficiency was even relevant (don’t get me wrong, efficiency is important as energy consumption is still energy consumption).  As a bonus, electric scooters require significantly less maintenance because they have fewer moving parts and don’t need endless amounts of lubricant, oil, and other engine fluids.  So what’s the catch?  Well, there are a few you should be aware of:

  • The upfront cost of an electric scooter is higher, just like you suspected it might be, but that little green motorbike is probably going to pay for itself through energy cost savings.
  • Unfortunately, the battery pack isn’t going to have anything on a fuel tank, and that’s the truth.  A 30-mile range seems about average, with 50 miles on the high end.  You’ll probably be fine running errands and commuting to work (unless your bedroom community is 20 exits away from the corporate office park where you work), but anything long-distance will call for something more substantial.
  • Recharging your battery also takes time—if you’ve ever recharged a cell phone or laptop at a public outlet, you’ll know how maddeningly slow that recharging can be.  However, if you plug in your electric scooter every time you come home, you shouldn’t have a problem keeping your battery charged up.  On that note, wouldn’t it be convenient if there outlets wherever there were parking spots? Well, maybe one day.

Companies like Vespa-producing Piaggio are continuing to set the curve in this industry—they’re in the prototype phases of developing a combination gas/electric scooter , the HyS, that boasts a hybrid drivetrain said to up power by 25% and cut gas guzzling by 20%.  They’ve also announced the Piaggio MP3, a leaning three-wheeled scooter that bolsters speed, stability (with a tilt angle of about 40 degrees), and traction, especially on slippery terrain.  And it just keeps getting better—this model is a plug-in hybrid that fully charges in three hours and gets about 170 miles to the gasoline gallon.  No word on pricing or release dates yet, but these annoucements should open up the market a bit and rev-up the speed on other projects.

To sum up: Electric scooters definitely hold the title of being the greenest scooters around.  But if you can’t find, afford, or use one for whatever reason, a propane-fueled scooter with a four-stroke engine that uses direct injection is the next best thing.  If you’re still not having any luck, just try to get your hands on a four-stroke.  Happy scootering!

:}

http://www.ozscootersdirect.com.au/
Having a reliable vehicle ready for daily riding or just a weekend thrill is an important choice. Only a well designed machine that is built to last and can adapt to all applications is the right choice. A scooter from OzScootersDirect is that dependable working vehicle that delivers power, reliability and performance.

OzScootersDirect’s range of scooters are engineered and built to maintain the thrill over a longer lifetime. From the Powersport 50cc powerplant to the renowned Executive maxi-style scooter and Outlaw commuter both with 150cc engines designed from the Honda GY6 engine. We even stock a 1500w electric scooter, the greenest scooter around! It’s your pick for the one that best fits your hearts desire.

So, if riding is your desired transport, and budget is a factor, the range from OzScootersDirect is your best proposition.

We sell wholesale to the public!

OzScootersDirect imports these range of scooters and offers them to the public at wholesale prices. This gives you the ability to own a reliable scoot without paying over-the-top prices.

Delivery is available to almost all parts of Australia with minor assembly required before riding. Visit our Gallery for more detailed photos of the requirements.

Email us at sales@ozscootersdirect.com.au for any further information.

:}

http://www.looad.com/article.cfm/id/227510

Vectrix Fully Electric Scooter,

The Greenest Ride in the World:

 Totally Electric Transportation

in California 

San Francisco, CA (Vocus) October 15, 2007 — In a land characterized by its freedom, Americans have become slaves to rising fuel prices and limited options. With a much needed change on the horizon, a new solution has arrived. The solution is the Vectrix ZEV (zero-emissions vehicle), the only highway legal, fully electric, zero-emissions vehicle for sale in the USA.

The Vectrix ZEV resembles a motorcycle more than a scooter; however the similarities end there. The Vectrix Fully Electric Scooter, a new take on the classic scooter, is a revolutionary new form of personal transportation. Changing the standard for electric travel, the Vectrix ZEV is a highway legal, zero-emissions luxury vehicle with a built-in rechargeable battery. Through the scooter’s sleek, sporty design, it will prove to not only be attractive to the green set, but to individuals seeking a practical, fuel efficient way to zip around town.

