solar generators
Your Questions About Solar Generators For The Home
Betty asks…
What’s the simplest way to hook up a small generator to a home’s power grid?
I’ve search the internet extensively and haven’t found an answer to this question.
I just wanted to play with solar panels and human powered generators and couldn’t figure out the simplest and cheapest way to hook it into my house to get some benefit out of it.
I.E. can i just have my panel hooked into a charge controller and a single battery to act as a float and then an inverter and hook the output from the inverter into a standard power plug in the house? can i push power into a power outlet or is there some system so that power can only come out of the plug?
anyone have any ideas on the easiest simplest way to hook up a panel or a car alternator? I was going to turn my indoor bicycle into a generator by hooking up a car alternator to it… how could i most simply hook this into the house?
admin answers:
You can put power into a plug, just be sure to shut your main breaker off first. And shut off breakers for high draw appliances like AC oven microwave waterheater etc.. When my power goes out I unplug my dryer and plug in a whip that I made that plugs into my generator. If you want to power the whole house you will need to use a 240v recept like for an electric dryer, if you use a standard 120v recept you will only power up one bus bar / half your house.
Yes 12v with an inverter will work, yes you can put an inverter on your car battery and power your house with your running car I suggest getting a deep cycle gel type battery in your vehicle if you want to do that, you should also upgrade to a 200a alternator if you’re going with an inverter larger than 2500watts, a car won’t be near as fuel efficient as a standard generator though, and it won’t put out near the wattage. But like I said before, if it’s only a 120v inverter you’re only going to power up half the house
Lizzie asks…
Who makes the parts for a wood fired steam powered electricity generator that can also heat a home?
Outdoor wood and coal furnaces as add on units to heat pumps are becoming popular now. I’m trying to find a vendor who makes a stand alone unit for powering a riverside cabin home. A 200 amp 240 VAC unit would be perfect, but a 100-150 amp unit would power everything.
admin answers:
Wood and coal good for heating and cooling but using them to produce steam to power a small generator would be too costly. Hippies run 200 amp services using solar panel arrays for lights and fans to move the hot and cold air.
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Your Questions About Solar Generators For Home Use
Chris asks…
How to make electricity at home?
Hi,
I want to know how to make electricity at home. I have a science assignment to do and we need to make something that will make electricity. Anybody know how to make a windmill or a solar system? What would be the cheapest of these 2?
admin answers:
Hi Jackie,
If you want to make electricity at home the more exciting of the 2 is making the windmill and the parts are easier to get. You will need a few things to make this including the blades, generator. And you can also add a battery.
If you want a helping hand look at : http://www.earth4energy.com
You will get the full instructions with diagrams there.
Jenny asks…
At which height should i be seriously concerned about lightning strikes and how to compensate?
I am building a wind turbine and it is on a steel rod and i will be using a metal pole footed in the ground (4ft as per the local frost line) as its structure.
I have been contemplating on if i need to use a grounding rod to ensure that the generator ($300) or my charge controller/battery bank does not get damaged.
This is a completely homemade project and i plan to have it stand 9-10ft in the air, it is not for major power production but rather just an experiment and i will use the power generated to provide power for garden lighting.
There are trees in the vicinity of where i plan to place the turbine.
admin answers:
Henry, you are on the right track by being concerned about lightning, but there are ways to mitigate the problem. We have a 75 foot metal tower with a turbine on top now. My installer calls our property, “lightning hill.” We had several direct hits the first year or so and damage to our inverter, charger controller and turbine controls, as well as the TV, phone and furnace circuit card. After consulting with a retired radio tower engineer, Xantrex and the electrical inspector, what we learned is that grounding is quite a science.
Your metal post, or tower needs to be earth grounded, but by something better than the bottom 4 feet or so of the post jammed into the ground. Then you want to connect any DC negative if you have batteries, and AC nuetrals to a good ground point as well. The point to grounding the tower is not to attract the lightning, or dissipate it once it hits, the point is to, “de-ionize,” a volume of air travelling over the tower, turbine and wiring. The bigger culprit is static buildup from miles of air rubbing up against the tower building up a charge, much like walking on new carpet with dry shoes, then grabbing a metal door knob. While the spark your hand feels is uncomfortable, it is fatal for the circuit card in your inverter. By constantly, “wicking,” this charge away at the tower base, it doesn’t have a chance to build up and eventually jump across your inverter or charge controller, and better yet, it doesn’t have a chance to build up an ionized air column around the tower, which is what the lightning bolt is looking for in the first place.
