Thursday, August 13, 2009

Off the grid but still extravagant

I just read about Dean Kamen's little island paradise off the coast of Connecticut. He has switched all his lighting to LEDs, which is part of the overall strategy that lets him take his entire island off the power grid. Using a 12-kW solar array and a 10-kW wind turbine, along with a big bank of batteries and a customized energy management system, the "Dumplonian Empire" is completely energy independent. Oh, and don't forget the Stirling engine for emergencies. A pricey pad, but definitely some sweet engineering.
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/empire-off-the-grid