Among the Vectrix ZEV’s many strengths are its unmatched technical capabilities. The Vectrix electric scooter features a patented regenerative deceleration system, called DAaRT. This innovation enables acceleration and braking to be controlled by one hand using the bidirectional throttle, resulting in recovered energy and extended battery life. This also means that the electric scooter has no gears, no clutch, and unlike the competition, can go in reverse from a standing start. Further advantages include the high quality, Brembo disk brakes, allowing for quick stops in emergency situations. However, what is perhaps one of the Vectrix ZEV’s most attractive features is its onboard charging capability. This allows the scooter to charge with ease on any 110 volt plug, providing up to 68 miles of travel. This combination of cutting edge developments makes the Vectrix ZEV the simplest scooter to ride in the world..

If speed is what a driver is looking for, the Vectrix ZEV offers premium results. The scooter accelerates from 0 to 50 in 6.8 seconds, while only making a whisper of noise.

:}

Green Transportation Conference – Who knew?

Posted on by
1

Actually todays post is the result of the Feeling Lucky button  at Google. Even though this conference happened in the Bay Area on the Left Coast over 4 months ago. It still qualifies as a real cool site and a real cool idea.

http://greentransportation2008.com/

Green Transportation 2008

Choices for The Future

 Click here to see photos of the April 12, 2008 event!

Want to see the latest alternatives for getting around? Join us Saturday, April 12 for a day of education and entertainment. Featuring major manufacturers, innovators and nonprofits, all on one site.

Hosted by the Green Building Exchange in collaboration with Green Seed Radio (KTRB AM860).

Hosted by the Green Building Exchange in collaboration with Green Seed Radio (KTRB AM860).

www.greenbuildingexchange.com
Operating in Redwood City, the Green Building Exchange was created as a one-stop green business marketplace by founder Michael Schaeffer, who wanted to make the information and the process for sustainable building as accessible and affordable to consumers as conventional building. The Green Building Exchange facility offers products, services, education, networking and media, though a permanent tradeshow exhibit, a retail store for green design products, on-going classes and symposia, and state-of-the-art office and conference spaces. 

 Green Transportation 2008: Choices for the Future
Saturday, April 12th
9AM-5PM
Free tickets

Located at:
Green Building Exchange
305 Main Street
Redwood City, CA 94063

Green Transportation 2008: Choices for the Future is the first show of its kind in San Mateo County. Dedicated to accelerating the transition to a sustainable transportation.

 April 11th
Horizons in Transportation 10AM-2PM
Policymakers, fleet managers, transportation and planning experts and advocates, are invited to attend an educational event and show preview. Please contact Lindsay Germain for details.

April 17th
Vehicle Retrofit Workshop 7-8:30PM
Learn about high-efficiency plug-in hybrids and what it takes to convert your vehicle to plug-in electric. In this workshop, you will compare vehicle options and learn the basics of plug-in conversion. The workshop also outlines financial incentives and other alternative vehicle options. Co-instructed by the Electric Auto Association of Silicon Valley. For details and to register, visit http://plugIn.eventbrite.com.

Come learn what it takes to convert your vehicle. This multimedia workshop overviews the process of converting a gasoline car to an electric vehicle. You will hear tips on selecting a conversion-ready vehicle, compare many of the trade-offs of different conversion options, and receive links to resources and information. The workshop also outlines financial incentives and other alternative vehicle options.

Instructors:

Jerry Pohorsky is a Test Engineer at General Electric and President of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Electric Auto Association.

Jerry found a shortcut and saved money by buying a used electric vehicle that needed new batteries. You can see the car here: http://www.evalbum.com/692. He now drives a factory built Toyota RAV 4 electric vehicle that is “head and shoulders” above most home conversions, though more expensive.

Doug Brentlinger is a retired machinist, formerly of Electro Automotive, a company that sells kits and parts for electric conversion projects. Doug also worked in the Quality Assurance department of Network General (now McAfee).

Doug has converted a small Dodge Rampage pickup truck from gasoline to electric power using readily available components.

His converted pickup is freeway-ready and the low-cost batteries can be recharged from any 120 volt outlet.

April 15th 

Vehicle Retrofit Workshop 

Learn what it takes to convert your vehicle to biofuel or electric. In this workshop, you will compare conversion options and learn the basics of vehicle conversion. The workshop also outlines financial incentives and other alternative vehicle options. For details and to register, visit www.greenbuildingexchange.com or RSVP to Lindsay Germain. 