In our case, we drove four 8 foot copper ground rods into the earth in an array around the base of the tower, then connected each one to each tower leg and the guy wires with separate bare copper wires. Then the common ground point in our battery room has the chassis frame from all our electronics, the AC nuetral, and the battery DC negative connected together there. After that, we ran a #4 bare copper wire from that point to the top of our steel well casing. Again, we are constantly wicking away static charges, and providing an easy route for a large surge to exit the system as well. We also put surge arrestors on the base of the tower, and incoming lines from the tower and solar array leading into the battery room. It’s been 9 years since then, and after tons of storms up here in the Northern Great Lakes, everything is still humming along nicely. The retired radio tower engineer told us in many instances in areas prone for lightning, such as Florida, they sometimes hired a well company to drill a 200 foot deep well and install a steel casing, but no well pump. Then they would just use the well casing for a ground rod. Think of it as a drain in a bathtub, if it is unplugged, has a large 3 or 4 inch pipe leading out of it, and it is free flowing to the city sewer, than the tub should never overflow. If it has small piping, many kinks and turns, and a partially plugged screen, one day the tub will overflow, you just don’t know when. The well casing is like a really big drain, and the extra electrons keep flowing down it all day and night.
Home Power Magazine ran a side bar article on our systems grounding plan about 10 years ago. If you subscribe, you can look for it on their websites archives under, “Ground Side Bar.” If you don’t subscribe, you should, it’s a great periodical on this materiel and inexpensive. Good luck Henry, and take care, Rudydoo
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Your Questions About Solar Generators For Sale
Richard asks…
What would you do if society colapsed end every one was on their own?
no cooperation between anyone, not even families
no utilities or power, unless you can provide it for yourself like your own well or generator and if you can you have to protect it from any one else who might want to steal it for them selves.
no sale or trade between people you just have what you own and what you can take or steal from others.
how long do you think you could last? Where would you go? What’s your plan?
admin answers:
Regenerate society among my family and our neighbors (we already have that planned)
We have wind / solar powering our ranch, and diesel back up… We also raise 80% of our own veggies and 95% of our meat / dairy… We have a 1 year stock of grain, coffee, sugar, etc.
I won’t mention our weapons… Or our security arrangements other than to say that a few Marine Gunny Sergeants and SEALs (friends) have been up here and approved / and improved.
We live 20 miles from town and 90 miles from the city… We have our own valley and access to another four via neighbors… Time to start a tribal / feudal system !!
James asks…
How much does a tie to grid battery bank cost per KWH?
A power company has a sales thing where for an 18 month contract, you can get free power from 10pm to 6 am. I would like to get a solar setup eventualy, and think this would be a great stepping stone.
I would need to be able to charge the battery from the grid or from panels eventualy. What would be the cost to setup a 10kwh bank tied to the grid (using 6v batteries or whatever)? Ball park? 500? 2k? 5k?
admin answers:
Solar panels would be your best bet as generators are expensive when you factor in the (rising) fuel costs.
Find a local solar installer here: http://www.installeco.com/find/solar-installers/
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Your Questions About Solar Generators Portable
Sandy asks…
What is the best way to power my refrigerator in my rv when not plugged in?
I have the original generator that came with the rv but it does need some work. I don’t really want to have to run the generator just to power fridge while between places. The fridge is an electric fridge. I had thought about a solar panel or maybe just a smaller portable generator. Any ideas? What do people do when they are between places for 8 hours or so and don’t want food to spoil?
admin answers:
Newer RV refrigerators have a variety of of ways to operate now; propane, 12 volt, and 110 volt power. You can purchase a newer one online. I would recommend a 110 volt or propane combo refer. That way when you are using shore power you can use the 110 volt to power the refer or when you are dry camping you can use the propane feature which is very efficient. Or option b: you can purchase a generator (2800 watt or larger) to power it on 110 volt. Option C opower your 110 volt refrigerator with solar panels would require an invertor (2000 watt or higher) as well as a large array of solar panels drilled into the roof accompanied by allot of 6 Volt (golf cart batteries).
