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AMIE connects a natural-gas-powered hybrid electric vehicle with a small solar-powered building to create an integrated energy system.
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ORNL is pushing the boundaries of 3-D printing in terms of size, speed, strength and performance. The demonstration building, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, features 3-D printed rings assembled into a shell by Clayton Homes, the nation’s largest builder of manufactured housing. Most of the custom printed utility vehicle’s components, including the chassis and body panels, were additively manufactured.
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When the vehicle is parked, magnetic coils on the car and in the ground enable power transfer between the vehicle and the building. The ORNL-developed wireless charging technology helps drivers avoid the hassle of plugging in their vehicle.
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The demonstration showcases low-cost modified atmosphere insulation panels developed by ORNL and NanoPore. The panels offer the same energy savings as high-performance vacuum insulation panels at half the cost and thickness. Each panel slides into the building’s 3-D printed shell, providing a drop-in energy efficiency solution.
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Advanced building control and power management strategies integrate the project’s multiple components to maximize the system’s efficiency. This brain-like control center manages the system’s electrical demand and load by balancing the intermittent power from the building’s 3.2 kilowatt solar array with supplemental power from the vehicle’s engine.
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AMIE connects a natural-gas-powered hybrid electric vehicle with a small solar-powered building to create an integrated energy system.
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ORNL is pushing the boundaries of 3-D printing in terms of size, speed, strength and performance. The demonstration building, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, features 3-D printed rings assembled into a shell by Clayton Homes, the nation’s largest builder of manufactured housing. Most of the custom printed utility vehicle’s components, including the chassis and body panels, were additively manufactured.
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When the vehicle is parked, magnetic coils on the car and in the ground enable power transfer between the vehicle and the building. The ORNL-developed wireless charging technology helps drivers avoid the hassle of plugging in their vehicle.
-
The demonstration showcases low-cost modified atmosphere insulation panels developed by ORNL and NanoPore. The panels offer the same energy savings as high-performance vacuum insulation panels at half the cost and thickness. Each panel slides into the building’s 3-D printed shell, providing a drop-in energy efficiency solution.
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Advanced building control and power management strategies integrate the project’s multiple components to maximize the system’s efficiency. This brain-like control center manages the system’s electrical demand and load by balancing the intermittent power from the building’s 3.2 kilowatt solar array with supplemental power from the vehicle’s engine.
Anew project at ORNL is examining the potential for consumers to generate, store and use electrical power via an energy system that includes their homes, their vehicles and the grid—all managed by a common “brain.” The Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) demonstration may be a bellwether for the energy efficient home of the future.
Working with industrial partners, the ORNL team is connecting a natural-gas-powered hybrid electric vehicle with a small solar-powered building to create an integrated energy system.
Power can flow in either direction between the vehicle and building through a lab-developed wireless charging technology. This approach allows the car to provide supplemental power to the house when the sun is not shining.
Complementing this energy efficient concept, the team is exhibiting the rapid prototyping potential of additive manufacturing in architecture and vehicle design by using large-scale 3-D printers to construct both the car and building. The initial demonstration was unveiled during a September industrial outreach event at ORNL sponsored by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
ORNL researchers hope their integrated approach to energy generation,
storage and consumption will introduce solutions for the modern electric grid, which faces challenges ranging from extreme weather events to growing renewable energy use, particularly as the transportation sector transitions away from fossil fuels.
“We’re looking at large community issues from the single-unit level,” said ORNL’s Martin Keller, associate laboratory director for Energy and Environmental Sciences. “Our research provides solutions on a small scale, which will translate to a significant reduction in energy use and an increase in cost savings when ramped up to a national, and even global, level.”
