Technology Trending – Vehicle-based microgrid, wildfire prevention, programmable home insulation

Ford patenting a vehicle-based microgrid, Hitachi digitising wildfire prevention tech and Fraunhofer researchers investigating programmable materials for thermal applications are in the week’s technology radar.

Ford investigates vehicle based microgrid

Vehicle manufacturer patents continue to mount and this week we have learned of a recent filing in the US by Ford for a vehicle-based microgrid system.

Ford has been at the forefront of EV developments with among others its Lightning truck that is able to power a home for days at a time.

The new patent would appear to build on this with a vehicle-based microgrid with a controller, power source and network that is able to operate the vehicle’s power source to supply power to loads on the network.

The power source may be either the traction battery, any other battery source on-board the vehicle or even an external battery or an electrical generator.

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Digitising wildfire prevention technology

Wildfires are a perennial but growing problem with longer and hotter dry spells in numerous locations such as California and southern Australia, with the potential for major damage to power and other infrastructure.

While wildfires can have multiple origins, a common one is thermally overloaded surge arresters installed on power lines in dry areas. Spark prevention units that monitor the current and thermal load of the surge arrester and automatically disconnects it from the network in the event of a thermal overload are commonly used with a visual indicator to alert the utility field crew to the need for replacement.

Now Hitachi is further enhancing these units with the launch of a digital wireless spark prevention unit indicator to enable remote monitoring of the real time status of the spark prevention units and the automation of the visual inspection rounds to identify asset replacement.

“Our innovation is driving grid resiliency by safeguarding the network’s key assets,” said Markus Heimbach, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy’s High Voltage Products business.

Programmable home insulation

With the increasing use of air conditioning as demand for cooling grows, alternatives have the potential to bring significant energy savings.

One such alternative under investigation by researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics is the concept of programmable home insulation, with the expectation that it could save up to 40% of the cooling energy.

The concept is based on a foam that changes shape depending on the temperature. The principle behind the research is that when the sun is shining down and it is hot, the foam elements will expand, thereby sealing the ventilation slots between the building wall and rainscreen cladding to prevent the building from heating up. At night, the foam contracts and opens the ventilation slots, allowing fresh air to circulate behind the cladding and cool the house effectively.

“The outer shell of the house is therefore able to detect temperatures and react accordingly,” explains Dr Susanne Lehmann-Brauns, who is leading the research.

How the foam changes shape and at what temperature can be modified in its production. Importantly the process is reversible with the foam able to open and close its pores over and over again.

Apart from cooling the researchers envisage the use of programmable materials for other thermal applications such as heat transfer and heat storage.