:}

Sounds like a great time was had by all. I wonder if they will do it again in 2009? But when I click the Green Building Exchange I got this:  

:}

The Green Building Exchange is proud to announce that we are opening 2 new locations on the San Francisco Peninsula. We are opening a new massive facility in South San Francisco which will be our new headquarters. Our Redwood City location is moving down the street.

1 Chestnut Street
South San Francisco, CA 94080		 936 Main Street
Redwood City, CA 94063
Opening September 15th Opening October 6th

You can still contact us during this transition period by phone or email:

Main Office: 650-369-6200

Eco Design Resources: 650-369-5001

info@greenbuildingexchange.com

:}

So guess I’ll email to find out. I’ll will let you know if they tell me. 

Run Your Car On Propane? – T. Boone Pickens must have read Mother Earth News

Posted on by
1

This article is from 1972:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Transportation/1972-05-01/Convert-Your-Car-To-Propane.aspx

Convert Your Car to Propane

A tried and tested low-emission fuel, liquid propane, and the easy-to-install system results in lower operation and maintenance costs, much longer engine life and 70% less air pollution

May/June 1972

The Mother Earth News editors 

It works. New York, Maine, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Utah, California . . . I’ve traveled miles and miles and miles in a VW bus converted to run on LP (liquid propane) and the easy-to-install system really does result in lower operating and maintenance costs, much longer engine life AND 70% less air pollution.Unlike gasoline, LP (and from here on, whenever I say LP you can take it to mean liquid propane, homemade methane or natural gas . . . the system will work on any of these) enters your engine as a completely vaporized fuel that’s free from lead, carbon, gum, sulfur and most pollutants. LP won’t foul your car’s plugs, ruin its valves, contaminate its oil, wash down its cylinder walls and rings, burn out its muffler . . . OR destroy the air we all breathe. And while mileage and performance are about the same as with gasoline, cost per gallon of LP generally runs about 15% less than you’ve probably been paying for fuel.

levers | levers@motherearthnews.com | motherearthnews.com | IP: 24.249.117.142

Thank you for the attention to our Web site, but the information you have posted is protected under copyright. Instead of posting the entire article, feel free to post the first paragraph and then a link to the article on our Web site. We have a contractual obligation to our writers to protect their copyrights. We truly appreciate the attention you’re providing the piece, but ask that you please link to the article and post no more than the first paragraph of its text.

Thank you for your understanding and attention to this matter.

Laura Evers
Mother Earth News

MEN (that’s right folks that the acronym for this magazine) sent me this after we posted it here. Let me point out for the record that I was simply making the subtle point that the article was written in 1972. This to point out that Picken’s idea was not new and NEVER acted. I only ran the part of the article that talked the ease of conversion. Because we switched from carboretors to fuel injectors, if you tried to do what they describe in the article, your car will blow up. I did not want any of that liability, but apparently they do.

:}

We all have fuel injecters now so it must be a whole lot more complicated to do.
:}

Natural Gas Powered Cars Come To Springfield – Well not exactly..but T. Bone Picken’s commercials have.

Posted on by
Reply

Iran is currently converting its entire surface transportation fleet to natural Gas so it can sell its oil and gasoline to the rest of the world. In a Theocracy and in an authoritarian country like Iran it is pretty easy to do. About half of Brazil’s much vaunted enthanol economy is actually run by natural gas as well. The stuff is cheap (in some parts of the world free) and relatively clean. Is Pickens trying to get richer. Heck yah. Anyway if they were serious about the idea they would quit jawin and make it happen. They would:

1. Put a natural gas dispenser in at least one gas station in everytown in America that has one.

2. Offer conversion kits for cars at a reasonable price, at a location with installation included. They could even offer your first tank of natural gas for free.

3. Begin the phase out of gasoline despensers at gas stations one at a time and replace them with natural gas dispensers until they are gone.

4. They damn well better recycle all the gasoline pump parts and plan on the removal of the gasoline storage tanks.

There would still be a small gasoline market and some people would refuse to convert. There would be some explosions and other mishaps along the way. Humans are primates after all. But as long as everyone looks at the ground and rubs their big toe in the dirt…Well lawdedah.

If they were really serious they would come to your house, install a fueling station and leave. Something akin to, “Go ahead, I dare you to use natural gas”!

