I have been curious about the various ways we can store energy. Batteries are the most obvious way, but there are other ways. One is called storing potential energy.

Power dams are an example. Build the dam. Let the water fill in behind the dam. Do a controlled release, and you can turn turbines to make electricity. They don’t build dams in valleys close to sea level. There is little to no potential energy at that height.  So, how does the water gain its potential energy? The sun evaporates water, then the clouds drop it at higher elevations, thus creating potential energy.

I know, very basic, but I wanted to everybody on the same page.

So, let’s stretch our thinking and curiosity. Think big.

A little bigger still.

There, now you’re there.

What if you filled a big hole in the ground under a city block? Now, provide some structure to contain it. Insulate it. And lastly, fill it with regular water.

Wait for a time of day or even a season with cheap energy. There is a low electricity demand at night, so it is more affordable. So are the longer summer days filled with sunshine. Heat all that water. (Note: if you want to store even more potential energy, you could substitute the water with sand and have a much hotter content, 1000 degrees centigrade.)

But let’s keep it simple for this Blog.

All this heat can be pushed through pipes to the buildings above to heat the buildings. Or the water could be turned into steam to turn turbines to make power.

Magical?

Not really. It is being done in Toronto and it is called just The Well. The well is 12 storeys deep.

It is a cheap source of reliable energy.

As an added bonus, the heat from the customers above in data centres gets recycled to reheat the water.

In 2006, Okotoks, Alberta, built a system to store sunshine energy in the summer for release in the winter. It heated 90% of the community’s winter space heating.

We live in scary and exciting times. Folks who lived during the Industrial Revolution must have felt a similar swing in emotions.

Please give this a bit of a think. How do you level out your energy levels, both physical and mental? Or do you not, preferring the adrenaline-like rush of the high-energy times and the lows of being dog-tired? When was the last time you consciously preserved your energy for some future situation?

Photo by American Public Power Association on Unsplash

I’m curious about your thoughts. Please share your bit of a think in the comment section below. It will come to me for approval before posting.

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And my thanks to the St. Albert Seniors Association for making this Blog possible.

Volunteer Blogger

glenn.walmsley@icloud.com