Shifting Solutions

On the Horizon

For the past eight years, Mike and Joanne have spent every winter island-hopping around the Caribbean. By living simply and relying on renewable energy, they keep their expenses down. They anchor at out-of-the-way places and catch their dinner most nights. One yellowfin tuna feeds the couple for days, and they trade what they can’t store for other goods. Though the couple only saves an estimated $15 per week by offsetting their diesel fuel use, every dollar helps perpetuate their cruising lifestyle.
For the rest of the year, the couple returns to their home in Springfield, Vermont. “We have the best of both worlds right now,” Joanne says. “When this all started, he had to drag me down here kicking and screaming, but now I love this lifestyle-seeing all the different places, meeting the local people, and hanging out with fellow cruisers. Living by the wind and the sun-I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Access

System Components:
East Penn Manufacturing Co. • www.eastpenn-deka.com • Deka batteries
Kiss Energy Systems •ï‚—www.kissenergy.com • Wind turbine
Morningstar • www.morningstarcorp.com • Controllers
SolarWorld • www.solarworld-usa.com • PV modules
Xantrex • www.xantrex.com • Inverter/charger

Normally I do not publish posts on Sunday… hey what can I say, I grew up with old mid western values!

This is the beginning of not just a new year, but a whole new decade! With that, it’s also time to make fresh new plans for how your going to save that little bit extra on your home expenses to cover that around the world trip your planning to surprise your partner with. Now I can tell you just how to go about that and SAVE money too! You know energy costs are climbing, pretty steadily and have been for a few years now. Wouldn’t it be nice to reduce your utility bill or even eliminate it entirely? The Government is will to help by offering tax credits and grants to get your house in GREEN shape. One of those benefits covers the use and implementation of renewable energy systems, such as WIND POWER ENERGY and home solar power!

Find out at the link above, about those tax rebates and government grants and the form you need to fill out, as well as the DIY kits on residential wind power applications and home solar systems. Fun, Easy and quick to build withy the great simple and easy to follow instructions provided. Everything you need to know and more as a bonus!

The time for waiting is over, the time for action is now!

Tomorrow, the last of this series part 7

Off-Grid Self Sufficiency

“When traveling in remote places, you are forced to become a jack of all trades-an electrician, plumber, diesel mechanic, and handyman, all in one,” Mike says. “My best defense is to be prepared for anything. I’ve done my research, and I can handle most repairs that arise. So far, so good.”
Mindful of the elements, Mike took extra care when wiring both the wind- and solar-electric systems-twisting, taping, and heat-shrinking all connections. “The salt air can be brutal on mechanical systems of any kind,” he says. “So long as the wire connections are sealed properly, then you have very few problems and the systems are easy-virtually maintenance free.”
Well, almost…”There are a lot of seagulls, and we have to clean the droppings off the modules. If we’re lucky enough to have fresh water, then we just hose off the modules now and again,” he says. “But it’s not so bad. I’ll take bird droppings in the Caribbean over Vermont’s snow and ice any day.”
Thanks to their wind- and solar-electric systems, Mike and Joanne enjoy all the comforts and conveniences of home with cleaner, quieter power sources. “Solar does great in the daytime,” Mike says, “but at night, when energy needs are much higher, the wind takes over.” The sun is fairly consistent, but when there is not adequate wind, Mike and Joanne still must offset energy usage by running the engine to charge the batteries. On its own, the solar-electric system produces about 55 amp-hours (AH) per day on average-shy of their 70-AH usage. “One more PV module, and we’d be perfect,” Mike says. “I just need to make room for it.”

Currently, the 12-gallon hot water tank is fitted with a heat exchanger that uses waste heat from the diesel engine to heat water for domestic use. When Mike and Joanne need to replenish the hot water, they run the engine, usually every third day for about an hour. Though the engine only burns about a half gallon of fuel-about 45 cents’ worth-in that hour, that’s one hour and one half gallon too much for Mike. He has devised a plan to add a custom solar hot water system off the stern. Tapping into the existing plumbing will be fairly easy, he says, but coordinating the shipping of the unit to the islands will require some patience. “This,” he says, “is the last piece. Then we’ll be totally independent.”

Normally I do not publish posts on Sunday… hey what can I say, I grew up with old mid western values!

