A NEW, OFF-PEAK ELECTRIC THERMAL STORAGE APPLIANCE FOR COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL USE.

THIS COUNTRY IS FACING AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT PROBLEM IN PROVIDING ELECTRIC ENERGY IN SUFFICIENT QUANTITIES FOR THE NEAR FUTURE. THIS PROBLEM IS COMPOUNDED, ON THE ONE HAND, BY THE VERY HIGH COST OF NUCLEAR POWER, THE EXTREMELY LONG APPROVAL AND CONSTRUCTION TIMES, AND THE SHUTTING DOWN OF SEVERAL PLANTS EVEN BEFORE START UP BECAUSE OF THE CONCERNS OF LOCAL CITIZENS. ON THE OTHER HAND, CONVENTIONAL POWER PLANT INSTALLATIONS FOR NEW BASE LOAD GENERATION, WHICH COSTONE BILLION DOLLARS AND UP, EXACERBATE THE PROBLEM OF POLLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE DEPLETION OF SCARCE NATURAL RESOURCES. IT IS NOT SURPRISING, THEREFOR, THAT STATE POWER COMMISSIONS HAVE TURNED MORE AND MORE TO DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES IN THE FORM OF INEXPENSIVE, OFF-PEAK ELECTRIC THERMAL STORAGE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. UNFORTUNATELY, ONE OF THE MAJOR IMPEDIMENTS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE PROGRAMS IS THE LACK OF AN OFF-PEAK ELECTRIC STORAGE APPLIANCE WHICH CAN OVERCOME THE SERIOUS PROBLEMS OF THOSE DEVICES ON THE MARKET TODAY. ALL OF THE PRESENT ELECTRIC STORAGE APPLIANCES ARE BASED ON THE STORAGEOF "SENSIBLE" THERMAL ENERGY IN HIGH DENSITY BRICKS. THESE BRICKS, WHICH WEIGH 172 POUNDS FOR A STORAGE CAPACITY OF 40,000 BTU, ARE HEATED TO ABOUT 1400 DEGREES FARENHEIT, WHICH RESULTS IN SEVERAL UNDESIRABLE EFFECTS: THEY OVERHEAT THE ROOM AND THEY ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO THERMALLY CONTROL; THEY SCORCH THE RUGS THEY STAND ON AS WELL AS THE WALLS BEHIND THEM; AND THEY ARE INEFFICIENT IN THEIR USE OF ELECTRICITY DURING CHARGE-UP. CONSEQUENTLY, IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE USE OF OFF-PEAK ELECTRIC THERMAL STORAGE APPLIANCES, THEY NEED TO BE MADE MORE ATTRACTIVE TO POTENTIAL USERS BY THE OVERCOMING OF THESE PROBLEMS. OUR PROPOSAL OVERCOMES ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS BY USING AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH WHICH ALLOWS MORE ENERGY TO BE STORED, AT A LOWER TEMPERATURE, IN A SMALLER VOLUME THAN THE SAME MASS OF BRICKS CAN. OUR PROPOSAL ALSO INCLUDES THE IDEA FOR A VERY EFFECTIVE INSULATION SYSTEM WHICH WILL PROVIDE FOR A TEMPERATURE DROP BETWEEN THE CORE OF THE STORAGE CONTAINER AND THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE APPLIANCE OF ABOUT 650 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT IN 1/4", THEREBY MAINTAINING THE LATTER SURFACE NEAR AMBIENT. WITH THESE MAJOR PRODUCT IMPROVEMENTS WE ANTICIPATE THAT OUR COMPANY WILL CAPTURE A SIGNIFICANT FRACTION OF THE WORLD WIDE ELECTRIC STORAGE MARKET, WHICH IN ENGLAND ALONE, AMOUNTS TO ANNUAL SALES OF OVER ONE MILLION UNITS.