admin answers:

Because the liberals are massively uniformed and the true news is hidden from them by their one-sided reporting lame stream bias` media ! ***GE To Make BILLIONS From Obama Cap and Trade Scheme***
Breaking: General Electric in the position to make billions from Obama’s Cap and Trade scheme and is lobbying heavily for it’s passage. Not only are they the largest wind turbine generator maker, they are going to profit heavily from the “cap and trade” credits as possibly the sole “secondary market’ trader of these credits. Now do you understand the main stream NBC, MSNBC, CNBC fully supporting the Obama agenda, and the hate-filled, anti-conservative spew from their networks.
GE is embroiled in what perhaps could be the largest scandal in the history of this nation. Currently, GE and CEO Jeffery Immelt have spend millions in lobbying efforts to assure the passage of this dasturdly “cap and trade” proposal. And, as evidenced from the Shareholders meeting in Orlando, Immelt wasn’t in the mood for the boo’s and the questions that exposed the media bias from NBC and MSNBC (and CNBC) and their total shift from objective reporting to nothing but pure bias toward the Obama administration and their “cap and trade” scheme.

Then Janeine Garafalo did her “hit shtick” on Olberman’s show earlier in the week, it was obvious that his entire lack of response to her diatribe was in full support of GE corporate policy and Olberman was being the compliant little prick he is and following the company line. It is OBVIOUS as the nose on anyone’s face that the NBC networks, that includes MSNBC and CNBC are totally pro-Obama agenda driven, and are using the bully pulpit to promote his legislative proposals. In the back of my mind, I knew deep down that General Electric, as owner of the NBC network, was fully supporting Obama, was instrumental in his election, and had something to gain. However, I never quiet made the connection as reported tonight.
Under the Obama plan, the “cap and trade” credits will be issued to all producers of energy. GE is the largest manufacturer of wind turbines as well as other electical generation turbines used in coal, gas, atomic, and hydroelectic electricity generation facilities. With the Obama plan, those cap and trade credits would be issued by the Federal Government, and ultimately, traded just like any stock or bond. GE has apparently, created and entire unit with the Corporation that would deal in the Secondary Market trading these credits. First, they are going to take in billions of dollars from government contracts in wind energy. Second, they perhaps are going to have exclusive control over the secondary market for these cap and trade credits. That, in effect, puts GE in the catbirds seat for all energy produced in this nation as ALL “carbon emission” energy sourced are going to be subject to these carbon schemes. This includes ANY oil related, natural gas related, gasoline, diesel, and any other manufacturer that uses any petro-based component. That means every single plastic container, every car, every chemical fertilizer, every pesticide, every single thing you use will be subject to this scheme as it too, is made from a carbon based material.
(“We’re in an area right now that makes Watergate look like a Shirley Temple movie.”) illustrate, the best that can be said about General Electric is that it is hip deep in conflict of interest. It’s running TV networks that prop up liberalism, the global warming issue and Obama, while privately lobbying hard for cap-and-trade, from which it intends to profit heavily.
There can be no doubt that GE is up to it’s neck in this scandal. It is further evidence that WE THE PEOPLE of this nation are going to have to quit sitting still and allowing this huge, overblown government from dealing with GE for any contracts awarded to them for anything. Face some realities- GE is one of the governments largest contractors and they are going to get billions and billions more under the Obama plans should they become law. This, with no words minced, is an OUTRAGE to the foundation of this nations Constitutional government. Additionally, GE employees contributed to Obama’s campaign, close to $98,000 while NBC employees contributed close to $194,000. (For reference, the McCain camp only received donations close to $55,000 from GE/NBC employees according to OpenSecrets.org) They heavily invested in his election and the desire for his climate change initiatives to become law for a very selfish reason- massive profits.
There can be no doubt that the very reason NBC, MSNBC, and the MSM is fully supporting the “settled science” on climate change is GE profit driven. They stand to make BILLIONS from the promotion of the scam on the American people and the world.

admin answers:

.
Turbines come in many sizes and power ratings.

AND: If it were running at full, rated power, for 250KW (which is a very big one) it would have to have an input of over 342 HP.
AND: 342 HP equals 188 K ft.lbs per second or 11.3 M ft.lbs per minute.
SO: It is the energy that must go into it from the wind forces that turn the propeller of the turbine.
HOWEVER: The rotational speed is depending on the design of the coils inside the generator, the number of blades, their length and the rotational speed they can support. Please refer to the wikipedia site above for a discussion on these matters.
IF: We assume a rotational speed of 120 rpm or some such figure (you can get specifications from the manufacturers web pages) you can compute the torque by trial and error using the nifty little calculator or go to a site regarding formulas.
(The torque must be guessed at until you reach the right HP as given above – 342).
It turns out to be around 180,000 ft.lbs (180K ft.lbs) or torque.
Think those numbers are reasonable for a 250KW generator.
PS: If the speed slows down to 50 rpm, the torque must increase to 450K ft.lbs in order to keep producing the 250KW power output!

admin answers:

I definetly would need a years collection of books, including all the Jane Austen/Charlotte Bronte classics to keep me going 🙂

I would also basically need a full stock of food and water , some proteins, some carboyhydrates, some fats, and some minerals, so I was getting all the right nutrients so I wouldn’t die of scurvy, lol.

A trowel, to dig holes for the treasure 🙂
Veg seeds, I’m a practical person!
A hat, that sun is bad for you you know
MP3 player with head phones and wind up charger thing (do they exist for MP3’s?!)

A book on “Surviving on a desert Island for dummies” 🙂 Guess that is kind of cheating.