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ngv.htm

How Natural-gas Vehicles Work

by William Harris

Kermit the Frog once said, “It’s not that easy bein’ green.” Although he wasn’t referring to cars, his observation seems particularly appropriate for the auto industry today: Designing, developing and marketing “green” cars has not been an easy task, which is why gasoline-powered vehicles still rule the road and fossil fuels still account for almost 75 percent of the world’s energy consumption. As gasoline prices soar and concern over harmful emission mounts, however, cars that run on alternate fuel sources will become increasingly important. A natural-gas vehicle, or NGV, is the perfect example of such a car — it’s fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly and offers a relatively low cost of ownership.

ORIGINS OF NATURAL GAS 

Most modern wells extract both crude oil and natural gas at the same time. Some natural gas can be used as it comes from the well without any refining, but most requires processing. Natural gas processing consists of separating all the various hydrocarbons and fluids from the “wet” natural gas until it is “dry.” Dry natural gas is pure methane, which is the fuel of choice for many consumer applications, including natural-gas vehicles

Natural gas is not the only source of methane. Methane can also be obtained by fermenting organic matter, such as manure, in low levels of oxygen. In such conditions, bacteria will use the nutrients in manure as a food source and will release methane and carbon dioxide as waste products. This methane, known as bio-gas, can be collected and used as a fuel source.

The oil shortages of the late 1960s and early 1970s brought renewed interest in natural gas as a fuel source, especially for automobiles.

Today, owners of natural-gas vehicles can fill up their cars at one of 1,300 fueling stations located in the United States. Honda also offers a personal natural gas pump to people who purchase its natural-gas-powered Civic. The pump uses a home’s existing natural gas lines and can be installed for $500 to $1500.

In the next section we’ll discuss how natural-gas vehicles are designed.

 :}

While there are differences in the fuel tank (hint: you get rid of the old one and put in three natural gas tanks), and the chassey with a natural gas vehicle, the biggest difference is at the engine.

:}

Engine Modifications
When the engine in an NGV is started, natural gas flows from the storage cylinders into a fuel line. Near the engine, the natural gas enters a regulator to reduce the pressure. Then the gas feeds through a multipoint gaseous fuel-injection system, which introduces the fuel into the cylinders. Sensors and computers adjust the fuel-air mixture so that when a spark plug ignites the gas, it burns efficiently. A natural-gas engine also includes forged aluminum, high-compression pistons, hardened nickel-tungsten exhaust valve seats and a methane-specific catalytic converter.

 :}

Are they popular? Well it depends on who you listen too. 

:}

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10379094

Article Last Updated: 09/04/2008 07:20:35 AM MDT

State and federal tax credits. Cheap fuel. Free parking at meters in Salt Lake City. A ticket to the high­occupancy- vehicle lane, even if you’re driving solo.
    Plus that warm, smug feeling that comes from knowing that you’re polluting less than the other guy.
    It’s no wonder that more and more Utahns – the nonprofit Utah Clean Cities Coalition, using statistics from fueling sta­tions, estimates 20,000 – are driving vehicles powered by clean-burning compressed natural gas. Considering that it costs a mere 87 cents for enough CNG to equal the energy in a $4 gallon of gasoline, what’s surprising is that even more mo­torists have not made the switch.
    Some CNG converts are piloting the Honda Civic GX NGV, the only compressed natural gas production vehicle cur­rently on the market. Others have bought used cars that were either built or professionally converted to use CNG. Still more are taking their gasoline-powered cars to certified me­chanics and having them rigged to run exclusively on CNG, or to burn both natural gas and gasoline. Kudos. The environ­ment thanks you. Future generations will thank you. And your wallet thanks you.

:}

Here is a couple of places you can buy natural gas automotive products.
:} 

 http://www.google.com/products?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWE,RNWE:2006-03,RNWE:en&q=natural+gas+cars&um=1&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2329287,00.asp

:} 

Tri Cars, Trikars, 3 Wheelers and Modified Motorcycles Come To Springfield, IL – I had hoped to have Sarah’s story to tell today

Posted on by
3

Sarah O’Shea has some kind of Tri Car. It is pink, little, a convertible and cute. I really wanted a firsthand perspective. How does it handle? Is it loud? What is the ride like? But she does not seem interested, so I will just point people to places for 3 Wheelers. The funniest and long standing site is:

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6omtd/jorysquibb/id1.html

He calls himself MoonBeam and he is a hoot. He also gets 72 miles to the gallon. yikes:

How to build Moonbeam, a 100 MPG microcar

How to Build Moonbeam

1: CHOOSING THE DONOR VEHICLES                               (It takes two, remember?)        

