[53631] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Even the New York Times withholds the address
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Stephen Sprunk)
Tue Nov 19 14:40:39 2002
From: "Stephen Sprunk" <ssprunk@cisco.com>
To: "Brett Frankenberger" <rbf@rbfnet.com>,
"blitz" <blitz@macronet.net>
Cc: <nanog@merit.edu>
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 13:39:52 -0600
Errors-To: owner-nanog-outgoing@merit.edu
Thus spake "blitz" <blitz@macronet.net>
> Fuel cells, run on natural gas are the best idea I've heard to date, and
> the safest if you're confined to upper floors, but youre talking BIG $$$
> here...whats wrong with batteries, a natural gas genny and a converter
> system, telco style? If this is all about diesel storage, why not put the
> tanks/gennys in the basement or lower more secure floors? (Im assuming
> burial is out of the question in NYC) That way a small day tank would
> suffice at the upper floors.
A fuel cell is just a generator: H2 goes in one side, electricity and H2O
come out the other side -- the trick is doing this without internal
combustion. You'll either need pressurized H2 storage tanks or a fuel
reformer to extract H2 from your methane/propane/whatever utility; that's a
bit more complicated than storing diesel or feeding utility gas straight
into a normal generator.
Otherwise, a fuel cell has the exact same design parameters as a diesel
generator for a high-rise application: store the fuel wherever code allows,
feed it into a generator, and carry the power up to your battery plant.
S
