In the early ’90s I designed a shipping container made out of Structural Insulating Panels (SIPs). I even got a patent for it, though I didn’t have the business savvy to make any money from the patent.
The idea of modifying existing shipping containers has a lot of promise. They are waterproof, strong and relatively cheap. The drawback is that the ceiling height is pretty low. Shipping containers come in two heights, one is about 8′-0″ tall and the other is 9′-6″ tall. The taller of the two allows for some overhead space for heating and cooling ductwork + some space for drainage from plumbing fixtures above.
One way to get beyond the box is to use the space between boxes as part of the living space.
While we all wait for the X-Prize car to be announced we should remember that a couple of students at Western Washington University managed to create a high efficiency car with off-the-shelf parts more than two decades ago. From their website:
The Avion was developed as a lightweight and aerodynamic and very fuel-efficient sports car. The prototype was completed in 1984 and set the Guinness world record for fuel economy in 1986 at 103.7-mpg average driving from the Mexico border to British Columbia Canada border.
The plan at that time was to manufacture the Avion but at the time fuel economy was not as big a concern 20 years ago and we lacked the expertise and the money to tool up and produce the cars.
The car has been designed to be manufactured in small volume using recycled components from the automobile recycling yards. Utilizing standard engines and drive trains installed in the Avion’s light weight and aerodynamic body we can achieve significant improvements in fuel efficacy and performance making the Avion both fun to drive and while getting great mileage. In our testing the car we were able to achieve 80mpg At 70 mph and an astonishing 114mpg at 55mph driving from Eugene Or. To Portland OR.
An Idea twenty years before its time.
From the Rocky Mountain Institute:
Transportation uses 28% of our energy and produces 30% of our GHGs. Three quarters of this comes from cars and trucks. These numbers can be reduced by 30-35% or more with technologies that exist today. The real question is how quickly these new technologies can penetrate the market in significant numbers. Programs like cash for clunkers can help accelerate this, though analysis shows that the savings achieved came with a high price tag.
Amory Lovins endorses the idea of using “feebates” in the book Winning the Oil Endgame. A feebate system using a combination of rebates and fees to help reduce the average fuel economy of our fleet. New vehicles with fuel economy above the target level receive a rebate, while those below the target are assessed a fee, which helps to fund the program. Proponents claim that a feebate of $70 per mpg above or below the target would be sufficient to improve the national fuel economy by one percent annually.
I like the idea of taxing “bads” like fuel guzzling cars and supporting the purchase of fuel efficient cars. Kind of like Robin Hood. I’d even support a couple of hundred dollars per MPG over the set point to help low income families pay for fuel efficient cars.