Sandra asks…
Is their a generator small enough that will work with wii?
Is their a generator small enough that is at least 50 watts no more thatn 70watts taht fits a standard size house plug. I will go on a coach bus and i want to bring wii with me but i need a small generator. any ideas where i can get one.
admin answers:
I’m not sure what you mean by generator.. You maybe need a battery system.. But you would need to power a television along with it.. The Wii isn’t really set up as a portable system..
Check the link below.. Some people set up a solar power generator for their Wii..
Good luck..
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Your Questions About Solar Generators For Home Use
Joseph asks…
Anyone have any ideas for electricity in woods?
I know this sounds stupid, but I am building a cabin in the woods over a very small stream. I need electricity out there to power some lights and maybe a radio with some speakers. The stream isn’t big enough for hydroelectric power and I was wondering if anybody had any ideas to get electricity out there. Extension cords would be too long, solar maybe if it is cheap, a rechargeable car battery would be too heavy to carry up to charge each time. If you guys have any ideas, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
admin answers:
I don’t think it is stupid. I would check out solar, but if not, have you thought about wind? Otherwise maybe a power inverter? I don’t know if they are much lighter than a car battery but they are made for things like this. All I know about them is what I have heard on QVC, but I am sure they are available at home improvement or hardware stores. You could of course get a generator and haul gas, but I wouldn’t, too noisy and pollutes. Keep the radio down and enjoy the woodland creatures.
William asks…
How much (estimate) would it cost to get septic/power/gas installed in a rural area?
Curious how much people think it would cost to get not only a septic system set-up but also some kind of power and gas supply in a rural field in colorado? Assume a trailer home is on the land for a house. (If that matters) 10 acres of land.
admin answers:
Ideally a pond with reed beds is best,this makes a bio-diverse pond the bacteria in the pond eat the sewage,pond about 50-100metres away from property.pond details on net? Solar panels are great for electricity,and are better and cheaper now,some on net from 250,Windmills also good make one via car generator,run cable from alternator to one -way diode to battery, use inverter from battery. Or use gas in a tank, delivered by lorry. Pond 100+ power50+ gas tank usually cheap as you buy gas from them.sy.
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Your Questions About Solar Generators For The Home
Robert asks…
Build a solar or wind propelled generator?
I want to know how to make a solar or wind propelled generator? First if i can make a solar and wind propelled generator and combine them to work at the same time. The solar panel can be around 12 volts. I just want to do this as a home project. I don’t want extreme power out of this. I am young but have a lot of experience with building electronics so keep it simple enough for me to do it.
admin answers:
Well i dont know much but i hope this will help, i whould imagine for the wind power you whould need the light propeler to be somehow conected to a magnetic generater. And for the solar power, well i dont know much about that but i hope to find out soon.
Sharon asks…
How many solar panels does it take to run an A/C unit? Also, How many batteries in an array?
I was wondering how many 700 W solar panels it would take to run a household A/C unit. Also curious how many batteries it would take to keep A/C running in inhospitable environments. Would a 3500 W inverter be enough if it were to run 220 AC?
admin answers:
Here we are doing the math of two facts to multiply or divide, to find the third, and you don’t give enough to make up the equation!
My 2.5 ton unit needs 220 VAC at 5 KW for the heater coils, and 3.5 KW for the cooling and fans, but, in electricity, we are always having to discriminate between inductive loads (transformers, oven coils, heater coils) and other uses, like lncandescent lighting.
To run my HVAC unit, in my 1,000 square foot home, would demand a10KW unit, and the 5200 watt (5500 watt Surge rated)
would not work. A generator simply stalls out under load, possibly smokes the generator electrics, while a solar unit and batteries can reverse potential under severe load, and explode!
The surge rating for my HVAC unit is 3X higher, (the Switching Load), for either heating or cooling. When figuring out the generator load for an emergency generator, for warranty purposes, they demand we install a generator with a ‘surge’ power rating triple the start-up load of our equipment, and that is the way to try to load your Solar panel, also!