A manual on how to build boats.

Zac Efron to build the boat. (Aha =] )

X

admin answers:

HEY READ THIS ARTICLE … I have attached the link too … I like the question … Wanted to learn … So i looked up 🙂

Solar Power 101
Batteries

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM

This article is the first in a series of what will be a beginner’s course in solar electricty. Simultaneously we have instituted a Home Energy Information (www.homeenergy.info) section on our website where you can ask questions of Jeff Yago, the author of this series. Yago is a licensed professional engineer and certified energy manager who has writtten many energy articles for BHM. He has extensive solar thermal and solar photovoltaic system design experience, and is author of Achieving Energy Independence — One Step At A Time, which includes many solar system wiring examples. It is available from the Backwoods Home Bookstore or by calling 804-457-9566. Those interested in solar electricity will want to save these articles for future review when planning your solar system.

I am getting numerous requests from readers wanting very specific guidance on how to install their own solar electric systems. Many have already found that this process is a little like trying to build an automobile by purchasing parts from a NAPA dealer. For example, you can buy a brake drum, wheel bearing, and oil filter, but since your car does not yet exist, how do you know what parts you need, what parts will fit with other parts, and how should these parts be wired together.

During the next few issues, I will take you through the “basics” of solar system design and installation, and answer your specific questions as we go along. This course will continue on the Backwoods Home Magazine website (www.backwoodshome.com) under their new Home Energy Information (www.homeenergy.info) section. You will be able to e-mail your installation questions and offer suggestions for future home energy saving articles.

Before I can help you design your own solar power system, you have to understand that there are actually many different types of solar power systems, for many different applications.

System types
Some solar power systems are 12-volt DC due to the many low voltage RV and boating lighting and appliances available, and do not have a utility line connection. These DC only systems can be used to power several DC lights in a remote cabin, or a DC well pump in a field for watering cattle. Some solar power systems have an inverter to convert a 12, 24, or 48-volt DC battery voltage into 120-volt AC power to operate standard household appliances. Some grid connected solar power systems are designed for direct connection to your utility line and do not use any batteries at all.

Hybrid solar power systems can include a battery bank, a solar array, a generator, and even a wind turbine to provide power at all times with the utility grid serving only as backup. Inverters and solar arrays are available in many different styles, voltages, and wiring configurations. Some solar arrays are mounted on the roof, some on the top of a pole, and some are ground mounted, with each having different wiring rules.

If you visit a solar home that has a well designed and properly installed solar power system, you will find the concept is actually fairly simple. The hard part is knowing what wiring layout was best for this specific home, what size and quantity of each system component was required, and what wire size and fuses were needed to keep from burning down the house.

Batteries
One of the most misunderstood parts of a solar power system is the battery or battery bank, and that is where our class begins. Some solar battery banks use wet cells, like golf cart batteries, while others use sealed or gel cell batteries, and each have different temperature, mounting, and ventilation requirements.

Every battery is designed for a specific type of charge and discharge cycle. Car batteries have thin plates to keep their weight down and are designed for a heavy discharge lasting a few seconds, followed by a long period of slow re-charge. A 6-volt golf cart battery (size T-105) is the minimum battery I recommend for a residential solar application. You will need to buy these in “pairs” to make 12 volts. Golf cart batteries have very thick plates and are designed for hours of heavy discharge each day, followed by a fast recharge in only a few hours each night. This is similar to the duty cycle of a residential solar application, only in reverse. A solar battery must be able to provide long periods of deep discharge each evening and night, followed by a full recharge in only a few hours of sunlight each afternoon. Very few batteries can take a deep discharge-recharge cycle every day, and the 6-volt golf cart battery is the least expensive and easiest to find locally that can.

For some reason, everyone wants to use a sealed marine battery for their homegrown solar system. I strongly recommend that you do not. Included is a photo showing a sealed marine battery that “exploded” after being connected to a small solar charger for several months.

Even though this was a small 12-volt DC 5-amp solar charge controller powered from a single 50-watt solar photovoltaic module, this was enough energy to gradually overcharge the battery and evaporate all of the electrolyte even though this battery was “sealed.” A low electrolyte level can expose the plates which will gradually warp or “grow” in thickness as they oxidize. This can cause an internal short circuit and ignition of the hydrogen gas.

Plate damage can also occur when there is a large buildup of sediment after the upper plate areas become exposed from reduced water levels and begin to “flake” off. Most liquid acid batteries do not vent gasses while discharging. However, near the end of a typical charging cycle, when the battery is almost “full,” the sulfuric acid and water electrolyte will begin to break down into hydrogen and oxygen—a very explosive combination.

When ignited by a nearby spark or flame, an “explosion” can result, but this flash lasts only a fraction of a second, which is usually too fast to ignite nearby walls. However, this is still a very explosive reaction, with plastic battery parts becoming acid-covered shrapnel. While using a hand grinder one day in a shop, I accidentally directed the sparks towards several car batteries being charged about 30 feet away. There was a very loud explosive sound with acid and plastic hitting every wall of the large shop, yet I did not see a flame and there was no fire. Regardless, it was not a pleasant experience.

Always wear eye protection and acid proof gloves when working around batteries, and have lots of water and baking soda nearby. This will neutralize any acid spills from battery refilling and prevent further corrosive damage.

A typical 6-volt golf cart battery will store about 1 kilowatt-hour of useful energy (6 volt X 220 amp-hr X 80% discharge = 1056 watt-hours). Since this would only power two 50-watt incandescent lamps for 10 hours (2 X 50 X 10 = 1000 watt-hours), your alternative energy system will most likely require wiring several batteries together to create a battery bank. Since each golf cart battery weighs almost 65 pounds, there are weight considerations as well as battery gas venting issues to think about.