This is the beginning of not just a new year, but a whole new decade! With that, it’s also time to make fresh new plans for how your going to save that little bit extra on your home expenses to cover that around the world trip your planning to surprise your partner with. Now I can tell you just how to go about that and SAVE money too! You know energy costs are climbing, pretty steadily and have been for a few years now. Wouldn’t it be nice to reduce your utility bill or even eliminate it entirely? The Government is will to help by offering tax credits and grants to get your house in GREEN shape. One of those benefits covers the use and implementation of renewable energy systems, such as WIND POWER ENERGY and home solar power!

Find out at the link above, about those tax rebates and government grants and the form you need to fill out, as well as the DIY kits on residential wind power applications and home solar systems. Fun, Easy and quick to build with the great simple and easy to follow instructions provided. Everything you need to know and more as a bonus!

The time for waiting is over, the time for action is now!

Tomorrow, the last of this series part 7

Testing the Waters

The first trip gave newbie cruisers Mike and Joanne the chance to get a feel for their energy needs. They left home with a diesel engine set up to charge a 12-volt, 366 amp-hour battery bank that powered the boat’s electrical loads. Though the engine worked well for cruising when winds were low and produced more than enough energy for battery-charging, it was less than ideal for generating energy for their day-to-day needs-lighting, refrigeration, and hot water, and for small household appliances, the navigation equipment, and communication radios.
Running the engine a few hours each day to recharge the battery bank burns about 1 gallon of diesel fuel-only about 90 cents on the islands-so it wasn’t the expense that bothered Mike and Joanne. It was the fumes and the noise. A diesel engine likes to be run hard and hot, preferably over long periods

with a heavy load. But when it’s used as a generator only, the engine doesn’t operate at its optimal temperature and burns inefficiently, producing more pollution per energy output.
To add insult to injury, the warm Caribbean temperatures doubled the energy requirements of the refrigerator and freezer-two of the largest and most critical demands on the batteries. Because they wanted to avoid paying for electric hookups at marinas, Mike and Joanne found that they needed to run the engine at least twice a day-about an hour during the day and an hour at night-to charge the batteries and meet their electrical loads.
“Have you ever heard or smelled a diesel engine?” Mike says. “There was no room in my sailing fantasy for a smoky, noisy diesel engine and all its pollution. The engine ruined one too many cocktail hours on the deck. I looked around and saw other boats with solar modules and wind turbines, and knew what I had to do.”

OK, looks like New years is going to be promising, for Jaye and I anyway. Friends a calling and parties a planning! Imagine, a whole new decade at your door presenting opportunities for new beginnings, resolving old issues, and finally sticking to what ever plan you have been struggling with the few decades. This is the year to become GREEN! The year to resolve to save money and build your own solar panels and a wind power generator! Click the link and explore whats available in DIY home solar and wind power energy kits, Books on sustainable living, green energy and wind and solar, and fun around the home solar products to light up your life, I mean your yard! ( a person has to have some fun, right? Hubbie is a little stiff for the both of us anyway) and besides I hate sales pitches, so just visit his darn site already…OK?

Tomorrow more on this fun sailing couple!

Some say home is where you hang your hat.

Every once in awhile I run across an interesting bit of fun and creative living life styles, I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

Michael and Joanne Young say home is where you hang your PV modules-and your wind genny. As they have found, you can travel and have all the comforts of home by bringing along your own power company.

When Mike Young imagined his dream home, his fantasy included one mast, two sails, a wind turbine, and a solar-electric system. “I pictured my wife and myself on a sailboat surrounded by blue water. I saw us enjoying sunrises and sunsets day after day, breathing in the salt air while listening to the ocean and watching the sails fill with wind,” says Mike, a native of Springfield, Vermont. “I saw us living independently.”
Fed up with Vermont’s cold, dark winters, Mike fell in love with the idea of escaping to the warm, sunny Caribbean for part of the year. An avid sailor who spent many years sailing on Lake Champlain and crewing on friends’ boats, he had the know-how to pull it off. All he needed was an ocean-worthy vessel and a good first mate. “When he first told me the idea, I thought he was crazy,” says Joanne, his wife of
40 years. “But he was serious.”

The couple bought Orion-a 37-foot sloop-and upgraded its navigational, steering, and safety systems for ocean cruising. They sold the family’s retail propane business and embraced the idea of early retirement at age 52. In 2000, Mike and Joanne made their maiden voyage to the Caribbean islands. From Shelburne, Vermont, they took Orion south to the Hudson River, which brought them to New York City. From there, they followed the coast south to Virginia, where they departed on the 11-day voyage to Virgin Gorda.

