Fueling the future
With a home powered by solar energy and a hydrogen fuel cell, a
Hunterdon County engineer is doing his part to combat global warming.
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/18/07
BY TODD B. BATES
ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER
EAST AMWELL - Mike Strizki says he once was "Mr. Energy Hog."
"I started life racing cars," said Strizki, 50, a Trenton native. "I
built a number of race cars. I would be down (in) Englishtown, down at
the track. Bigger, faster, more powerful, more emissions, whatever."
Today, Strizki is attempting to ignite a zero-carbon, clean energy
revolution with his home - the first in North America powered by solar
energy and a hydrogen fuel cell, he says - and an electric- and
hydrogen fuel cell-powered car as the centerpieces.
"This is disruptive stuff: not having an electric service, not having
a fuel delivery, never going to a gas station . . . never changing
oil," said Strizki, an engineer. "That's pretty disruptive . . . to
American business" because it is built on repeat business.
After Strizki's 4 1/2-year fight to get permits, his home was
dedicated on Oct. 20, when all of its systems were turned on. Now he
and Renewable Energy International Inc., a company he co-founded, are
seeking financial backing to be able to mass produce the hydrogen
system.
"I overcame the hardest obstacle, which was getting through the
permitting process," said Strizki, chief technology officer of REI.
"The obstacle (now) is just getting enough quantity in order to get
the costs down," he said. "It a function of volume."
"The technology itself is not rocket science," Strizki said. "Well, it
is, but it's not. . . . It's not cold fusion."
Fuel cells have been used in manned space missions, he noted.
Electrolysis, which is used to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen,
"has been around since the dawn of chemistry, and solar panels were
invented here in New Jersey," he said.
Nora Lovrien, project coordinator at the New Jersey Hydrogen Learning
Center at Rutgers University, said "we applaud" Strizki's effort and
think it's "great as a demonstration project."
But "it's very expensive" at this point, and Strizki has "a lot of
specialized skills that the average person does not necessarily have,"
said Lovrien, who is also research project coordinator at Rutgers'
Center for Energy, Economic & Environmental Policy.
"It's not necessarily realistic for mass production in the near
future," she said. "But he definitely has shown that a system like
his, off the (electric power) grid, can work."
The general consensus among hydrogen researchers is that "20 years
from now or a decade from now, everything will be rolled out," she
said.
Strizki said: "I think you're going to start to see this stuff in the
next three or four (years). I mean look how quickly solar's caught on.
They said the same thing about solar. . . . It's mainstream now."
His quest parallels growing worries about climate change.
"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal," and most of the global
warming since the mid-20th century is very likely due to an increase
in greenhouse gas levels caused by humans, according to an
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released this month.
The main issue is carbon dioxide, which is released when fossil fuels
such as coal, oil and natural gas are burned.
Solar-hydrogen power
Strizki said he worked in the state Department of Transportation
Office of Technology's research department for 16 years and developed
two fuel-cell vehicles.
They are the New Jersey Venturer, which is in a museum, and the New
Jersey Genesis, which is owned by Rutgers but maintained by Strizki at
his home, he said.
And he's been thinking about building a solar-hydrogen home since he
began building fuel-cell vehicles, he said.
His modular, 3,500-square-foot home has four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, an
eight-person hot tub, a heated swimming pool, a big-screen TV,
refrigerator, microwave, stove, an electric washer and two dryers -
"all the things that a normal house would have," Strizki said.
"Basically, what I was out to prove is that . . . this is the typical
American house," he said. "This is not living life in a minimalistic
state."
He's lived in the home, located on 12 wooded acres in rural Hunterdon
County, since 1992.
When it was built, the house was energy-efficient, he said. It has
energy-efficient windows and one of the first geothermal systems for
heating and air conditioning in New Jersey.
Geothermal systems tap the 56-degree temperatures below the ground
level to heat and cool homes, depending on the season.
Any leftover heat goes into his hot water system, Strizki said.
The home has energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights, and he also
plans to install energy-efficient LED lighting, he said.
He just installed the most energy-efficient washer and dryer on the
market, he said.
At Advanced Solar Products Inc., which is located down his street,
Strizki installs solar power systems for a living. He's director of
commercial and residential systems.
Fifty-six solar panels, which generate 10 kilowatts of electricity,
were installed on the roof of his detached garage about 18 months ago,
he said.
The solar, or photovoltaic, panels convert the sun's light into
electricity, which powers the home and the geothermal system,
according to Strizki.
The sun-generated electricity is also used to produce hydrogen, which
is burned in his stove, hot water heaters, space heaters and a dryer,
he said. The stored hydrogen also can be used to fill the New Jersey
Genesis.
During the winter months, when solar power produces only 60 percent of
the electricity needed, hydrogen stored in outdoor tanks is sent
through a fuel cell to produce electricity, he said.
"There's nothing that is super high-tech about this," he said. "This
is all known technology. All I did is to put it together."
Making it affordable
Although the solar panels cost $80,000, a state rebate brought the
cost down to about $25,000, he said. The hydrogen system equipment
cost about $150,000.
The overall project cost about $500,000, including research,
engineering, installation, administrative and other costs, Strizki
said.
The state Board of Public Utilities gave him an approximately $250,000
grant, he provided probably about $100,000 of his cash and time, and
he raised about $150,000 worth of donated equipment and services, he
said.
If not for his solar-hydrogen and geothermal systems, his energy bills
would be close to $10,000 a year, Strizki said.
He would like the hydrogen system to cost between $40,000 and $55,000,
before government rebates of about $33,000, he said.
"The key to making this affordable is doing it in numbers," Strizki
said.
The next generation hydrogen storage tanks will be high-pressure ones,
he said. Although he has 10, 1,000-gallon tanks now, a single tank
about half their size would be needed, he said.
Hydrogen tanks can be buried, just like propane tanks, Strizki said.
The Strizki project "demonstrates what can be accomplished by the
public and private sector when they team up to pursue mutual goals -
including the use of clean, renewable sources of energy," according to
a statement e-mailed by BPU spokesman Doyal H. Siddell.
It "demonstrates new opportunities and practical solutions to reduce
greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming - leading to
climate changes and rising sea level - and, in turn, threatening our
127 miles of New Jersey coastline," the statement says.
"This is all a picture," Strizki said. "It all has its place in making
a home . . . a zero-carbon footprint."
"I envision entire communities being like this," he said.
"We're looking for foundations, we're looking for grants and we're
looking for angel investors (so) we can take this to the next level,"
he said.
Todd B. Bates: (732) 643-4237 or tbates@app.com
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070218/NEWS/702180313
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> With a home powered by solar energy and a hydrogen fuel cell, a
> Hunterdon County engineer is doing his part to combat global warming.