Is it theoretically possible to power up a device wirelessly?

[free spirit]

I didn't know about CCGT.

But lobby groups around micro power plants for the home still think it has a future. ( also known as micro chp, chp = combined heat and power)

Long term I think local power generation could have a future, its applying internet ideas to power generation. Traditional telephone systems had all the control functions in a central place, the internet moved most of the controls to the edges of the system.

Local power generation might be able to shift some of the power generation to the edge. Perhaps improving the efficiency of power generation and possibly making the system more robust.

But...... I believe current solar solutions for the home in the US do not work during a power failure. The reason for this is that the electricity company does not want their workers to get electrocuted by solar power systems when they try and repair a broken transmission line.

I approve of distributed energy generation - I install solar PV - but tbh I'm pretty sceptical about CHP.

CHP is neither an efficient way to generate electricity or heat, their overall efficiency is slightly lower than the most efficient condensing gas boilers.

They're also taking up local grid / transformer capacity that could have been better used by solar PV or wind, and this capacity is starting to become an issue in some areas of the country.

Then there's the reliability issue, with (IIRC) only one model still on the UK domestic market as others have been withdrawn following too high a failure rate in the stirling engines being used.

Gas should be used to buffer variable renewables in electrically efficient CCGT distributed around the country, but still in units of 500MW or so IMO, microCHP can't carry out this role / would possibly make it worse, so should be a non starter really.

 

[gentlegreen]

Here's a guy doing a ted talk, demoing wireless electricity:

http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_giler_demos_wireless_electricity.html

(the actual demo starts at about 7 minutes)

I skimmed through that and their bumf and can't find any figures for efficiency or what it's for - beyond convenience...

 

[farmerbarleymow]

This reminds me that I need to charge my toothbrush. Ta!