Well folks this is a seven part series, hopefully this will absorb your time a little over the new year! Remember don’t drink and drive, OK? I’ve done my civic duty! I found an article I really enjoyed and thought I would like to share this bit of fun application on Wind Power Energy and Home Solar Power Systems with my readers.

Remember of course to visit my web site, where you’ll find other interesting articles, DIY Home solar kits where you can learn to build your own Home Solar Power systems and /or Residential wind Power Generators, or buy fun solar powered solar landscape lights and more as well books on Sustainable living life styles and how to become a green aficionado. There are pages devoted to tax rebates And grants for those interested in pursuing an actual project and how to apply for them. Mind you, that this site is an on going project, when I have the time and energy to pursue, I’m new and learning, but again, arn’t we all in some way or another.

I hope you enjoy the piece of American ingenuity and have fun being creative in your own life!

Today’s quote: If we throw all our problems on one pile along with everyone else’s, we end up taking our own back!

Wind turbine power ratings

All home wind power generators are assigned a Kw (kilowatt) rating by their manufacturers. Unfortunately, the peak power “rated at” Kw number assigned to various wind turbine models is meaningless since there is no accepted, industry wide standard for measuring a turbine’s output. The rating inconsistencies are mainly due to differing “example” wind speeds used by individual manufacturers to calculate peak power.

A more accurate approach to estimating the energy output of a turbine at various wind speeds is to use the chart provided on the manufacturer’s website.

The chart on the left illustrates estimated monthly output in kWh (kilowatt hours) based on average annual wind speed for the Whisper 500 by Southwest Windpower.

At average wind speeds of 10 mph you could expect 300 kwh of energy production.

At average wind speeds of 12 mph the energy output is around 500 kWh.

Notice that a 20% increase in wind speed from 10 to 12 mph yields a 66% increase in energy production.

Wind speeds are typically highest during winter months and taper off throughout the summer. To illustrate this, you can view a monthly kWh production chart kept by the owner of a Skystream 3.7.

Back up your home solar system by adding a wind power generator to your system you could be producing energy from your own home energy system a greater percentage of the year. Learn to build a complete Residential wind power system for your self. Click the link that’s highlighted and explore the DIY home solar power system kits that are available there that not only show how to build your own solar panels for home but also teach you how to build your own home wind power system. It an unbeatable way to save on your energy bills, but also saves thousands of dollars for you by building your own wind power generator.

Tomorrow we talk about “What are the requirements for a viable wind powered system? ”

Battery wind systems

Another option is to route the power directly into a battery bank for current and future needs. The incorporation of this type of system into your lifestyle is referred to as
“living off the grid.” But to ensure that 100% of your power demand is met you must carefully size the system taking into account wind resources, turbine size, and tower
height.

Hybrid wind power systems
The third option is a combination grid tied system with a battery backup. A battery backup is good to have when the grid is down or on windless days, but it will add
about a third again as much to the total cost of the system. For this reason, the majority of wind systems sold are grid tied only.

Some manufacturers make only battery-charging machines, and may offer a variety of turbine voltages. Others produce machines intended to connect to grid-synchronous inverters without batteries. One machine by Skystream integrates the inverter with the turbine.

We have all read about or at least have heard about the burgeoning popularity of home solar power systems. It is in fact our future source of power and as more consumer buys and implement their own home solar system, the prices can only come down and make things more affordable all around. However residential wind power has taken a back seat to its big sister, home solar systems. I find that unfortunate, because wind power energy can be so practical for many applications. In the East USA they get a lot of cloudy days, but it’s also those days that have some wind in them, so when the sun stops energy production the wind can take up the slack. This is just one idea, there are many more. But do you realize, just how cheap it is to build a residential wind power system? Not only are the inexpensive to build yourself, but they make a great fun weekend project and it really looks quite good on your home! Click the link above and learn more.

Tomorrow we discuss Wind turbine power ratings

The largest sector of this market is residential wind turbines

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reports that the U.S. market for small wind turbines – those with capacities of 100 kilowatts (kW) and less – grew 78% in 2008. The largest sector of this market is residential wind turbines in the 1-10 kilowatt (Kw) range and are the focus of this article.

