Electricity from snowfall

[kadee79]

Not sure where to put this for many to see...but here it is....

The farther you get from the equator, the less effective solar panels become at reliably generating power all year round. And it’s not just the shorter spans of sunlight during the winter months that are a problem; even a light dusting of snow can render solar panels ineffective. As a result of global warming, winters are only going to get more severe, but there’s at least one silver lining as researchers from UCLA have come up with a way to harness electricity from all that snow. 


The technology they developed is called a snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator (or snow TENG, for short) which generates energy from the exchange of electrons. If you’ve ever received a nasty shock when touching a metal door handle, you’ve already experienced the science at work here. As it falls towards earth, snowflakes are positively charged and ready to give up electrons. In a way, it’s almost free energy ready for the taking, so after testing countless materials with an opposite charge, the UCLA researchers (working with collaborators from the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and the University of Connecticut) found that the negative charge of silicone made it most effective for harvesting electrons when it came into contact with snowflakes.



Details about the device they created were shared in a paper published in the Nano Energy journal, but it can be 3D-printed on the cheap given how accessible silicone is—for five bucks you can buy a spray can of it at the hardware store as a lubricant. In addition to silicone, a non-metal electrode is used, which results in the triboelectric generator being flexible, stretchable, and extremely durable.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/winters-are-only-going-to-get-worse-so-researchers-invented-a-way-to-generate-electricity-from-snowfall/ar-BBVZOwJ?li=BBnb7Kz

[ken a.k.a OMK]

I'm a retired EE. I read the article and understand the theory but wonder if it is practicable. Then again I remember the early days of solar. Cost made it impracticable for decades until materials became cheaper.

[Tiny]

I wasn't thinking so much the cost but the output might make it impractical. Another thing that helped solar energy was more efficient devices. I know my house uses less than I did 10 years ago.  Even though I have MORE lights and devices/appliances the energy star stuff and LED lights make a big difference.   I imagine less electricity is captured from a snow fall than a sunny day?   

I'm not dissing the technology.   I love the science and the possibilities of "renewable" options.  

(what we really need is a reliable, cheap, safe way to store the electricity made by renewable sources... that will really make a difference!)  

[kadee79]

Apr 16, 2019 13:44:50 GMT -5 Tiny said:

    

I'm not dissing the technology.   I love the science and the possibilities of "renewable" options.  

(what we really need is a reliable, cheap, safe way to store the electricity made by renewable sources... that will really make a difference!)  

That is being worked on too and several possibilities have showed promise....so maybe sooner than we think.

ETA...our use is down too with more items...but we also got the electronic meters that made a BIG difference in ours.  So I think the old meters were ripping off some of us.

[weltschmerz]

Apr 16, 2019 13:44:50 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I wasn't thinking so much the cost but the output might make it impractical. Another thing that helped solar energy was more efficient devices. I know my house uses less than I did 10 years ago.  Even though I have MORE lights and devices/appliances the energy star stuff and LED lights make a big difference.   I imagine less electricity is captured from a snow fall than a sunny day?   

I'm not dissing the technology.   I love the science and the possibilities of "renewable" options.  

(what we really need is a reliable, cheap, safe way to store the electricity made by renewable sources... that will really make a difference!)  

Aye, there's the rub! And when they figure it out, wind and solar will really take off.

[Deleted]

Noticeably missing from the article is the amount of electricity produced by the process.

Butterflies flying in a field produce harvestable electric fields also.

 

[djAdvocate]

the amount of yield is probably less than the amount of energy it would take to harvest it.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

I was ready to get electricity from snow but we got very little snow. We got more then normal rain. Got to look into making electricity from rain. Hey I can get it from the flood leaving my yard. 

[NoNamePerson]

Apr 18, 2019 13:21:43 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

I was ready to get electricity from snow but we got very little snow. We got more then normal rain. Got to look into making electricity from rain. Hey I can get it from the flood leaving my yard. 

I was thinking the same thing. We get enough rain to probably supply the whole state with electricity!

[Deleted]

Apr 18, 2019 13:21:43 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

I was ready to get electricity from snow but we got very little snow. We got more then normal rain. Got to look into making electricity from rain. Hey I can get it from the flood leaving my yard. 

A very small hydroelectric dam should do it.

Legos ?  

[kadee79]

Apr 18, 2019 16:46:20 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

Apr 18, 2019 13:21:43 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

I was ready to get electricity from snow but we got very little snow. We got more then normal rain. Got to look into making electricity from rain. Hey I can get it from the flood leaving my yard. 

I was thinking the same thing. We get enough rain to probably supply the whole state with electricity!

Ya'al live in Tenn.?  I understand that Noah is there some where....looking for solid ground.

[NoNamePerson]

Apr 19, 2019 10:42:37 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Apr 18, 2019 16:46:20 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

I was thinking the same thing. We get enough rain to probably supply the whole state with electricity!

Ya'al live in Tenn.?  I understand that Noah is there some where....looking for solid ground.

Nope!