Something special is happening in East Amwell, New Jersey. Mike Strizki, an engineer by trade and an employee of Advanced Solar Products is in the final stages of building the nation’s first solar / hydrogen-powered home.
The hydrogen home sits on 12-acres in the Sourland Mountains and, according to Strizki, is currently being held up by state and local officials because they don’t have building codes and regulations to cover technology this new. Strizki will be appearing on Good Morning America next week to talk about this new technology, but I thought I would get a-hold of him before he hits the Big Time and spoke with him two days ago.
When asked about the hold-ups by government officials, Strizki lamented, “They’re worried about the deer running into the tanks.” He was referring to the 10 metal tanks that will be holding the compressed hydrogen that will be supplying the primary fuel to his home in the winter months. When asked about the safety of the tanks, Strizki said, “They’re only 200 psi tanks. I can use everything made for propane on my hydrogen system.” By comparison, most hydrogen fuel cell cars carry tanks with hydrogen compressed to 5,000 – 10,000 psi.
Strizki is not new to the hydrogen scene. In his new hydrogen home’s garage sits a not so new hydrogen car called the New Jersey Genesis. Strizki helped build and now maintains the Genesis for the New Jersey Department of Transportation. When asked about his other hydrogen vehicle projects, Strizki said, “I’ve worked on a fuel cell airplane for NASA, the fuel cell-powered Duffy ferry boat and a fuel cell fire truck for Peugeot, the H20. I’ve probably created more fuel cells than just about anyone else in the world.”
But, let’s not forget Mike Strizki’s other big project, the 22-year-old Ford pickup truck that was converted to run on hydrogen for the Tour de Sol road rally in May 2002 (Genesis ran in an earlier road rally). The truck was affectionately called Electric Blue by the group of engineers, college and high school students who built it including Strizki who was one of the leaders of the project.
In the next couple of years, not everyone is going to have their own hydrogen car and home, but the trend has to start somewhere. Right now, that trend is starting in East Amwell, New Jersey.
Mike Strizki has the right track. Those that criticize the use of hydrogen as dangerous only have to re-watch the wreck of the Von Hindenberg Airship where very few passengers and ground observers were killed compared to what would have happened had the basis been gasoline.
One can see the hydrogen burning as it rose up and away from the scene, a danger to no one. The fire on the ground was the result of ignition of infrastructure materials such as deisel for the motors, canvas, wood of the cabins and cooking fuels.
Since hydrogen is a naturally occuring gas it poses no environmental threat as petro-fuels do. Rejecting it is an idiocy.
Here’s a video that shows Mr. Strizki giving a tour of his home and explaining it in more detail:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEdQRVQtffw
This is not a dream but Florida who has The gulf of Mexico water let us start our own utility’s. TODAY