The mechanics of a wind turbine are pretty basic. In most small wind turbines the rotor (propeller blades and hub) are connected directly to the generator. The generator produces wild 3 phase alternating current (AC). The wild AC is rectified to direct current (DC) and either stored in a battery bank or sent through an inverter and modified into appliance friendly AC power.

Grid tied wind systems
When the power from the inverter is routed directly into your home’s main circuit panel you have a grid tied system. A grid tied wind system provides electricity to your home only when there’s sufficient wind. On calm windless days your home will rely on the “grid.” Most residential turbines will not produce usable amounts of electricity until the wind speed exceeds 7 mph.

A wind Power Generator makes for a great back up system for those folks who use solar and get days of cloudy weather. By adding a wind power generator to your system you could be producing energy from your own home energy system a greater percentage of the year. Learn to build a complete Residential wind power system your self. Click the link that’s highlighted and explore the DIY home solar power system kits that are available there that not only show how to build your own solar panels for home but also teach you how to build your own home wind power system. It an unbeatable way to save on your energy bills, but also saves thousands of dollars for you building your own wind power generator.

Tomorrow we talk about Battery wind systems and Hybrid wind power systems

Small-scale home wind power energy is not for the half-hearted, uninvolved, or uncommitted, and probably not for folks who never change the oil in their vehicles.

When you look at prices, keep in mind that just buying a wind turbine will not get you any wind-generated electricity. You’ll also need most or all of the components mentioned earlier. Also budget for equipment rental, like a backhoe and crane, concrete and rebar, electrical components, shipping, and sales tax. Unless you do all of the work yourself, also factor in installation labor expenses. These costs can add up significantly, so make sure that you research and understand all of the associated expenses before committing to a purchase. Many people are quite surprised to learn that the wind turbine cost can range from only 10 percent to as much as 40 percent of the entire wind system’s expenses.
Small-scale wind energy is not for the half-hearted, uninvolved, or uncommitted, and probably not for folks who never change the oil in their vehicles (or are willing to spend the bucks to hire someone to do the tower work). The North American landscape is littered with failed installations: Designs not fully thought-out or tested, machines bought because they were cheap, and installations that required more time and money for repairs than they ever yielded in electricity generated. Many of the failures were the result of wishful thinking and too little research. That said, there are tens of thousands of happy wind-electric system owners. These owners did their homework-purchasing, designing, and installing rugged and well-thought-out systems on adequately sized towers. In addition, they are either committed to maintaining the systems, or to hiring someone to do this regular work.
While many first-time wind turbine buyers may be looking for a bargain, second-time wind turbine buyers are seeking the most rugged machine they can afford. You can avoid a painful “learning experience” by focusing on durability, production, warranty, and track record, and not on price alone, or on peak output. You don’t want to depend on the low bidder for something as important to you as your long-term energy investment.

In some future article we’ll discuss system design and the turbine selection process in more detail. Meanwhile, we encourage you to start with an energy analysis of your home-find out how many kilowatt-hours you need and how you can reasonably pare that number down! Next, find out what your wind resource is-guessing on this will make your whole system design a guess. And when it’s time to buy, choose a rugged turbine that will produce what you expect it to, and do that for years to come.

Well, there you have what I believe to be the honest news about manufactured wind turbines. Personally, I feel I can build one myself to suite my needs and I suggest taking a look at some of the many DIY renewable energy system kits available today that teach you via manuals and videos very clearly how to build a wind power generator. They show you where to find the cheapest materials locally, how to assemble them and install the unit at your home site. Click the link highlighted and explore the possibilities. Most of these kits say you can build your own for UNDER $200.00. It’s worth the effort to take a look.