Now, go to the hardware store, and get a booklet or pamphlet about emergency power generation, and look at the descriptions of the generator start up power capabilities for the ‘switching loads’!
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Your Questions About Solar Generators For Sale
Mark asks…
where can i find out how a solar generator works and how long they last?
Im interested in getting a solar gen. to use for camping,[coffee pot,heater, lite,ect im trying to get reliable info on them.
admin answers:
You can get basic info about small units for sale from most camping, hunting and outdoors shops – all of the outdoorsmen still want to be able to recharge their electronics. For more general info about these, you should be able to ask questions at forums about outdoors subjects.
Sandra asks…
Do you think the government should force manufacture of fuel effciant cars?
They have electric roadsters that do 0-60 in 3 seconds and have a 100 mile plus range lineing up for production. Just add a small desile generator and some solar panels and it will get 100 to infinity miles per gallon. Why don’t they mandate hybred and solor car manufacturing! Think they should make a limit on how much fuel a vehical can consume? Like 1 gallon per hour private and 3 commercial?
admin answers:
You can’t mandate something like that.
The consumer dictates what will be built. The companies respond to that.
When gas got to $3.00 a gallon, SUV and pickup sales went down to its lowest levels since 1995. People were looking into more efficient cars. Toyota and Honda had already thought ahead and been producting them. The government encourages it by giving tax breaks and allowing them into HOV lanes. The US car makers were still churning out SUV’s and fell behind yet again. Now Toyota is poised to become the number one car maker because they’re able to think ahead, innovate, and respond quicker to the market.
Now that gas is back to $2.06 a gallon, people are going *whew* and are driving SUV’s again. But there is a percentage that are thinking ahead and are selling their SUV’s and buying the Toyota’s and Honda’s.
You can blame the SUV and Minivan market in part on the increased safety levels required by the government. Since they require car seats for each kid, a family with three kids needs a larger vehicle so Minivan’s were born. Guys were harassed about driving a “minivan” so the car manufacturers created SUV’s to satisfy a guy’s ego.
Then you have the Hummer type ads. You’ve seen them. Where they harass the moms now, calling them wimps and pressuring them to buy Hummers. What a bunch of crap.
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Your Questions About Solar Generators
Mandy asks…
How do I build a solar generator for my cabin?
We don’t use much electricity, so we don’t need anything too heavy-duty. I would like to run our cabin on solar electricity, but am having trouble getting help as far as what size battery, inverter, solar panel I will need. I know I also need a regulator, but don’t know anything about them either. From start to finish, what do I need and where can I get all he parts I need at a reasonable price? Is it cost-effective to buy an already put together solar generator?
admin answers:
Try http://www.solarelectricsupply.com/
The stuff they sell seems to more or less live up to the specifications.
If you decide to buy discounted panels be a little careful. It was my experience that the specifications overstated the performance by 50% to 100%
BTW – the best investment you can make is a good recent book on the subject. Anything copyright before 2007 is probably obsolete.
Good luck
Sandra asks…
Does anyone have any leads on backup solar generators?
I want to purchase a solar powered backup generator in the event that we have a power outage. I don’t want a gas/diesel generator as I don’t want to have to fight everyone else to get gas for a generator. I’ve been only able to find one solar generator that would seem to work for my home. Any suggestions?
admin answers:
I’ve just started looking at solar myself, here’s a link to a site that seems to have some reasonably priced systems:
http://www.sunenergyusa.com/index.html
Maybe there will be information that will help, I’m a novice myself so I’m not sure what exactly you are looking for.
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Your Questions About Solar Generators Hawaii
Sharon asks…
Is living in Hawaii practical for a loner with money?
I’ve been thinking that I want to just relax for a few years.
admin answers:
Yup, loner or not, Hawaii gotta place for evabody, ok? I know of place ova onna Big Island, nice house off the grid, got year round spring for water, solar lectric, windmll for well, to elevate pressure tank, also propane 15K generator, delivery from truck to 2000 gallon tank, use to cook, heat water, run fridge, end of 4 mile graded gravel road, with 5 acres of you own…if you really a loner, can’t get much more alone than that, so if you wanna be alone, this maybe place for you, ok? But, mobetta that you gotta heavy check book too, but hey that what you say, yeah? Peace and aloha to you!
