Consumers are making the move to renewable energy, however, there is still a lot of dependence on fossil fuels. Take the poll and in the Comments section, let us know what you think can be done to make the shift to renewable energy easier.
I chose unreliability but it's really about power density and storage. The technology isn't there and the cost is high. Not a good business decision. No ROI - as robogary stated. Not dependable - as my battery storage system here at work has proven.
yes. I hope there's a great new technology out there that can handle our (unrealistic - skewed by the temporary abundance of cheap high-density energy sources) habits.
My take is that it will not be an invention, but good old engineering. Real relevant funding for engineers will come when fossil fuel stock is no longer capable to keep us on our current living-life level.
economics and managing-to-stay-alive (= Darwin) will solve this. We know that our current sources are finite. And getting that energy at an affordable price even more finite. Big brains procrastinate.
Many years ago, pop 'tronics ran an article on smart plugs that eliminated the need for power supplies in appliances. Even washing machines could use DC moters because they'd just request alternating current synchronized with reversing their drums. Basically you'd get a couple hots and a digital line to request a voltage and amperage from a smart panel at your distribution point.
I suspect this never went anywhere because the initial cost was high, and appliance makers didn't want to commit to it until it was already ubiquitous.
