Green, Eco Friendly Class A Monoblocks



Every time the power goes out where I live, I am reminded how much my life and interests revolve around electricity.

So as I contemplate a new house, with a dedicated circuit for audio equipment, I am wondering if there is yet any sustainable, green, or eco friendly technology which could supplement or perhaps even meet the demands of the hungriest audio and video systems.

Could anyone please comment on the latest solar or alternative energy sources which could meet the demands of a traditional high end audio system?

(Not as excited about switching to class D amps and/or renewable iPods.)

Thanks and hope this is of interest to others.

cwlondon
cwlondon
Kijanki, if you have been playing with solar power you know that a lot depends on how long you use an electrical item as well as how much power it draws.

What solar systems I have seen vary from a single 12V deep cycle batter powered by a single solar cell, in which case class D seems like the way to go. I've seen larger systems that could easily operate a class A tube system for an evening without strain. I have a set of 45-based Class A push-pull amps at home that I built as a DIY goof-off project, but they have wide bandwidth and low distortion. As long as you had efficient speakers they would be fine.

BTW I'm putting together an electric truck- its been a 3-year project. Looks like I will get a 100 mile range, if the math is remotely accurate. If there is any interest I can post photos...
Hey Ralph - I'm looking forward to those truck pics! Definitely post them. I've mentioned that project to a few friends who are very interested in what you're doing. Were you able to implement any of the new capacitor technology you were telling me about, or is has that still not touched-down yet?
So far the capacitor storage technology is still 'on the way'. It might be that EEStor is the furthest along. http://theeestory.com/

The other players in the US are Maxwell and Intersil, plus there is still a company here in the Twin Cities that has a technology. I actually went to their place to see it operate and make tests on it, but they had me sign a non-disclosure so I can't talk much about it, but it is a very simple technology. It does seem to me though that they are taking far too long to develop it :(

The truck is a 1990 Ford Ranger extended cab. Its powered by an Azure Dynamics 50Kw AC motor and controller, which reaches its maximum efficiency at 2500 rpm, so I kept the original clutch and transmission. There are 26 flooded lead acid batteries powering it- we had to really beef up the suspension and be creative to find a place to put them all. But they can operate for 2 hours with a 50-amp load, so 100 miles is possible assuming 15KW @ 50 mph. We're down to wiring the harness and figuring out what parts under the hood we no longer need- the entire drive train, battery boxes and the like are all installed. Its been about a 3-year project. Lotsa stalling around... mostly just trying to figure things out. I think in retrospect if I were to do it again with this drive train I'd do it on a Ford F-150. That way it would be a lot easier to install the batteries and there is really not that much additional weight.