An area of a garage or storage building having a concrete floor is the most common location for a battery bank, although some large systems have their own specially designed battery room. I am going to assume you are installing a much smaller system and will only require four to eight batteries.

If you need more than the 220 amp-hr capacity contained in each golf cart battery, I suggest switching to the larger “L-16” size traction battery, having a 350 amp-hour rating, which may allow using fewer batteries. This battery is the same length and width as a golf cart battery, but is much taller and twice as heavy. This is an excellent battery for solar applications and can take very heavy charge-discharge cycling. This industrial rated battery may be more difficult to find, as it is only available from battery wholesale distributors.

Batteries can lose over half of their charge when exposed to extreme temperature swings, so be sure your proposed battery location stays in a 50° to 80° F range, or you will need to insulate the battery box. Since liquid batteries require refilling and battery terminal cleaning to remove corrosion several times each year, the floor area selected should be able to take an occasional acid spill and water wash down.

Battery venting is very important as discussed earlier, and if you build an enclosure around your batteries, it should be designed to direct all vented gasses to the outside. A 2-inch PVC pipe makes a good vent, but be sure it is located at the highest point in your battery enclosure where the lighter hydrogen gas will accumulate. Be sure it also includes a screened vent cap to keep out rain and insects. Do not locate your battery bank near a gas water heater or other open flame appliance that could ignite any accidental hydrogen accumulation.

A battery box can be built using standard 2 x 4 framing construction, with pressure treated plywood lining the interior surfaces. A hinged top door is needed for periodic battery maintenance, and should include a gasket to prevent gases from entering the room. Note how the top of the site-built battery box shown in these photos slopes up to a high rear area where two PVC vent pipes are located. The interior plywood surfaces of this wood frame construction were painted with several coats of fire and acid resistant paint. Since batteries lose capacity with lower temperatures, your batteries should not rest directly on a cold uninsulated concrete floor.

Pressure treated 2 x 4s on edge, spaced every 6 inches and covered by a fiberglass laminated concrete board, makes an excellent base for your battery box. This heavy sheet material is sold in most building supply outlets as a backing behind ceramic tile work in wet shower stalls, and is usually available in smaller 2-foot by 4-foot sizes. By careful planning, you may be able to use the entire sheet without cutting or splicing.

If you can afford to invest in the more expensive gel or absorbed glass matte (AGM) batteries, you will have more flexibility in locating your battery bank, since these batteries do not need to be refilled and do not normally generate explosive gasses. The photo shows a large battery bank with the batteries mounted close together in a vertical steel rack. You do not need a vapor proof enclosure or vent pipe when using these batteries, however they cost almost 30 percent more without providing any additional life or storage capacity.

admin answers:

I hope so, but with the senate republicans plan to stall during kagan’s confirmation and the need for immigration reform (thanks AZ for forcing that to the top of the list- aholes) there is a lot to get done, and with republicans unprecedented obstruction its a tall order to get all that done.

I notice your first responder, Mr Bong, brings up the fake climate change denial report from Spain funded by america’s larger polluter. Not a real credible report Mr Bong.

admin answers:

The best way would be to try to get a job with the company that will be operating them (power company). To get a job with them, you will need some skills either mechanical or electrical. An engineering degree would be best but if you have knowledge of industrial equipment (coupling alignment, stretching bolts, mechanical seals) that could also get you in the door.

The alternative route would be to go through the construction company installing the units. If you could get a job with them as either an electrician or millwright, that could be your foot in the door.

admin answers:

One way of saving money is saving on electricity. Buy energy saving bulbs, turn off lighting that is not in use and minimizing the use of some of your electrical appliances. But the latter is just so hard to give up especially television. Just imagine all the shows that you will miss. Well, no need to worry as there is an alternative way in order for you to save on electricity.

Some homeowners are now switching to alternative ways to generate electricity!
Generating your own Wind Power at home is the answer. Wind Mills or Wind Turbines, however you may call it, are machines designed to generate electrical energy by utilizing the Power of the Wind. It is usually made of 3 steel blades that are mounted horizontally on top of a tower. The blades start to rotate when the Wind blows by it. As soon as the blades rotate, it will then generate a certain amount of electrical energy. The current will then flow to the Generator which is connected to a dry cell. The dry cell will then supply the household with electricity.

admin answers:

Hey Chris, this might dissapoint you, but they don’t need kick starting, at least the modern ones don’t. Generally the blades are, “feathered,” or turned so they are at a knife edge to the wind until the wind speed is several mph faster than the turbines cut in speed for a predetermined amount of time. This is done so the generation of power is not right at the starting speed cusp, so any slight change in wind causes the torque to be produced intermittently. Once this speed / time requirement is met, the blades are unfeathered and set at some starting pitch initially until the rotor almost reaches design speed. After that they are set according to the computers program for the wind speed and rpm. The equipement that feathers and unfeathers the blades of course needs a small amount of power when it is being used. It can be turned on and off at the control facility with the click of a mouse. Mechanical brakes were all but done away with in the 70’s, when most turbines began using induction braking. This is nothing more than taking the different windings of the generator and connecting them together to short out the current flow. This causes the magnetic drag on the rotor to go up astronomically, stopping the blade. Most of the really large latest units today don’t even have that, they just feather the blades instead and use aerodynamic braking.

