24x7 Support Strategies

Thu Jun 14 23:04:26 UTC 2007

On Jun 14, 2007, at 10:11 AM, <michael.dillon at bt.com>  
<michael.dillon at bt.com> wrote
> And what about all those diesel generators? How many of them are  
> capable
> of running on vegetable oil rather than diesel oil? I regularly walk
> past a building in London that reeks because of the diesel fuel  
> tanks in
> the basement. You have to wonder about the safety of storing large
> amounts of petroleum oil in the centers of major cities when vegetable
> oil is safer, and more carbon-friendly.
>

Vegetable oil can degrade much faster than diesel.

What you really want is a large pond at the top of a hill, and  
another large pond at the bottom of the same hill.

When utility prices are low, pump the water to the upper pond.  When  
power is needed, have your installed hydropower setup allow water to  
flow through the turbine from the upper pond to the lower pond.

In a city, a very large tank located at the top of the building and  
an equally large one in the bottom with a pipe between the two,  
should suffice.  Remember that the "head" or height difference is a  
large factor in determining how much power a hydro setup can generate.

Patrick Giagnocavo
patrick at zill.net