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TECHNICAL SUMMARY REVISION

INTRODUCTION

Biello & Svenvold (2008;2007) in their article “The Zero-Energy solution: Inside the Solar-

Hydrogen House” present the principle and merits-demerits of Solar-Hydrogen House. It is a

system that generates energy by absorbing sunlight and converting oxygen and water to

produce hydrogen. Mike Strizki builds the system in his 3000-square-foot, two-storey house to

generate renewable energy. He is known as natural-born mechanical expert, who have worked

most of his early life on technology of renewable energy. The main focus of this idea is to solve

the problem of growing energy demand, and to reduce global warming by diminishing the use

of fossil fuels. There are enormous merits of solar-hydrogen house such as, zero harmful

emissions, to produce eco-friendly renewable energy, generating fuel for transportation and to

provide cheaper power.

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PART ANALYSIS

The Solar-Hydrogen house is composed of the different parts that are inter connected. First, the

garage roof consists of 56 solar panels that connect to a small electrolyzer (uses electricity to

convert tap water into hydrogen and oxygen). Second, there are 100 batteries along the

garage’s inside wall for power backup at night. Third, ten propane tanks (storage capacity of

538 cubic meters of hydrogen) are placed just outside the garage, along with a fuel cell (an

electrochemical device that produces electricity and water by combining hydrogen and oxygen)

and a hydrogen refueling kit. Fourth, there are vents for oxygen to escape out. Last, the system

is grid- tied, means it can connect to the grid for backup power.
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OPERATING PRINCIPLES

The Solar-Hydrogen house perform functions according to the seasons. During summer,

solar panels produce about 90 kwh of electricity by absorbing sunlight. About 11% of total

produced energy is transferred to the house, through underground wires. However, the

leftover power is stored in batteries as a backup to power the house in night, and to power

the electrolyzer, that divides the molecules of filtered tap water into hydrogen and oxygen. The

hydrogen is then stored in the tanks for later use in cold whereas the oxygen is vented. On the

other hand, in winter, 60% of the required energy of the house is supplied by solar panels.

However, the remaining power is produced by the fuel cell, that uses the stored hydrogen to

produce electricity (excess power is stored in the batteries for later use) and water. Hence, the

only by-product, water is recycled back to the system.

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REQUIREMENTS

The Solar-Hydrogen House has certain requirements and conditions that must be met in order

to operate the system effectively. Firstly, a large space is required to set up all the parts of the

system, although it can be set up in backyard, but then also, large backyard is required.

Secondly, in order to buy the parts of the system, large amount of one-time investment is

needed. However, sometimes money is needed to repair parts. Third, an experienced technical

person is required to manage and maintain the system, since the system consists of dangerous

gas (hydrogen), continuous monitoring is necessary to reduce the risk of any incident. Fourth,

solar panels required sunlight to produce electricity. Last, in order to sell the electricity,

convincing the government to approve the system is needed.

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CRITICAL ANALYISIS

Biello (2008) & Svenvold (2007) in their essay, have made some errors in context of technical

content and organization. First, they have not provided the capacity of the battery and fuel cell

(para. 3) used, for instance, 100 batteries of 50 volts. Moreover, there should be more

information about hydrogen refueling kit(para.3), such as its functioning and setup, and

electrolyzer should be discussed properly with diagram (para3). Additionally, Strisik’s

background and history (para. 2) should be discussed more deeply and in a single paragraph.