Abstract
Currently, energy storage devices show great promise when used in micro-grid applications, and further advancements in this technology will lead to economically-viable and environmentally-friendly solutions in regards to residential energy consumption. Creating a 21st-century energy infrastructure will be fundamental to society in the coming decades and ensuring cost-effective means of doing so will lessen the burden on the average consumer. While current research has focused primarily on fundamental battery research, the economic viability for the average American consumer has been neglected in many cases. In this work, current and future methods of home energy storage are analyzed via a thorough literature review and the most promising current and near-future methods are explored. These methods include current Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB) technology, reused LIB from Electric Vehicles (EVs), Lithium Nickel manganese cobalt oxides (NMC) cathode composition and the utilization of silicon as an anode material. After the potential of these technologies is explored, an analysis of their economic viability for the average consumer is presented. The literature review demonstrates that the current state of LIB is very close to economically feasible; reused LIBs are less viable than new LIBs, and future LIB compositions show great promise in viability. This shows that within the next decade, micro-grids will be a reasonable alternative to utility energy harnessing techniques, and a major step towards green energy consumption will be realized. Hybrid energy storage systems, on the other hand, are shown to be economically infeasible, in the near future, due to their high cost per kWh. However, when analyzing the energy storage capabilities of these systems, it is shown that they may be vital in updated energy infrastructure and provide a cost saving.
Highlights
The switch to renewable energy sources in the 21st century has been a slow one, mainly due to the high cost of upgrading the current first-world energy infrastructure
More understanding is needed in this area as the lifetime of these batteries is significantly reduced, and as a result, they may not be able to regain the same amount of money over a shorter period of time
Continuous development of the energy infrastructure is fundamental to the progress of the USA and to providing energy solutions to developing nations, which will continue to be of importance well into the 21st century
Summary
The switch to renewable energy sources in the 21st century has been a slow one, mainly due to the high cost of upgrading the current first-world energy infrastructure. There has been an inconsistent degree of international commitment to enhancing this infrastructure, due to the high cost of the initial investment This high up-front cost has mainly been passed to consumers if they are interested in a modern energy solution. The need for more robust residential energy options will continue to increase well into the 21st century as the demand continues to increase due to more nations reaching the standards of the developed world. An example of this is outlined by China in the 2000s. This social phenomenon is expected to continue worldwide as more East Asian, Middle East, and African countries develop economically
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