The Hydrogen House suffered damages when Hurricane Irene hit the Northeastern United States in August 2011. In a freak occurrence, heavy winds blew down a tree that connected the Hydrogen House's low-voltage power lines to the local utility company's high-voltage lines. As a a result, the Hydrogen House's fuel cell was damaged. Ironically, had the Hydrogen House not been selling the excess electricity it produced back to the grid, this incident would have been avoided. The home's geothermal pump was also damaged from flooding. Nonetheless, while the town suffered an electrical blackout for days, the Hydrogen House still had its lights on. Mike Strizki simply hooked up the fuel cell in his hydrogen car to power his home.
Hurricane Irene offers a unique opportunity for the Hydrogen House Project to reevaluate the solar-hydrogen system. We intend to install high pressure tanks to replace the 11 large propane tanks featured at the Hydrogen House. A high pressure electrolyzer will be installed as well as a more efficient modern fuel cell.
Finally, a data monitoring system will track the daily energy use of the Hydrogen House. The system will provide the world with valuable insight into the costs and efficiencies of running a home with hydrogen. This information is vital to understanding the true potential of a hydrogen economy and can help the scientific community model scenarios for how to integrate larger-scale hydrogen projects into society.
We are actively seeking sponsors to feature their technology in this exciting project. For more information and to find out how you can get involved, visit www.hydrogenhouseproject.org/donate.html
John Shimkus
Executive Director, Hydrogen House Project
info@hydrogenhouseproject.org