Alternative energy
- appropedia wiki for sustainablity and 'appropriate' technology
- 12volthandbook.pdf a text focusing on 12v systems for boats
Contents |
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
Solar panels are a simple and robust power solution but their production is energy-intensive and polluting.
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 (eg: morningstar sunsaver mppt) or a 24v battery from 12v panel (eg: emponi sol1).
Of course when using solar panels it is better to use electrical appliances during the day when more power is available. The cheaper regulators will even cut out and stop charging the battery when the voltage goes too high, so its good to have something connected if this is the case.
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).
large 180ah truck-style batteries can often be found in tempory traffic lights used for roadworks. However there are roumours that these sometimes contain chips so that their location can be tracked if stolen.
sealed gel cells
These kinds of batteries work very well, require little maintance and are more portable as they do not contain liquid which can be spilled.
Electric wheelchairs usually use very good sealed gel batteries. It could be a good idea to try asking at shops and companies who sell or service electric wheelchairs for old batteries.
Security and fire alarms also often use gel batteries as backup power, these can often be found in abandoned buildings or try asking manufacturers for old ones. They will power LED lighting for a long time but are small enough to carry in a rucksack to charge elsewhere, so perfect for when you have several people sharing one solar panel.
lighting
LEDs can be cheaper when bought in strips, for example 5630 SMD white LEDS can be bought in rolls of 5 or 10m, for 12v systems use multiples of 3 LEDs.
When using headtorches, remember when replacing the batteries that they discharge irregularly, the light will go dim when just one of the batteries is low, so test them with a volt meter and usually you will only replace one of them.
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 powering electronics stuff.
- thermoelectrical generator wikipedia article
- thermalforce.de site selling them
- video of TEG
wood
biofuels
- Algae fuel on appropedia
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
