Alternative energy

Revision as of 15:51, 22 September 2013

• appropedia wiki for sustainablity and 'appropriate' technology

wind

• scoraigwind hugh pigotts website
• pdf hugh pigott scoraig wind electric

pedal generators

car alternators often used but they are not ideal, they give no voltage at low speeds and so needs gearing, can use belt from tractors. UK supplier for the tractor belts

tims pedal generator using dc motor and cycle training stant dc motors ideal and can be bought new but are expensive car windscreen wiper motors could be used. as they are also dc motors. need to regulate the voltage.

stepper motors. from printers etc will give power at very low speeds. interesting to play with leds and turning the motor by hand. they have multiple sets of coils.

hub dynamos

Hub dynamos are small generators in the centre of a bike wheel, used to create power whilst cycling, which traditionally was done by a DC dynamo in direct contact with the tyre. They often produce AC and are usually used for powering lights, but can be used for other things too.

• Hub dynamo wikipedia article
• Voltage regulated 5v bicycle dynamo light USB - plans for a circuit to give 5v DC output from the dynamo hub.
• Usb as a power source is a good text about powering various things using 5v USB. It is worth also mentioning that its possible to buy circuits for stepping up 3.7v lithium ion batteries (commonly found in mobile phones) to 5v.

Solar panels

Maximum power point tracking (mppt) regulators are the more efficient but expensive. Normal regulators will allow the battery state to determine voltage which may not be the most efficient for the panel. MPPT regulators use a control circuit to 'search' for the voltage allowing the highest power output.

note that with the right regulator it is also possible to charge 12v battery from 24v panel (morningstar sunsaver mppt) or a 24v battery from 12v panel (emponi sol1)

soldering without mains electricity

for situations where you do not have enough power to use an electric soldering iron, a butane gas powered soldering can be used (eg:'Power probe'), which can be refilled just like a butane cigarette lighter. a simpler solution could be just to heat nails in a fire and use pliers to hold them for soldering.

batteries

it is possible to use old car batteries which no longer will charge to 12v (which you often find discarded) as 9v batteries, which can power, for example, 3 led bike lights soldered together in series (2xAAA batteries=3v).

gel cells

12 volt gel cell charger plans

Thermoelectrical generators

Small heat powered electrical generators that can be attached for example to a wood burner. They dont produce a lot of power but could be useful for electronics stuff

• thermoelectrical generator wikipedia article
• thermalforce.de site selling them
• video of TEG

wood

• capturing heat 1
• capturing heat 2
• capturing heat 3

Other stuff

• leeds alternative energy wiki has a lot of stove plans and other stuff
• Power over ethernet would be usefull for data radio projects