14 Replies to “Something you can do with hot air?”

    1. “Another green scam.”

      As always, no mention of the efficiency of this plan. Like pumped hydro storage, it will take much more energy to store that air than it will return later. Also like pumped hydro, it will mean that we are depending on the unreliable methods of wind or solar energy generation for our baseline load.

      1. Compressed air is one of the most inefficient means possible of storing energy. Compressing air heats it considerably; much of that heat is lost from the compressor itself and from the lines to the tank. Then, in the tank, it loses more heat through the tank walls. Losing heat means it contracts, lowering the pressure, and now you have less energy available.

        Those salt caverns would absorb mighty amounts of heat.

        Natural gas stored in caverns doesn’t lose any of its energy. Its pressure is not what’s important; it’s the heat it produces during combustion, and that doesn’t change.

        I have an air-powered die grinder that runs off a one-horsepower compressor. That compressor cannot keep up with the air being consumed by the grinder. If I bought an electric die grinder with a one-HP motor, it would be far more powerful (like 10 times more) and would not run down like the air-driven device. The only reason for air-driven stuff is electrical safety, lack of sparks and so on. It sure isn’t for efficiency.

      2. How many steps in this chain of losses do you want to count?
        Converting from wind to electricity
        Converting from electricity to hot pressurized air?
        Converting from hot air to colder air?
        pumping the air over distances?
        pressurizing the cavern?
        pumping the air back to turbine to convert it back to electricity?

        Every step is a loss, some small, some large, but somehow you’ll win with volume?

        1. Ahh yes, the immutable laws of Physics and Thermodynamics rear their ugly head, Don’t they know we are trying to save the planet?!

  2. FILTHY LIBERALS
    Hey, can we stop all the excitement over useless “techanologia”? FILTHY LIBERALS hate us. Stop accepting their stupid ideas like this one and push for OIL, and COAL. MOCK THESE FILTHY LIBERALS

  3. Nice sales pitch.
    Sure it can be done.
    At what cost?
    I fully support the proponents..as long as they use their own money.

    Coal still wins.
    Cost per kW/h.

    And all the “free energy” in the world is useless if unreliable..
    They ain’t “alternate energy” as much as intermittent.

    We are so incurably stupid,in Can Ahh Duh.
    India and China buy our coal at discount rates,while we posture over energy systems that make electricity prohibitively expensive..making us poorer and ever less competitive.
    If we keep associating with the Elbows Up Crowd,we will find ourselves freezing amidst abundance.
    Oh well, I guess we can do the Chicken Dance to prevent frostbite..

    1. “At what cost?
      I fully support the proponents..as long as they use their own money.”

      Every wind and solar project would vanish if that were the law.

  4. You may remember when Toronto Hydro made a great big deal about using inflatable balloons under lake Ontario with a company called Hydrostor around 2015. Lots of fanfare, about how great it was going to be, using air to store power.

    It went into service, and yet try to find any information about the results, and how well it works, and it’s near impossible find any details about it after it went into service.

    not even https://hydrostor.ca/projects/ shows that project, but it got them lots of money from Industry Canada for the next project

  5. Much cheaper to give every Liberal politician an exercise bike hooked up to a generator, so they can pedal their way to power.

    Add all the CBC staff.

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