# Completely Off The Grid



## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

_By Jon Hurdle_

Mike Strizki says he's figured out how to store solar energy in a way that could provide the world 
with an infinite source of year-round, emissions-free power, but also says no one is listening to him.

At his house in the woods of western New Jersey, the civil engineer turned green energy evangelist 
uses fuel cells to convert the power generated by about 150 solar panels so that it can be stored in 
11 hydrogen tanks about 100 yards from the house.

For eight or nine months of the year, the photovoltaic cells mounted on Strizki's workshop roof 
and scattered around his yard generate more than enough electricity for a full range of domestic 
appliances including energy-guzzlers like a hot tub and a big-screen TV in his white-sided suburban home.

For the winter months when there isn't enough solar power for domestic needs, the house draws 
on electricity stored in hydrogen tanks, which he converts back to electricity with fuel cells.

The technology has allowed Strizki to live off the grid since 2006 without emitting an ounce of 
carbon or paying a penny to the local utility.

With the recent installation of more solar panels, *Strizki now generates 21 kilowatts, or about twice 
as much power as he needs, and sells the extra to the power company, netting him about $25,000 a year.*

*A Dream No More*

The so-called Hydrogen House, the only one of its kind in the US, is designed to demonstrate that hydrogen 
fuel-cell technology can work on a practical domestic level at a time when governments are urgently 
seeking increased energy security and lower carbon emissions to combat climate change.

"He has shown in a real-world application that hydrogen fuel cell technology can enhance the value of 
renewable fuels," said Patrick Serfass, vice president of the Hydrogen Education Foundation, a 
Washington, DC-based nonprofit that promotes hydrogen technologies.

Widespread replication of the technology could address pressing environmental and economic 
problems, but the Hydrogen House's success is not being taken seriously by federal or state governments 
because, Strizki said, they are too invested in fossil fuels.










*Government Support Fades*

Greg Reinert, a spokesman for the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, said Strizki received $250,000 for 
the project from the previous administration of Democratic Governor Jon Corzine because the state 
was interested in developing the science of hydrogen fuel cells.

But he said the technology is both too costly and too extensive for widespread public adoption. 
"Right now, there is no real business application for it," he said. "The typical homeowner in New Jersey 
isn't even going to have the lot size for the storage tanks."

Strizki believes he is seen as a threat to the status quo of the energy industry, especially in New 
Jersey, with its concentration of oil refineries, and neighboring Pennsylvania, a traditional coal state 
with a booming natural gas industry.

"I'm the guy who's holding the DVD, and the rest of the world is on Betamax," he said. "I'm sure that I'm being monitored."

Strizki, 55, invested about $500,000 in the operation, and says the cost has now come down to $175,000, 
the price tag for another such building in the Cayman Islands where he recently installed the technology.

The cost could come down further to about $60,000 if the mass production of components achieved economies of scale, he said.

*The Inevitable Question*

While even the lower figure would be too much for most homeowners, Strizki argued that the technology 
could become financially attractive if it was adopted on a community-wide scale.

The cost is the big question mark over whether such technology can be widely adopted, said Haresh 
Kamath, program manager for energy storage and distributed generation at the Electric Power Research Institute.

While the technology has been demonstrated, it may be too expensive for some markets in its 
current state of development, Kamath said. "The real question is whether it makes sense in all cases."

Still, the economics may become more attractive as capital costs decline, and researchers reduce 
the energy lost in the fuel-cell process, he added.

The federal government could support development of the technology via tax incentives, said Serfass of 
the Hydrogen Education Foundation. Although the latest spending cuts in the deficit-reduction package 
would seem to minimize the chances of that happening, some Senators have expressed an interest in 
energy initiatives this fall now that the debt-ceiling debate has concluded, he said.


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## wind power (Sep 29, 2010)

What raises an eyebrow is the hydrogen tanks....about 100 yards from the house.
Not to be too critical, but I wonder if that was to Meet ATF regulations for bunker storage of explosives????


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## roachhill (Jul 8, 2009)

It's not a new system there was a farmer who used a wind turbine to create enough Hydrogen to power his farm and he did it for a lot lot lot less money. Pretty much anyone can go off grid if the government gives them a quarter million in spare change to buy equipment. The bigger problem with hydrogen storage is it's such a small molecule it tends to seep through most materials. It's ultra light weight allows it to disapate very quickly in case of a leak making it less of a hazard then storing gasoline or propane.


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## Judy in IN (Nov 28, 2003)

Roachhill, 

I would be interested in the farmer's info, if it's anywhere on the 'net. We have the room for the tanks, but why couldn't you use 1 big tank instead of all the small ones? 

I'm talking with HHubby about using solar on the new sheep barn. I think we could generate a lot more than a 2 car garage. 

The price tag is pretty stiff for the OP.


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## roachhill (Jul 8, 2009)

Sorry, I heard the story on the radio when driving so I have no names or references to point you to. It seems a pretty simple concept, use the electricity from whatever source to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen. Then convert everything you can to burn hydrogen and add a fuel cell if they ever make one a real person can afford. You can always burn the hydrogen in a generator to convert back to electricity but that's not particularly efficient. Hydrogen is just an energy storage device replacing batteries in this concept since the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow.


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## Studhauler (Jul 30, 2011)

How can he be completely off the grid if he is selling electricity back?


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## Rick (May 10, 2002)

He is producing 100 % of his electric needs, so the grid is actually tied to him.


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## idigbeets (Sep 3, 2011)

Another 10 years and solar might be a viable option w/out government support.... 60,000 to install is a lot of electricity I could buy... my bill is about $40/month as it is.


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

Judy in IN said:


> Roachhill,
> I would be interested in the farmer's info, if it's anywhere on the 'net. We have the room for the tanks, but why couldn't you use 1 big tank instead of all the small ones?


The farmer doing this that I met lived in Iowa, somewhere within an hour or so of the Des Moines area, and he was in his 70s back in the 1970s when I visited his place. Another friend using wind turbines to generate hydrogen was in the Ankeny area, and died years ago also.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

He could use the solar power to pump water up into a tall water tank and then run a hydro turbine of some sort to get the energy back out on the way down. That would conserve energy although he'd need to use the water or put it back into a stream or something. Hmm, guess he could just pump it from one reservoir to another.


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## happychick (Sep 20, 2010)

copperkid3 said:


> and sells the extra to the power company, netting him about $25,000 a year.


I am wanting to get set up to provide our farm/homestead with all it's own energy, be it solar, wind or something else. I have heard of people who have done this, and done it so well they can sell the extra power back to the company - man, I would love to be able to do that!  Maybe one day...


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