 It’s good to think well before you choose which motorcycles or scooters to chop up for your microcar. I decided that I wanted the following characteristics: 100 miles per gallon, a four-stroke engine with water cooling; an occasional small second-passenger capacity, but usually one passenger and 6 grocery bags; no gear shifting with hand controls only; an enclosed vehicle with a heater for all-weather operation; easy interior access with lots of light; and finally, a nice looking machine, that you looked back on admiringly as you walk away. All in a budget of $2000, including the donor vehicles and 400 hours of labor. A half-time, half-year project. Ha! What an underestimation!

:}
Then he says a bunch very funny things and offers these helpful websites:

www.micromuseum.com    www.ccpc.net/~jaho/3link.html    www.3-wheelers.com   www.maxmatic   and www.rqriley.com 

The coolest one is the 3-wheelers site. They have some really cool stuff.

:}

The scooters I chose,  I completely stripped, carefully bagging and labeling all parts, and then sawed through the frame tubes right where the tube enters the rear subframe. I used a reciprocating hand power saw, commonly called a Sawzall, and kept handy a large pack of 14 tooth blades. Gasp! It was hard to destroy a beautiful red motor scooter! See photo 1, which also shows what I am calling the subframe.

II: BUILDING A STRONG MINIMAL CHASSIS

     I wanted to build a minimal frame first and test the vehicle on the road before I went too far with building the body. As you will see, my idea was to join the scooter rear end into two front ends of the same scooter.  See the ‘improvements” page for, in retrospect,  an easier way.

I bought an 8’ length of steel rectangular tube which was 2″ X 4″ in section and an eighth inch thick and sawing 45 degree angles created a “U” shaped piece of chassis. I chose 40″ inches as the car’s width, so the sides are 40″ on center and the arms extend 18″ forward, with caps welded on the open ends. This strong main frame shows in Photo 3, the first road test.

A 40″ width, with a wheelbase of about 57″, turned out to be a nice size. But when 2 adults are seat belted side-by-side, THEY NEED TO BE ON FRIENDLY TERMS! It’s better if the second passenger is a child.

I would strongly recommend that you think in terms of a 1.5 passenger vehicle. These are only 10″ tires. There are drum, not disk, brakes. Especially important, the front suspension, which mainly supports the passengers, has limited travel. Two adults going over a large pot hole might well bend something.

You might choose a larger format, but my interest was always to see how small a vehicle I could use with dignity. I might have gone to a 63″ wheelbase and used the extra length for more legroom. But remember: size makes weight. Moonbeam weighs 112 on each front wheel, and 162 on the back, for a total of 386 lbs. It accelerates quickly up to 40 MPH, then slowly on up to 52, but with two adults aboard, it does labor up steep hills.

I didn’t know how to weld, so bought a Hobart Handler “MIG” welding set with helmet, gloves, cart, etc. and had the salesman give me a crash course in welding. Before I started welding the chassis, I forced myself to spend a day practicing on all types of welds on all thickness of steel. Even so, my welds were always amateurish. The MIG welder, which uses inert gas, does make welding a lot easier.

I then welded this “U” chassis to the scooter rear sub-frame, using scrap flat 1/8″ metal gussets to strengthen all connections. On the sub-frame, I also lengthened the rear springs by 1″ to raise the height a little, and then re-installed the motor unit in the sub-frame.

To begin understanding some of the 3-wheel technical stuff, read everything in this site: www.rqriley.com/download.html Especially note all the front end geometry stuff, and the fact that: “The center of gravity should no farther than 35 percent of the wheelbase from the side-by-side wheels of a three wheeler”. This means that the driver will sit further forward than you might imagine.

To position the two front forks, I built a stand, shown in photo 2, which supports both forks at 40 inch spacing, angled together at the top 1-2 degrees (camber) and leaning back 10 degrees (caster). The motor scooter caster of 27 degrees would make steering too hard. With this wooden stand screwed with dry wall screws to the rectangular plates which  already exists on the Honda fork tubes, and which show in front of my right shoulder in Photo 1; the stand supports the forks as I eventually wanted them. I then removed the forks, bearings, tires, etc. and sawed off the level part of the round scooter frames parallel with caps on the front of the chassis I had just made, and welded them to the chassis arms. The round scooter down-tube is also an eighth inch thick, which makes for easy welding. Then I put the forks back in, cleaning and greasing the steering head bearings, removed my wooden stand and jumped merrily on the chassis to test it. Hooray! A rolling chassis.