Now, being a woman with, until now, very little handy-woman skills when it comes to screwdrivers and such, all this left me hugely intimidated. But I was determined and once I began the project, I found it rather fun, interesting and really rather quite easy to do myself, it took me a little longer than a weekend, because, lets face it, many things were a little unfamiliar to me. But my neighbor, who is in construction, gave me lot of encouragement , and also inspected my finished project with a green thumbs up! I feel that most anyone could make their own no matter how handy or not you are!

tomorrow…back to solar panel systems

The other Considerations

A turbine’s revolutions per minute (rpm) at its rated wind speed can give you some idea of the relative aerodynamic sound of the machine, and also speaks to longevity. Slower-turning wind turbines tend to be quieter and last longer. High rpm machines wear out components, such as bearings, much faster. In addition, the faster blades move through the air, the greater the possibility that they will waste some of that energy as sound from the blades.
Some manufacturers make only battery-charging machines, and may offer a variety of turbine voltages. Others produce machines intended to connect to grid-synchronous inverters without batteries. One machine even includes an inverter integrated with the turbine itself. Make sure you’re buying a machine that is appropriate for your intended use.
Make Your Choice
Expect to pay a lot for a manufactured machine-it’s a tough job to design and manufacture a long-lasting, small-scale wind generator.
The bottom line: Buy a turbine that has a very good track record and a good warranty-five years is preferable but not always available in the small wind industry. A warranty is one indication of the manufacturer’s confidence in their product, and their intention to stand behind it.
Real-world reports from users carry even more weight than a warranty, so search for people who own the model of turbine you’re considering buying, and get the straight scoop from them about performance, durability, reliability, and maintenance issues.

Now, after learning all the technical stuff this last week on residential wind power turbines, you must be scratching your head and thinking this seems all too complicated for me to consider building one myself! Well, I’ll point out that you just might be WRONG about that. With the latest DIY home power kits avaialble today on the web for purchase, you can learn with videos and clear diagrams all you need to, to find the materials cheaply and locally, assemble and install, with the correct components all spelled out for you within these kits. It’s easy, fun and a project that can be accomplished in a weekend. Check it out, click the link below.

If you want to look further into the possibilities of residential wind power, please click the highlighted link. You’ll find resources, such as books on home wind power, home solar systems, DIY kits for both and smaller solar products for around the home, such as garden lighting and more. Also you’ll find pages on Tax grants and government rebates, and then many interesting alternative energy articles.

Tomorrow we tie it all up, check back!

Understanding the Ratings

Residential wind power turbine ratings are tricky to understand. The rated output for a wind turbine can be very misleading compared to say, a solar-electric module or microhydro-electric turbine who’s production can be predicted fairly realistically based on rated output. Why is this so? Because rated output is determined by a particular wind speed, and different manufacturers use different wind speeds to determine the rated output. Also, the power available in the wind varies with the cube of its speed, so small increases in wind speed result in large increases in power available to the rotor. A 10 percent increase in wind speed yields a 33 percent increase in power available in the wind. Conversely, this means that a turbine rated at 1,000 watts at 28 mph might produce only 125 watts or less at half that wind speed, 14 mph.

So what do you do, if your thinking about buying a wind power generator or turbine? I’d suggest ignoring the peak output and the power curve. Look for the monthly or annual energy numbers for the turbine thats estimated for the average wind speed you expect or measure at your site. These will be given in KWH per month (or year) in the manufacturer’s specifications for each turbine. Energy is what you’re after, not peak power! If, for example, you are looking for a turbine that can produce 300 KWH per month, and you know that you have a 10 mph average wind speed at the proposed turbine height, you can shop for a turbine that is predicted to generate that much energy in that average wind speed.

If you can’t get energy production estimates from the manufacturer or a turbine owner, look for a different manufacturer. This is basic information that any manufacturer should supply. However, knowing a turbine’s swept area may also help you calculate the annual energy output for the wind turbine. All other things being equal, “there’s no replacement for displacement.” Hugh Piggott gives a rough formula for calculating output based on average wind speed and swept area in his HP102 article (see Access). Jim Green at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) developed a similar formula: annual energy output (AEO) in KWH = 0.01328 x rotor diameter (ft.) squared x average wind speed (mph) cubed.

Well now some of you might be thinking about now, that this is getting rather complicated. But have no worries lads and lassies! There are DIY kits available for those willing to use a hammer on a simple weekend project, that teach you all you need to know to build and set up your own home wind power system and for less than $200 at that! It will show you where to find the cheapest materials locally, how to assemble them and hook it all up to your homes grid system or battery backups.

If you want to look further into the possibilities of residential wind power, please click the highlighted link. You’ll find resources, such as books on home wind power, home solar systems, DIY kits for both and smaller solar products for around the home, such as garden lighting and more. Also you’ll find pages on Tax grants and government rebates, and then many interesting alternative energy articles.

Tomorrow we talk some on what other Considerations need to be taken account of.