Maria asks…
can I run a desktop computer with a solar panel?
I am moving to Hawaii and the house we are living in has independent electricity. (solar panels and gas powered generators.)
admin answers:
The system in the Hawaiian house has solar panels that charge a battery bank. If the sun doesn’t shine enough, the generator will kick on and provide the extra power needed. An inverter converts the DC voltage stored in the batteries to AC power that you plug into a wall outlet to use. Depending on the inverter, it should be exactly the same as the AC you buy from the electric company now, so anything that you currently plug in to use will work.
The exception is if they are using an inexpensive modified sine wave inverter, that doesn’t generate as clean power as a pure sine wave inverter. Some delicate electronics may have trouble running on it. You may want to ask the house owners which type of inverter it is. If they don’t know, ask them the model and you can easily look it up.
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Your Questions About Solar Generators For Home Use
George asks…
How does an electric inverter used at the tail end of wind generator stay in phase with the power company.?
how does an electric inverter used at the tail end of either home solar panels or wind generator stay in phase with the incoming household current. It would seem to me that if the phase was just slightly out of time with that from the power company, much of the power produced would be lost.
admin answers:
The best inverters use a pulse-width-modulated output and a low-pass power filter for the line frequency (60 Hz or 50Hz). The high voltage DC input is modulated at a rate in the 20-40 kHz range or even higher. The modulation is controlled directly by the line to which the power is fed into. Some of these inverters can run in the high 90% efficiency range.
For the PWM inverter to work, whatever the output of the generator, it must be converted (any phase, any frequency, or even DC) to high voltage DC. This can be done independantly of the line frequency or phase.
.
Sandy asks…
How to set up a wind power system in the home?
Hi yahoo answers tell me the procedure for setting up the power system in the home..
admin answers:
Electricity can be generated by building Windmills which rotate when there is wind blowing and generate electricity through a generator.Nowadays, the Technology is so improved that we can build our own Solar Panels or Wind Power Generators at home with materials available in our local hardware stores to generate electricity. This way we can eliminate or reduce our Electricity bill.
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Your Questions About Solar Generators
Steven asks…
Is the usage of Wind Powered Generators & Solar Generators Illegal in Singapore?
I’m planning to buy either a Wind Powered Generators, Solar Generators or a Hybrid Generator to be more “Green” & at the same time save on electric bills… I’m able to install such a generator on my home…
admin answers:
Its sad that Singaporeans should ask such questions. We are so timid. At the very worst you get a fine for installing green equipments. Take a MRT ride where you can see many terrace houses. You will find many with solar roofs.Their owners are not languishing in Changi prison. As for wind power, Singapore is not windy whole year round. Best stick with solar panels.
Maria asks…
Can a solar generator and panels be hooked up to a trailer home on a rural field?
I plan on moving a newly manufactured trailer home onto around ten acres of rural field. I need a source of power, i have found solar power can be fairly inexpensive in the long run, though i have been told trailer homes cannot be hooked up to solar generators and panels. Is this true? if not how do i hook six 80 watt panels up to the trailer home?
admin answers:
USA Yes you can, unless there is a local municipal ordinance against it – which I have never heard of. But, why 80 watt panels? The industry standard is 230 watt. Six 80 watt panels won’t even power a normal refrigerator (they’re usually 700 watts). If you have all the parts and equipment, or if you can get them for free, then it is worth it to hook them up. But, if you have to buy the items, the average cost is $5 per watt, which is $2400.00 for a 480 watt set up. Generating 480 watts per hour will total 5000 watts on a good day. That is about $0.50 worth of electricity. At $0.50 per day, it will take you 4800 days – that is more than 13 years – just to break even.
You should add up the power requirements for everything in the home that might be used at the same time – cooking, refrig, cooling or heating, well pump, lights, TV – and base the size of your system on how many watts you will need. If you can, go more than what you need and sell the extra to the utility. They have to buy it from you.