We have a home sized turbine in our yard, and it does not require a kick start either. If the brake is off, then it starts to rotate in very light wind, but not fast enough to produce power. Once it blows harder than 9mph consistently, then the rpm causes the generator to exceed the battery voltage and current begins to flow into the battery as long as the rotor speed is above cut in rpm. If it falls below this, or the wind stops entirely, current stops flowing, the blades may coast to a stop, but it is not “using” any power during this time, and does not need any for starting, just the wind. Our unit uses an induction brake as well, no mechanical brakes are installed. Take care Chris, Rudydoo

admin answers:

It is not mechanically feasible to make a DFIG with a sufficient number of poles to match the synchronous speed to the optimum speed of a wind turbine. The space required for numerous stator windings would make the machine too large and heavy for mounting in the nacelle of the turbine. Since the speed increasing gear can not be eliminated entirely, the DFIG speed and the gear ratio are selected to optimize the cost, size and weight of the combination.

A PMSG using rare-earth magnets can be designed for a speed that allows the gear to be eliminated. The resulting machine has a larger diameter than a DFIG of the same power rating, but the cost and weight of the PMSG without a gear make it competitive with the DFIG package. The complete package comparison includes the cost and complexity comparisons of the electronic power conversion units and the expected reliability comparison of the two packages.

This is the basic outline of the design considerations. The complete analysis must be rather complex and contain assessments that are not viewed in the same way by everyone who undertakes such designs.

admin answers:

The only cost effective installation I’ve seen is at a home where connection to commercial AC power was very expensive. The home owner was quoted about $15000 to run a line to the house, and this became the alternate energy budget. Several solar panels, both for electricity and water heating were installed on the roof. A wind generator was installed on a 80 foot pole to supplement the solar panels. Battery banks, inverters, etc were installed inside to power the house. All appliances were selected to be very energy efficient, lighting was minimized, but remained adequate. The total price was less than quoted for commercial power, and comes with the added benefit of no further electric bills other than routine maintenance and repair of the system.

I think that if there is commercial electricity available you will be hard pressed to justify the expense financially. I’m installing a wind system to supplement the electric use in the house. Payback looks like it could take 10-12 years, but I’m not doing it as a money saving project, but rather as something to experiment with and learn. Instead of wasting money on cigarettes and beer every week, I’ve stashed money aside to finance my project.

I have pictures, electric diagrams, structural drawings, etc on my web page.
Http://members.rennlist.org/warren/wind.html

admin answers:

Here is an article that might answer your question from Ben Ford… He has been around for a while and is an experienced inventor and author on green energy .He showed me how cheap it is to build wind and solar… That will be me out there repairing my fence this summer and building solar and wind power!
Author Ben Ford
How would you react if your neighbor told you she was going to build wind turbines? Pretty impressed? The truth is that it is not difficult to build wind turbines and many homeowners are taking the challenge to build their own wind turbines as a cost-effective means to utilizing renewable energies. It isn’t exactly snap-your-fingers easy to build wind turbines either, but with the proper plans and a motivated builder you can be building wind turbines in no time.

It is definitely your best bet, before setting out to build wind turbines, to purchase an instruction manual or guide to follow. Remember that you get what you pay for when it comes to instructions. Make sure you find a manual that is easy to read with detailed instructions. There are also many online resources and forums to help guide you through your wind turbine building process.

To familiarize yourself with the basics, before you get started on your project to build wind turbines, there are four basic components to wind turbines. To build wind turbines you must be familiar with the towers, the batteries, the turbines and the tail and propeller assembly. The tools generally required to build wind turbines are simple as well, you will need wrenches, a saw and a drill. There may also be a need for additional tools depending on how of the wind turbine you will be building yourself.

One part that you will probably be ordering when you decide to build wind turbines is the motor. The motors on wind turbines do require regular maintenance and oiling for continued efficiency, but this is a small price to pay for the excellent energy these systems provide. In addition to the motor, you are definitely going to need a good-sized workspace. Depending on your target energy output, your propellers or blades could get up to 8 feet in diameter (4 ft blades).

It takes a little work to build wind turbines, but there is really nothing overly complicated about the process and generally the process can be fairly inexpensive once you are operational and your electric bills are dropping each month. Building wind turbines is also a fast growing occupation worldwide as technicians are tough to find. So learn how to build wind turbines for yourself and take advantage of the opportunities free electricity and know how can provide.

admin answers:

Hi Lara. We have been powering our home for 11 years now with the wind and sun. There are also solar water preheaters, rainwater collection tanks and a wood stove in the living room and shop. For the past 6 years or so, I’ve been going to the local schools and teaching seminars on solar power, and in some cases, the schools have run bus loads of kids out to our place to see a home like this first hand. One thing I’ve learned over the years is almost everyone asks questions about wind turbines first. There is something about them, the way they move, the noise people imagine when they see even a picture of one that draws their attention.

Wind power is actually a bit of work. The machines are mounted in very inaccessible places, they have moving parts that break down, they can make unwanted noise, and anyone within a quarter mile has to see the thing, yet everyone wants to learn more. Pictures of solar panels are cool, but they never move or even change color when they run. Pictures of a biomass operation sound absolutely ugly. Probably the wood stove would be the best of them. If it were me, and you wanted to draw attention with your poster, go with wind. Look online for interesting pictures of turbines, particularly in unusual places, like a remote artic weather station, next to a camping tent, on a sailboat or a mountain. A really good eye catcher is a big one with a technician hanging on the side of the tower in a harness working on the turbine. That really gives you a great idea how large the units can be. I’ll list some places you can look for photos, and information you can add to the poster. Good luck Lara, and take care, Rudydoo

admin answers:

