Question

Assume the average home requires an electrical power of 1.2kW, an average life expectancy of 75 years, and only power from nuclear energy. For such a homeowner, what would be the lifetime generation of vitrified high level waste (HLW) in kg and liters (assuming reprocessing and recycling of U and Pu). Recall from our notes and handouts for chapter 7, the vitrified waste containers in France hold the HLW equivalent of 1.5 fuel recycled assemblies with an energy production of 1 TWh (1E+12 Wh). Compare this to some common size object such as a soda can for ease of conversation. Of course, this ignores other energy needs/requirements for such a person. Explain. How might nuclear power be used to meet these needs also?

Answer 1

24 kWh, that tells you nothing unless I add that is the amount of energy used in a hour, a day, a week, or some other time period.

5. Looking at the Specifications for the LFC

On the data sheet for the LFC, it lists a maximum power and energy per day. Consider the LFC-200, one of Power Knot’s most popular models:

Maximum power: 1.6 kW

Energy per day: 9.6 kWh

The power comprises a motor (1.2 kW) and a heater (400 W). So when these are both on, the total power is 1.6 kW. This allows the electrician to size the circuit, to decide how thick the electrical conductors need to be and the appropriate current rating (Amps) for the circuit breaker or fuse.

In most installations, the heater is not used. It is used when the LFC is installed in a cold environment or when cold water is supplied to the machine. Usually, the only power is that used by the motor. The motor on the LFC turns for a quarter of the time (typically on for 5 minutes and off for 15 minutes). Even though the heater is not normally on, let us consider that the heater is also on for a quarter of the time. Then the energy per day is:

energy each day = 1.6 kW * ¼ * 24 h = 9.6 kWh

In those cases where the heater is not on:

energy each day = 1.2 kW * ¼ * 24 h = 7.2 kWh

So, the typical energy consumed is 75% of that listed on our data sheet