Energy is life for any space settlement. Lunar Homesteads without energy aren’t going to be habitable for long. The trick is to be able to produce, store, and use energy without having to bring lots of equipment from Earth.
Energy Category Posts
General
Dayspan and Nightspan activities – Homesteads will be energy-limited during the Lunar night.
Solar Energy generation
- Solar thermal (easiest to manufacture locally) Power Plant Design 1A – Obsolete
- Solar photovoltaic
- Thermo-electric generator (thermo-couple using difference between hot and cold)
Nuclear
- Nuclear Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)
- Fission
Combustion
- Lunar made fuels (for continuous electricity generation and industrial processes)(also for underground industry not dependent on solar power)(solar power can be used to make the fuel)
- Calcium + oxygen
- Iron powder/oxygen combustion engine
- Aluminum powder + oxygen
- CH4 – biofuel (Possibly algae)
- H2+O2 = fuel cell or combustion
- H2O2 (hydrogen pyroxide)
- SiH4 (silane)
Kinetic
- Manual Kinetic
- Manual Universal Power Supply (MUPS) – also doubles as exercise for Homesteaders.
- Hydroelectric – store water near surface and at bottom (x meters deep). Dayspan – pump water to high storage. Nightspan – generate hydroelectric power.
Energy Storage
- Kinetic Flywheel
- Hydro-kinetic
- Chemical Battery
- Fuel Cell (hydrogen + oxygen)
- Molten basalt or glass (thermal)
- Basalt thermal battery
Energy Distribution
- Wiring Manufacturing
- Lunar wiring (aluminum) and sheathing (Basalt fiber ?). Need correct terminals so aluminum doesn’t burn. 12 volt DC.
- Piped water (thermal)
Energy rejection
- Thermal radiators
Lighting
- Glass solid light tubes (fiber optics) – bring sunlight into habitats. How to build, how effective, maximum distance light will travel, radiation protection.
- Periscope Windows for level 1 (just below the surface) habitats
- Heliostats
- Light pipes – fiber optics distribute light from a central light device.
- Incandescent,
- fluorescent,
- led
- halogen
- Combustion
- Arc lamps
- Full spectrum (artificial sunlight) lights, grow lights
- Observation rooms at surface (still fully shielded). Shielded at top and with wide overhangs.