This is a simple description of the ‘architecture’ of Contained Energy:

1) Use simple wind turbines to lightly compress ambient air - use optimized Savonius rotor - see video - because that is cheap, easy and thus cost- efficient... Chain series of them together and let them pump air into a largish, un-insulated working Tank A (the ‘cold’ tank)

2) Cool that ‘cold’ tank A somewhat (or at least let heat escape easily, at LEAST at night) so that you can pump more air into that tank easier.

3) Connect Tank A with a check-valve to a similar but insulated Tank B (the ‘hot’ tank), so that Tank B has always the same, or higher, never lower, pressure as Tank A.

4) Use solar heat (some of that 1500 Watt per square meter we get here!) to heat the compressed air in Tank B. - Use simple solar heat concentrators to heat a heat-transfer oil in a copper coil in the focal point and feed that heated oil through a copper coil inside Tank B).

5) Use the pressure difference that builds up between Tank A and Tank B to drive:

a) an air-cylinder that drives a shaft that drives a permanent-magnet motor as generator, feeding a 12V battery

b) an air-cylinder that uses heated compressed air to compress cooled compressed air to higher compression..... and send that highly compressed air into a bank of storage tanks.

Then:

6) Use Zeolite/water adsorption cooling (which creates ice on the water-side and heat on the Zeolite-side) to further cool Tank 1 AND further heat Tank 2, AND to provide refrigeration. This process can be recharged with solar heat or a 12V heating coil

7) Use the stored, highly-compressed air, to run an air-motor to deliver voltage as needed, or deliver work as needed, when wind/sun are not quite strong enough by themselves.

8) Hang a water distillation system on to it, using solar heat and over/under pressures to make drinking water.

9) Trim and balance the system on a day/night cycle that runs itself based on air pressures and temperatures, and sunlight levels, with provisions for several ‘modes’ of operation (‘charge’, ‘charge/use’, ‘use only’, ‘make water’, ‘make ice’).

10) If needed, use one smallish solar PV panel installation to ‘manage’ the controls and, as stand-by to power a small 12V air compressor, when wind is not strong enough, and/or a small heating coil to heat air and Zeolite, when sun is not strong enough.

Then:

11) Make it strong and cheap and modular and easy to understand/maintain/repair/replace, so that it can be kept working. Use bicycle parts and components where possible... Most people in most places can fix a bicycle and parts are available everywhere.... A true, well-developed, ‘human-scale’ technology!...

12) Configure systems from modules, per location and usage pattern.

13) Develop and implement appropriate monitoring- and maintenance (training) programmes.

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