I think with any system if energy is removed then the ‘natural’ state of the system must be disrupted somehow. With wind we must consider how much we are taking out of the overall system. The first thing to note is that the winds are largely driven by solar heating – causing high and low pressures to form through air density differences which act to even out by transporting air between them. The sheer scale of the energy and the vertical distribution of the wind means that even with our best efforts we can currently only harvest a small amount of the wind energy at surface level, let alone for the whole 10km of the troposphere. The effect that this will have is for the wind farm to be ‘seen’ by the lower winds as an area of increased surface friction, in a similar way to a large tree might be seen. This might lead to local effects close to the turbines but I don’t think it would be noticeable without high-tech equipment. As for global effects like El Nino then we would have to be seriously affecting the upper controlling winds (like the jet stream) and global circulation cells.
I would say that if the entire globe was covered in wind turbines then I would expect some dampening of the atmospheric circulation system, but since this is unlikely and we currently (key word!) extract a tiny percentage of the available energy then it is not of concern.

According to Greenpeace, we currently extract 6.0xE4 MW per year in the world. The total energy in the global wind is estimated at 3.6xE9 MW. With five orders of magnitude difference we have a long way to go before we impact on the wind in the atmosphere. Also there is a limit of 59% (called Betz limit) on how much we could extract.

To be green I think we should reduce our energy consumption, be efficient, and use the whole set of renewable available to “play with a full set of clubs”. In addition, I think we should return to this issue if wind power begins to extract a more significant amount of energy from the atmosphere.

admin answers:

Tidal power is a means of electricity generation achieved by capturing the energy contained in moving water mass due to tides. Two types of tidal energy can be extracted: kinetic energy of currents due the tides and potential energy from the difference in height (or head) between high and low tides.
The extraction of potential energy involves building a barrage. The barrage traps a water level inside a basin. Head is created when the water level outside of the basin changes relative to the water level inside. The head is used to drive turbines. In any design this leads to a decrease of tidal range inside the basin, implying a reduced transfer of water between the basin and the sea. This reduced transfer of water accounts for the energy produced by the scheme.

Tidal power is classified as a renewable energy source, because tides are caused by the orbital mechanics of the solar system and are considered inexhaustible within a human timeframe. The root source of the energy comes from the slow deceleration orbit of the moon around the Earth, and the deceleration of the Earth’s rotation. Tidal power has great potential for future power and electricity generation because of the total amount of energy contained in this rotation. Tidal power is reliably predictable (unlike wind energy and solar power).

The efficiency of tidal power generation largely depends on the amplitude of the tidal swell, which can be up to 10 m (33 ft) where the periodic tidal waves funnel into rivers and fjords. Amplitudes of up to 17 m (56 ft) occur for example in the Bay of Fundy, where tidal resonance amplifies the tidal waves.

As with wind power, selection of location is critical for a tidal power generator. The potential energy contained in a volume of water is

E = xMg
where x is the height of the tide, M is the mass of water and g is the acceleration due to gravity. Therefore, a tidal energy generator must be placed in a location with very high-amplitude tides. Suitable locations are found in the former USSR, USA, Canada, Australia, Korea, the UK and other countries (see below).
Several smaller tidal power plants have recently started generating electricity in Norway. They all exploit the strong periodic tidal currents in narrow fjords using sub-surface water turbines.____For more information go to the site below.

admin answers:

Homebuilt wind power generators can be built with just a few parts that you probably already have laying around your home.

If you want to power household items like TVs, washing machine etc then you will need an inverter. These are quite cheap though.

I got my instructions on homebuilt wind power generators from http://www.earth4energy.com and it made life HEAPS easier for me.

admin answers:

You are to be commended for pursuing alternative energy sources. Try one or all of the links bellow. I hope this helps.

Http://www.cetsolar.com/windpower.htm

Home

http://www.absak.com

http://www.solardyne.com

http://www.wind-works.org/books/wind_power2004_contents.html

admin answers:

About 6 MW is the largest. That size is many US$M.

Here is one list
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wind_turbine_manufacturers

you can get others by searching for “wind turbine manufacturer”

admin answers:

Hey Chelsea. Wind turbines produce what is called wild AC initially, and not usable in most homes and buildings. Normally, the wild AC is converted to DC power, like a car battery by the wind tubines own control box so that it can be used to charge a battery bank of some sort. We have a home that is powered by the wind and sun, our wind turbine was built by Southwest Windpower of Flagstaff, AZ. There are other manufacturers around.

There are 2 primary ways to get the wind power into your home. One is a stand alone system like ours. The wind turbine and solar panels feed into a large battery bank whenever the wind or sun is available. Then a device called an inverter converts the battery power to normal household AC power and feeds it into the home. The other type which is fast becoming the desired approach is a grid tied system. You take the windpower and feed it directly into a grid tied inverter that converts it straight to the electrical grid, no battery. If you are producing more than you can use, the excess feeds out into the grid and is used by your neighbors, and your electrical meter spins backwards. If you are using more than you are producing, the shortage is made up from the grid and your meter spins forward. At the end of the month the meter is read, and you are billed for the difference. These are less expensive and simpler, no battery or charge controllers to buy or replace. The only problem is if the grid loses power, your wind turbine has to shut down, you can’t balance your turbiner directly to the needs of one home, the excess has to go someplace all the time. Hope this helps, take care, Rudydoo

admin answers:

Hey Jesse, you’re timing is perfect. Solar actually might be the best environmental way to produce electricity, but many of your anwers here are correct that it will never produce the power we need, not because solar isn’t powerful enough, but because the way we harness it is quite inefficient. Solar electric, or, “photovoltiac,” panels only convert about 12% of the incoming sun into electricity, the rest just heats up the panel. Arguments such as Erins that they offset agricultural production are baseless since most of these devices are on the roof tops of homes and businesses, or in the desert. Our home has been powered by the wind and sun for 11 years now, my panels sit on the garage roof, I don’t grow tomatoes up there, and they run the entire home. We have a wind turbine in the field behind our home, and in 11 years, I’ve never found a single dead bird under the turbine. The flower bed in front of our homes picture window is another story though. In the first days of the Altamont Pass wind project in California, there was a problem of dead birds, specifically Golden Eagles, which are rare raptors. Turns out the particular type of blade they used there mimmicked the mating call of these birds. Since then turbine blades have been redesigned, and the problem of bird kills has been pretty much eliminated. Solar electric panels are still very useful, but the real answer is actually in the desert.

