Anyone know anyting about wind power?

[taff]

I got to this link http://www.ampair.com/ampair/
and apparently it's ok to have a small wind turbine in your garden or somewhere near, depending on how much land you have I suppose, to go towards your electricity use.
Has anyone got any experience of this or know someone who has done something similar?
Or anything about solar panels?

[saint-spoon]

According to bbc wildlife magazine Her Majesty The Boss is putting a huge turbine up somewhere in Scotland. Well done Liz (ma’am)

[misty]

My other half knows more about solar panels than some of the guys who come round to try and sell it.
Companies make some very wild claims about what panels can do, one even said 'they make electricity'!
He is thinking about getting together with some friends and going DIY, it's just finding the time.
You have to really find out about 'wind' to make it economical. We are quite rural but not enough wind (don't feel like that) to make a domesticated one viable.

[saint-spoon]

Companies make some very wild claims about what panels can do, one even said 'they make electricity'!

Am now intrigued, I actually though that solar panels did make electricity that’s why you can buy solar power phone chargers and torches (yes they do sell them) etc. further investigation is now required.


Further investigation is now complete…. Solar panels or photovoltaic cells convert sunlight directly into electricity.
I’ve just had a bit of a trawl around wiki among others and being a sort of engineering type enjoyed a jolly old read aboput stuff.
Fascinating.

[4 french hens]

Here in france I have constructed an aqueous panel that heats a tank of hot water in under 2 hous and have also got 2 photovoltaic 20 amp panels that make 12 volt electricity, stored in deep cycle batteries via a charge controller and then passed through an inverter to convert the voltage to 230 volts, which powers our lights and some small electrical items, not exceeding a total of 600 watts. I could easily buy a bigger inverter, my mate has one that provides 5 kw at 230 volts and he uses this to power his fridge, freezer and tumble drier.
Mike

[saint-spoon]

After just listening to a lady in our building bumping her gums for a full twenty minutes without seemingly bothering to pause for breath (or actually saying anything of worth) I started wondering if wind power was anything like girl power?
Turning gossip into electricity, now there’s a concept worth following up if we ever want to solve the energy crisis.

[4 french hens]

Hi SS.
Try googling wind power or wind turbines. There is an absolute plethora of very good info out there.
Just be aware that there is more than one type of wind power. Turbines that generate 230 volts ac, and on some american sites 110 volts ac, and those that generate dc, usually at 12v or 24 but also sometimes 48v.
Be aware the dc voltages have to go through an inverter to get household 230volts ac, and you will also need batteries to store the power untill used, and the cables will be handling huge currents in terms of amps, so the cables will have to be of huge diameter to handle the loadings, the smaller the voltage=the higher the current.
Ac currents require solid core cables as the current runs in the copper core but in dc form the current runs on the surface so you need multicore cable.
Batteries, come in two types, wet, otherwise known as lead/acid or traction and are usually found in cars, milk floats and fork lifts, and also gel, often called deep cylce or leisure and are the type found in caravans and computer backup systems.
Deep cycle as they are sold by renewable energy companys, can be completly discharged without any harmfull effect on the battery(s) but can be horrendously expensive. If you discharge lead/acid batteries completly and then recharge them (always through a charge controller) there is a chance on the smaller batteries of bending the plates. However a system designed to be over the top of your power requirements should never get any where near total discharge.
As said, some of the renewable energy salespersons talk out their rears, which is common sense really as the sun don't s.......
Mike