What to power with a simple wind setup

[faroun]

Originally Posted by toyobug

i'm curious to know how well it works. Looks simple enough to build. Any one thinking of building one?

hi there guys, i am happy that some of you are intrested of my design, this thing is exaclly the way it looks, simple and easy to build.

my goal is to get 100 watt at 35kmh about 21mph, so far i have not had a chance to test it with this kind of wind because in all my instructables i metion that i am in a valley and i do not have a clean wind, but what i can tell you is with the best windy day based on custs of wind i have cotten up to 28watt but not consistant, up and down and as you see i had an issue with the Temp structure i have it bolted to, my plan is to take it to an open area and test it at a windy day to be accurate, you are welcome to duplicate it exaclly and test it if you have the proper cretiria, but only for personale use not commercial. and the reason i have not tested it yet is because i am redesigning the Vanes and the hole look as you see in V8, and so far i have better success with it, it spins faster and cost less, this stuff take time and money to keep on changing design and my Wife so far is on the Boat..lol..

remember there is colour in the dark, all you have to do is shine the light.

Best regards

Faroun

[Blister]

with the grid tie you have to keep in mind the cost of using a Licensed electrician.

I wish that was all I had to worry about here concerning grid tie. If one has hopes of selling power back to their local power company, they should look into it first. The whole system is set up from a corporate mindset and is geared to allow the power company to still profit.

A few things to remember are that 1) They often have excessive restrictions on equipment that can be used to produce the power for a grid tie system. Most wind turbines and solar installations must be manufactured by commercial entities to meet the strict requirements. The power company here actually has a pre-made list of brand names and models that are acceptable. A home built machine does not fall into the "acceptable" category even of it was constructed by an electrical engineer and approved by a licensed master electrician. They don't really want to buy your power.

2) You wont get anything near the price you pay for power out of the power you produce and sell back to them. Most power companies have a set price they pay for power from residential sources and it is well below what one would think they should get.

My advice is to check in to ALL of these things before attempting to purchase a grid tie system.

[toyobug]

faroun- I am interested in seeing what the results are from further testing in a better location. Have you thought of a way to mount your desing higher off the ground?

Blister-good points on all counts. Some power companies (like mine) don't even offer to buy from a grid tie system. living in a residential area within city limits provides challenges to wind systems too, due to ordenances, etc.

[faroun]

Originally Posted by toyobug

faroun- I am interested in seeing what the results are from further testing in a better location. Have you thought of a way to mount your desing higher off the ground?

My idea was to mount it to a corner to a peak shape house or on top of flat roof top, with a post through it and cables that runs from top and bolted down, there are few ways to mount it. but like i said i still think i can do alot better with my blade "Vanes".. soon i hope i will show some results.

note: it snowed today.


regards

Faroun

[jwxr7]

Originally Posted by Daox

I think wind is a majorly underused source of power. Of course I've looked into small scale residential DIY kind of stuff. A simple wind setup would be a small windmill, charge controller, small battery bank, and a power inverter if you want to use 110V. The problem I always seem to have is what can you actually power with a simple wind setup? I'm thinking things like lights (CFLs of course) and fans. These things don't take lot of power but you find yourself using a lot. Anyone have any other ideas?

I have pondered this very subject many times. I've been looking into a diy around 800-900 watts with voltage levels of at least 120v (for long cable run). At the moment the best easiest way I see to use wind energy in the winter would be electrical resistance heating (small base board heater). In the summer though it could be a heating element in a water heater. Either way is not picky on AC or DC power or frequency, so you could make any type of generator work without inverting or rectifying. As long as you size the heater properly to work with your voltage and power level.