 

III. SETTING UP THE STEERING

     I wanted to steer with handlebars using all the original Honda electrical controls, brakes, throttle, as well as the speedometer cluster. This is such a major simplification! So I welded a temporary steel box channel between the steering heads, and pivoted the old Honda handlebars in the middle. I welded flat steel ‘steering plates’ leading forward from the scooter’s forks right below the lower bearings, spacing them outward 23 degrees from straight ahead. These show well in photo 4. This would give correct “Ackerman” angles to the wheels when fully turned, the wheel on the inside of the turn needing more angle than the outer. 

     Another way to calculate this 23 degrees, is that the outer ball joint end of each radius rod, sighted straight through the lower steering bearing, should point exactly to the ‘contact patch’ the rear wheel makes with the road.  On your car, using a different tread and wheelbase length, it won’t come out 23 degrees.

Later in construction, when I fine-tuned the passenger position, I removed the crossbar mentioned above, which was too obstructive, and used a post jutting out toward the driver from the curved forward frame member.  See Photo 7.  This maximized the ease of getting in and out.  The radius rods themselves are the limiting item for legroom.

Then, after welding in the crossmember,  and reassembling the forks, with upper and lower bearings well cleaned and greased, I created adjustable “radius rods” using 3/8″ hardware store rod, which I threaded to match the spherical ball joints, called Heim fittings”,  which I bought at the local auto parts store. ( Dorman 116-203, box of 5) I carefully drilled out the plates leading forward from the forks, using a 6″ radius and 23 degrees outward spread and assembled the radius rod to two back-to-back Heim fittings on an arm from the handlebars. These fittings are mounted exactly one above the other in order not to change the toe-in length when the wheels are turned.  See Photo 7

To set the correct toe-in, I then lashed two sticks along the outside of each front tire and adjusted the rods until the separation of the sticks behind the tire was 1/8″ more than in the front of the tire. Hooray! The wheels turned smoothly together

IV: ROAD TESTING THE VEHICLE

      The beauty of this cycle-car, is that it uses so much of the wonderful engineering of the original Honda. I simply needed to reconnect the wiring harness, reattach the speedometer to the handlebars, then attach the horn, ignition switch, fuse box, and radiator to my temporary front cross member, put a battery box near the engine, and press the starter button. VROOM!

But I needed at least one brake for the road testing, at best a rear brake. So, from my local scooter repair man, I got a Honda Aero 80 rear brake cable which was long enough to go to a modified bicycle hand brake which i clamped between the left side handlebar electric cluster and the rubber hand grip. I knew I wanted left side to be the rear brake, and right to be front as on most mopeds. This allows you to blip the throttle while braking the rear wheel. Once I had a good rear brake functioning on the left side lever, I donned my warmest clothing (on Groundhog’s day here in Maine) and pushed the beast out in the weak winter sun. Three intense months of building had passed! See photo 3 for the original road test.

I had registered and insured the vehicle as a motor scooter, using the donor vehicle information,  so with new plates, I slowly circled my immediate block and gradually traveled 10 miles. The steering was far too twitchy, but otherwise, given the lack of weight, which the eventual body would provide, the car handled beautifully up to my personal limit of 40 MPH.

    It was amazing to be driving a vehicle you had created yourself.  There was little feeling of safety or creature comfort.  The wind chill was bracing.  But what a great boost to morale!  Now I could again engage in such a long-winded  and humbling project.

Back in the garage, I shortened the radius of the handlebar steering arm from 6″ to 3″ and tested the car again. This time the handling was steady and predictable and the car could still “U” turn in the width of a road. The handlebars moved a quarter circle each side of center. I now felt confident enough to begin on the body, so I removed all the stuff I had installed for the road test. You might be able to see in the picture that I was using conduit for the passenger foot support, held up by red hold-down straps. Not reccommended at 40MPH!

:}

There is soooo much more that I could add from his site. He is so funny. So earthy  and he makes one telling point. He and everyone else in the alternative ground transportation systems are building Trikes because as soon as you add the 4rth wheel they become cars and the whole world changes. Hell you could just convert your car to Natural Gas. It is real easy to do. In fact Iran is in the process of shifting every vehicle in the COUNTRY to natural gas so they can sell us expensive oil. If you do that here you have to get a permit and inspection from the EPA for every vehicle. 

 

 

 

 

:}