The Germans are working on a project right now to use the sun and heat in the desert to make electricity which will be more like 60% efficient. How it works is they use large concentrators to focus the hot sun on collectors that heat oil to several hundred degrees. The oil is circulated into a huge insulated tank, then an oil to water heat exchanger is used to take sea water, boil it into steam and run a steam turbine. The turbine turns a generator and makes electricity. As a by product, the recondensed steam becomes fresh water, the salt is naturally extracted in the boiling process and seperated out, and the fresh water is then used to irrigate crops that will grow alongside the solar concentrators. So we can take a patch of desert, devoid of life, make electricity and grow food all at the same time with just the power of the sun. They will produce enough power to run all of Europe with just the northwest corner of the Sahara. No wildlife will be displaced, but the crops, partial shade and water will attract new wildlife to the area. Another benefit of this system is with all the oil heated and stored in an insulated tank, it can continue to boil water even when passing clouds shade the concentrators, or well into the night. So now we have access to solar power at night too. And the oil is continually recirculated, none of it gets burned or used up. Once it’s operating, it can continue to produce electricity and fresh water for decades without any emissions. It is very promising, and if it works as well there as they hope, I’m sure in another 10 years you’ll see them on all continents, including ours.

Stick with your choice for solar Jesse, we did 11 years ago, and our array puts out the same amount of power today as it did then. I’ve never turned a screw on my solar array or had to add a drop of oil, and our home has not been without power for even a minute in all those years. Hard to put a price on that. In your research you will undoubtedly hear the argument that, “Solar panels never produce as much power as was used to produce them.” This is blatently false, tons of research has been done to prove that the, “Embodied Energy,” in a solar panel is earned back in just a few years. But even if it weren’t, it wouldn’t matter. Coal, oil and natural gas electric plants never earn back their embodied energy because no matter how efficient they might be, once you build one, it then has to be fed more fuel to make electricity, so it never does get even environmentally. It always amazes me how we’ve been burning coal and oil for years, but as soon as someone comes up with something as clever as a photovoltiac panel, the world is always trying to discredit it. Keep that in mind when you are doing research and answering questions about this subject.

You can see articles and pictures of the project by clicking on the links below, or try venturing out on your own by googling phrases like, “Desertec Project,” or, “Northwest Sahara Solar Project.” You will probably find some great photos to use too. Take care Jesse, Rudydoo

admin answers:

The only vertical axis wind turbines I’m familiar with are the Maglev generators. You can find them at
www.greenstrides.com/2007/11/27

admin answers:

Here is a web site for you to start with

http://www.shop.solar-wind.co.uk/acatalog/marine_wind_generators_wind_turbines_aerogen.html

they supply small wind generators for boats, in both 12v and 24v application, capable of charging up to 3 banks of batteries. The web site will describe each system.

There is also much more info on line if you do a google search.

Http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS344US344&q=small+boat+marine+wind+turbines+in+europe&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

hope this helps

admin answers:

The more exact distance is 2,140 miles, still it will take you at least 15 days if weather & winds work in your favor.

You will need at least a 36 footer minimum – 46 footer if you need to be a bit more comfortable.

Your problem will be not enough space for stuff, the kind of food you take, fuel, and fresh water. Not one sailboat I know of in the under 50′ range will carry enough fuel to run your motor continually for more than a few days. So, you won’t be able to carry enouth fuel to continually run your engine or generator – therefore, you will have to get food that does not require refrigeration.

The Pacific crossing in that area is not friendly.

Without all of you having experience on a sailboat on the open seas – you would be much better off buying 24 first class tickets on a cruise ship and taking more friends. It would be much more fun, and much less cheaper.

admin answers:

Forget about grants. If you want it bad enough you will get off your lazy butt and earn the money to build one. Why should someone else pay for you to have a wind turbine?

admin answers:

(I got this from my solar guy)
In New Jersey it’s a pretty good deal. I’m not making a political statement, just a financial one.

For Residential:
30% Federal Tax Credit
SRECs are good until 2026, currently selling at $655/SREC (which means for every 1MW produced). They are mandated by NJ State Law.

