I'm pretty sure that I calculated the Kilowatt/Hours correctly - 240 volts x 60 amps for 14.4 kwh. Assuming a nickle per kilowatt hour, that's $0.75, but price will vary with your local utility.
My calculating was all done in the wee small hours of the morning - so I'm willing to grant I may've made a mistake.
10:59 p.m.
Stories on Slashdot and Gizmodo are likely to have the blogoshpere chatting this weekend about the Aqueon.
The Aqueon is touted as being a fireplace that is fuelled with water. Using 220 volts of electricity, the fireplace performs electrolysis on ordinary tapwater, seperating the hydrogen and oxygen. The fireplace then ignites the hydrogen to form the flame and uses the oxygen add colour and brightness.
Unlike a regular fire which gives off carbon monoxide and other harmful elements, the only byproduct of the Aqueon's flame is water vapour. Without the need to vent the fireplace, the Aqueon can give off a full 31,000 BTU's per hour.
The initial price tag of $50,000 puts the Aqueon out of most people's hands. As well, the cost to run it is also a little prohibitive. Assuming the power flow is constant, the Aqueon would add about $0.75 per hour to your electric bill; well above the $0.20 per hour to run a comparable natural gas fireplace. There is also the question of whether the electrolysis process will produce harmful by-products depending upon the water's purity.
An encouraging step towards a clean way to heat the home - but for now the Aqueon remains little more than an expensive conversation piece.
2 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment form$.75! ???? wow it must use one mother of an ionizer!
12:26 a.m.
I'm pretty sure that I calculated the Kilowatt/Hours correctly - 240 volts x 60 amps for 14.4 kwh. Assuming a nickle per kilowatt hour, that's $0.75, but price will vary with your local utility.
My calculating was all done in the wee small hours of the morning - so I'm willing to grant I may've made a mistake.
10:59 p.m.