This idea of pumping water slowly to fill a large reservoir, then
draining the reservoir for peak power demands is indeed intriguing.
Since electricity operates much like water....I remember in tech school
hearing the analogy ; electricity is like a river
the width of the river is current
the speed of the river is voltage (pressure)
Am I remembering that right??
Anyway, IMHO the first successful, high use home energy system, will be a
hybrid.
Using a trickle charge system to feed dual battery networks, one of which
feeds the house needs while the others is recharging....when the house
battery in use begins to weaken, the freshly charged battery network is
switched in and the used battery system switched out to be recharged.
There will be a PRIME MARKET for such a system, without regard for what
the trickle charge system is. Basically, the system will consist of;
1) two independent battery systems (ganged/paralleled batteries)
2) a controller to detect when the 'in use' battery system is low
(determines when the battery system in use requires recharging),
3) a switcher (this switches the contacts from the weak to the charged
battery system)
Such a system should be offered in at least two forms, at least 5KW and
up to 10KW. Ideally, because of the immense efficiency of DC over AC to
supply local power, all items in the home should be 12VDC and not have to
use wasteful inverter conversion of 12VDC (batteries) to 120VAC. After
all, just about every electronic device uses DC anyway. Lots of room
here for experimentation.
As to the trickle charge system to recharge the battery system, it could
be any natural energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric,
heat pump, Minto wonder wheel or maybe earth currents as in Stubblefields
earth batteries....
-- Jerry W. Decker / jdecker@keelynet.com http://keelynet.com / "From an Art to a Science" Voice : (214) 324-8741 / FAX : (214) 324-3501 KeelyNet - PO BOX 870716 - Mesquite - Republic of Texas - 75187