For Commercial:
30% Federal Grant
SRECs are good until 2026, currently selling at $655/SREC (which means for every 1MW produced). They are mandated by NJ State Law.
Accelerated Depreciation (allows you to depreciate 85%-100% of the cost of the system the first year)

The IRR is between 20-30%.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Good luck.

admin answers:

Air conditioners….you can watch a video on www.onlyrenewable.com that shows this.
VERTICAL AXIS WIND TURBINE WINDMILL ALTERNATIVE GREEN POWER

admin answers:

Perhaps the two wind turbines are too close to each other and some sort of resonance is occurring? We don’t understand caye/ can you use a different word and more details? You can check for resonance by preventing one propeller from turning, then the other, but not both at the same time. If this stops the pulsing; resonance is likely.
Another possibility is the battery is supplying electricity to the generator causing it to run as a motor, part of the time.
The battery may be drawing excessive (or not enough) current from the generator so that your charge controllers are producing the 15 second cycle. Do you have separate batteries (and separate charge controllers) for each wind generator? Try supplying the poorest battery with several amps from a battery charger connected to your electric utility. Neil
Does the pulsing stop when you draw several amps from a battery?

admin answers:

Http://www.mytscstore.com/

i know that tractor supply company carries solar panels but they are not high producing. Each set cost around 300 bucks not including the batteries. I’m going to use complete solar energy for my house. I figured that it would take 3 sets of solar panels from tsc. Each set using 4 marine batteries would cost 2500 to 3000 bucks and it would produce enough power run my most basic energy needs. As far as wind mills i haven’t checked that idea out yet but i will soon enough. I hope that you find what you need. Good luck.

admin answers:

I had the same issue with an air compressor. I built a wooden enclosure with a small fan to bring cool air into the box. It has worked fine for over twenty years! But for your problem:

Find a cardboard box that will fit comfortably, upside down, over the generator. If that is not enough, glue some fiberglass insulation inside the cardboard box. That will decrease the decibels sufficiently. Otherwise, you will need to build a wooden enclosure with fiberglass insulation inside.

Good Luck

admin answers:

I do not think there is that many types of wind turbines because wind turbine’s solo purpose is to make eletricity and they don not really bulid them in the suburbs because it may be noise and it take a lot of space and also ot needs a lot of wind so only a limited area will be able to set up wind turbines.

admin answers:

The turbine has to be 30 feet above surrounding buildings and trees. It has to be two tower heights away from any building. If it falls in any direction, it must not cross a property line. You pretty much need to have an acreage to have a wind turbine.

admin answers:

Eath4Energy is a scam. Please see my review at http://www.nlcpr.com/Deceptions6.php

If your motivation is to reduce your energy bills, then you should first look at conservation projects. These are things like using low flow shower heads, replacing old appliances and adding more insulation.

If your motivation is to generate some energy for learning purposes or as a matter of principle, then consider the following:

Building a wind generator yourself is not a simple project. If you can build an utility trailer for your truck (welding, metal fabrication) then you could certainly tackle the job. There is a great book available from www.otherpower.com called Homebrew Wind Power plus you can order any parts and assemblies that are beyond your abilities to fabricate. Cost of turbine is about $2000 and you need a tower as well. There are cheap units at some hardware stores but they are garbage compared to to the unit designed by www.otherpower.com

A more realistic project would be to get a commercial solar panel (making your own from broken cells on eBay is not worth it), inverter, charge controller and battery and using it to power some things in your house. For about $1000 you could have something to power a small computer. A complete system to power your home is more in the $30,000 range.

There are, unfortunately, no cheap ways to make your own power as Earth4Energy is promoting other than perhaps getting lucky in an eBay auction or purchasing a solar system from a bankruptcy sale.

Do your conservation measures first. Then read Homebrew Wind Power, read the solar links at http://www.nlcpr.com/Links1.php and then decide what type of project you are up for. By then, you will know exactly what you want to do.

admin answers:

Look at the Prairie Turbines site again. The price of the micro-controller including the hall device is $255. The $45 book provides a complete list of material and instructions to build everything else.

The micro-controller monitors the speed sensor and provides control signals to two solid-state relays. One relay connects the motor to the grid when the speed reaches the motor’s 1800 RPM synchronous speed and disconnects the motor if the speed drops below 1800 RPM. The other relay is energized to release the brake when the controller is energized and de-energized by the controller when the motor speed exceeds the maximum safe operating speed. If this occurs, the controller apparently must be manually reset.

I did not find the maximum safe operating speed stated on the web site. If the full load speed of the motor is 1750 RPM, the full load slip is 1800 minus 1750 or 50 RPM. The speed at which the motor would generate full load current and present full load torque to the turbine is 1800 RPM plus the full load slip or 1850 RPM. With the design described, a three-phase motor is connected to a single phase source with capacitors connected between the source and the third motor phase. That is likely to increase the motor slip somewhat.

I am not sure what happens if the motor is driven above the speed at which it generates full load current. A three-phase motor operating as an induction generator connected to a three-phase supply has a torque vs. Speed curve that is something like the mirror image of the motoring torque vs. Speed curve. The curve is likely different with the single-phase connection used in this case. I don’t know what the speed vs. Current curve looks like in either case, but I will see if I can find it. I am also curious to know if the Alan Plunkett listed on the web site as an author is the Alan Plunkett that is well known author of technical papers on inverter and variable frequency drive subjects.

Added information:
I found information indicating that, for a 3-phase motor connected to a 3-phase supply, the speed vs. Current curve for induction generator operation is like a mirror image of the speed vs. Current curve for motor operation. That would mean that the maximum speed would need to be limited to the synchronous speed plus the full-load slip. The web site indicates that the full-load speed for the motor that they used is 1725 RPM for 3-phase operation. That would make the maximum speed 1875 RPM plus the additional slip due to the single phase with capacitor arrangement.

admin answers:

Smoke is a problem because most smoke will also contain carbon monoxide, and that’s not the kind of stuff you want your “exhibit” producing at a science fair.

I have absolutely no idea if it would work…but…Halloween is over and many retailers will prbably be having clearance sales on their Halloween items. I know that those “fog machines” produce their own cloudy “stuff”. I’d suggest you look into a buying a discounted fog machine, now that the sales are on.

