Compressed Air Energy Storage
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- 3kW hr of energy storage at 8 bar requires 65 cubic meters of volume - [1]
- This is 510 cubic meters. But air is free.
- But - if you use high pressure, you can reduce that volume down to 300 bar simply using a $300, 1800W Scuba compressor.
- Scuba compressor on AliExpress - $300 - [2]
- 80 cu ft tanks cost $200. That is 2 cubic meters. They are rated for 3000 psi. Standard is 200 bar [3]
- For DIY - take schedule 80 steel pipe.
- 510 cubic meters reduced by 200x is 2.5 cubic meters or 90 cu ft
- Take 12" Schedule 160 pipe at 2700 psi rating [4].
- A 20' stick of this pipe gets us 15 cubic feet. Need 6 of these pipes to provide 3 kWhr of energy.
- Would need 3kWhr PV array to generate the pumping power if we assume 16% overall storage efficiency. This storage efficiency is brute force - would need to look for more efficient expanders.