Jones Beene wrote:
If global warming is really the "big issue' facing us as a society, then giving 'everyman' his cheap and unlimited electrical power supply is NOT the right answer . . .
We have been over this issue before. Waste heat does not contribute to global warming. It contributes to "heat islands" which are bad for the ecology, but the heat radiates away quickly.
I covered some of these issues in my book, in chapters 14 and 15. I concluded that even though generators are likely to be less efficient, cold fusion will reduce overall primary energy generation for various reasons, such as the use of cogenerators.
If primary energy consumption increases by a factor of 10 or 100, waste heat may become a problem.
15% efficient thermoelectric generators would be fine for small machines such as wristwatches, cell phones and implantable heart boosters (VAD) but I expect larger machines such as home generators and automobiles will use more efficient, conventional heat engines. There is no particular reason to make a home generator small or without moving parts, and there is plenty of water for a steam turbine or something like that. Small turbines are improving rapidly these days, and coming down in price.
- Jed