You can also make your own fog machine if you want.

admin answers:

Actually, check out some of the links on http://www.builditsolar.com

If you are going to do much of the work yourself, you will be sadly disappointed by what is available in print:

Homepower magazine http://www.homepower.com for example, it most often reads like a sales brochure, because “hands on” to a number of people usually means buying most of the system ready made in a kit. Hands on for me is breaking out the soldering iron and doing point to point wiring on components to construct the regulators (often called charge controlelrs.) Too much chaff for a hands on person to find useful. Some of the ads are useful.

Nuts and Volts http://www.nutsvolts.com/ is a bit better, but their topical coverage is far ranging so you do not always get as much as you would like. Spendy, might be better to sheck it out at the bookstores and buy it off the newstand when a decent article appears.

Mother Earth news http://www.motherearthnews.com is pretty good, but the best bang for the buck there is to buy their archives on CD rom, which is 3 disks, broke down by decade. There is a fair amount of substance, sometimes you encounter an article that sought to convert one item over to another, only it would have been much less work and cost for them to have started out from ground level and construct (with used parts) the same thing, which they sought to construct in the first place, a solar charged electric tractor is one specific item I have come to mind as one the author of the article could have done better. You might find the book they published “The Mother Earth News Handbook of Homemade Power,” which is not real good for specifics in some areas, but is good for some ideas if you are good at working from thumbnail sketches, you can fill in the blanks where there are gaps in detail. The book was written more as a “primer” than a complete compillation.

For your wind systems, there is a lot to be found at http://www.lindsaybks.com Hugh Piggott has written a few good books on the home construction of windmills. The LeJay Manual is a good reprint that has a lot of good info for home constructing- down to the wooden propeller profiles. As well as the book “Generator Secrets.”

One of the good sources for materials and tools supplies and systems is Northern Tool http://www.northerntool.com

One thing on propeller materials- never us ABS and never use PVC. As tempting as those can be they break. When they break, the blades will go for a great distance in modest winds. They can kill too.

admin answers:

The current establishment cost of a coal fired power station is about $2000 per kilowatt of power produced. Over a 50 year life; this is quite low compared with establishment costs for wind and solar power generation, and a lot (hundreds) of wind generators are needed to produce the same power output of a large coal powered generator. This is why it is proving difficult to replace coal for large scale power generation.

Here’s a wiki ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_power_station

admin answers:

Energy conservation can show how efficient/cost effective a wind power generator can be.

admin answers:

As can be seen from the power curves in the first link, there is nothing till about 12km/h wind, then only a small fraction of the maximum power which is reached at around 28km/h. It is important to undertake a proper survey, as wind shear can have a large influence. The Vestas site has advice about planning, but not much detail. Send them an email.

In this kind of situation, with no grid to fall back on, it is usual to have diesel generators running to smooth the load. These are special “low load” types (see the 6th link below). They run on no load when the wind is there, synchronised with the wind generators.

I should warn you that it is easy to convince yourself that a wind system is ok when it isn’t, because you want it to be true. There are all sorts of considerations. It may make sense to have oversized turbines so you still get enough power despite bad wind. What happens when no-one is using power? One or two big ones or lots of smaller ones? You need the turbine manufacturer and/or experienced consultants to help make these decisions with a proper site appraisal. If the trees are all horizontal that is a good start. It should definitely be what most people would think is a windy place, and with steady winds. Solar panels are easier to engineer, perhaps lower risk, but it does depend on where you are too. No clouds in that case. It is not uncommon to have them together, with the low load diesels.

You probably already know the peak power demands from existing power supplies. You should try to factor in for 25 years growth of island power usage too. The figure varies, especially because or airconditioning/heating situation. One could say a typical is 4kWh per house per day. You have to consider community buildings too. This figure takes no account of peak demand anyway. It tells you how much fuel you need for diesel generators.

Vestas is a Danish pioneer in larger wind systems, with some innovative features.
The first link shows power versus wind speed.
The second link also has these for the latest models, look for the brochures. It also gives advice about
The third link has a list of other manufacturers.
The 4th and 5th links have pictures of wind farms with some details that could be helpful for contacts.
The sixth link is about low load diesels.

admin answers:

Climbing 200 feet is important. Once a year someone has to climb down and hand inspect each blade. Being comfortable working on machinery at 200 feet is required. You don’t climb much in nasty weather, but you will climb to the nacelles in winter.

Most windmills use a induction generator with a back to back inverter. The generator generates power at whatever frequency, and the inverter converts it to 60hz. Being able to trouble shoot this type of equipment is a plus.

admin answers:

The smallest I would recommend is 5000 watts. This should be enough to operate the well pump, small cooking appliances, lights, television, fridge, etc. Power will be limited and you will have to be careful not to overload the generator. I power my house with a 5500 watt generator. You should also consider installation of a proper transfer switch and be aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Read through my generator page listed below for more information.

If your main goal is to power the well pump solar or wind are not feasible. The power requirements are simply too high. It may be an option to supplement your electrical consumption for other smaller loads however.

admin answers:

I’m not sure from your question what you want to make, the generator itself or a system that generates power?

The generator itself would be very difficult for home production. Take apart a car alternator or starter motor (which would work as a generator) and see whats involved. Using these same items to generate power from another source such as wind is perfectly reasonable to do with directions how available on the Internet.

Having said that, if you just wanted to make something that worked but wasn’t actually practical, take a look at the link http://www.howard.k12.md.us/res/MakingStuff/motor.html
This would work as an ac generator if the ends of the wire wound on the cork were connected to some type of collector ring and brushes and the needle turned by something