A review: Coffee table book
by Mikkel Navarro Hansen, CEO Aprendio
Who would have thought that. Not just a book review by Aprendio but a coffee table book review.
Earlier this year, I met Christian Dahl Winther and he told me about his book: "Visual Guide to the Power Grid". It immediately woke my curiosity. A book about power grids, energy system, renewables. What he calls The Greatest Machine in the World. I simply had to get my hands on this book.
If you’re interested on how the integrated energy system works - then sign up for this course: Danmarks Inetegrerede Energisystem on ther 6-7th of November 2023
At Aprendio, we work with the skills needed to enable the green transition. And "power" is one of the core elements in the transition. Today, the way we produce power leads to the climate havoc we witness at the moment. So, knowledge and insight into how power works are key to achieving a net-zero society. And this is what this book is all about, explaining principles of power generation, storage, distribution, etc., in a way that everyone can follow the idea - even me.
When you open the book, you are greeted with a 172-page tour-de-force of fantastic illustrations of how for example a boiler works, the principles of steam-turbines, and I love the plentiful isometric 3D illustrations - like the one on page 37, showing how a number of small vehicles work on an onshore site erecting a windmill. Or the clear illustration of increasing production costs on page 134, depicted by small clear illustration how costs increase from wind and solar power up to expensive peak-load units. With these illustrations, you are both entertained and unforgettable.
And if power and electricity are totally new to you, you will also learn the historical facts about why we have 110- or 230 Volt plugs, why the plugs are shaped the way they are - and even a guide to the color coding of household cables.
So, if power - mainly electricity - is on the curriculum, then this is the book. I see it as relevant reading for everybody from upper secondary to high schools, and non-technical academics - who need to know what is up and down when it comes to why, and how the power ends up in the plug where we charge our laptops, coffee machines and microwaves.
I would love to see similar books on topics like new fuels, emissions and other subjects related to power and our green transition.
So, make space on your coffee table and order Christian’s book “A Visual Guide to the Power Grid”.
You can order it here: https://visualpowergrid.com/
If you’re interested on how the integrated energy system works - then sign up for this course: Danmarks Inetegrerede Energisystem on ther 6-7th of November 2023