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Your Questions About Solar Generators For The Home
Linda asks…
What solar equipment is necessary to power a steam generator for a home steam bath?
The generator I have is rated at 12 KW, requires 220V and 33Amp service to heat a room of 500 cubic feet. The power is only needed periodically and for short periods of time, 30 – 60 minutes a day. (on a rare occasion, twice a day.) How do I plan, organize and calculate the required equipment?
admin answers:
You want to power it with Photovoltaic panels?
Or are you asking about passive solar pre-heaters?
If you are going to buy Photovoltaic panels, just call up a install firm and get some. There is a 30% tax credit for them now even. But why you are specifically tying the PV panels into your sauna is just confusing. It would sure make for an expensive sauna.
Sandy asks…
easiest way to quiet down a portable generator?
I am looking to run a generator to power my mobile home when my solar and wind generators aren’t making enough power. I usually park in semi suburban areas and the last time I ran my generator for a prolonged period I got a noise complaint and had to move at 3am [not so fun] what are some ways to quiet down the generator while its running?
admin answers:
I had the same issue with an air compressor. I built a wooden enclosure with a small fan to bring cool air into the box. It has worked fine for over twenty years! But for your problem:
Find a cardboard box that will fit comfortably, upside down, over the generator. If that is not enough, glue some fiberglass insulation inside the cardboard box. That will decrease the decibels sufficiently. Otherwise, you will need to build a wooden enclosure with fiberglass insulation inside.
Good Luck
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Your Questions About Solar Generators Portable
Sandra asks…
How should I ground a floating circuit that is a portable solar generator?
I’m going to be mounting several pieces on a dolly such as a plastic bin to hold a battery inside, a voltage regulator, and inverter will be on top and a solar panel on the top (50 watt).
admin answers:
If you ground a circuit, then it isn’t floating is it?
Since you don’t know electricity, you should consult an engineer.
Mark asks…
How do I keep portable power for small appliances for long durations on the move?
If I’m living in my car down south and I need constant power for a fan, fridge, tv, recharging things, etc… what do I need and how much does it cost? Do those solar power panels work? Can you place them on the roof lying under the blazing sun? And then I can plug my applicances in? How much do I need to spend on those? Or will it not work? I don’t know. Help me out. No smart alic comments, only answers. Thanx.
admin answers:
To power those kind of appliences that draw that kind of power you need a kickass power inverter, i would say 4000watts or more and they are not cheap and you will need alot af battery power to keep them going
you can also use a gas generator but they are noisy
you can go to an rv dealer and talk to them as thats what they do
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Your Questions About Solar Generators Costco
Betty asks…
How many kilowatt hours would I need to power a town of 1000 people plus businesses and a mine?
If i had a remote alaskan town of 1000 residents, how much power would I need to generate to run the whole town. Would a diesel generator work?
admin answers:
You didn’t give enough info.
1000 people and business plus mine isn’t specific.
What kind of people? Treehuggers? Hippies? Or the typical super-wasteful American stereotype?
What kind of business? Small things like the mom-n-pop stores? Small-town restaurants? Or a giant general motors automobile plant? Or what about a server farm (which requires lots and lots of power)?
For a mine, again, it depends of what kind of mine. How big is the operation? How updated is its facilities? Is it a pit/strip mine? A tunnel mine into the side of a mountain? Or a deep mine that goes way into the earth?
Then you have the climate. Alaska narrows it down some. Its cold there. But you forgot to say how is the town heated. Oil? Gas? Electric? Solar? Geo-thermal?
No matter the answer, I can tell you unless the town has tiny mom-n-pop businesses, tree huggers and hippies and an obsolete open pit mine, you’ll need a lot more than a diesel generator. You can try something green- like geo thermal, wind, tidal power. If you embrace the power of the future, nuclear power is the way to go. You can have an oil-fired or coal fired plant. It can run on natural gas or methane from composting waste. You can even have one burning trash to make power.
How much kW of power?
If each house had 4 people, then it would be about 250 households. Each household would consume about 15 kW a day of electricity.
So for homes you have 15×250 = 3,750 kW
business, say you got small ones and one Costco store.
Say 10kW electricity for 12 small businesses and 40kW for the Costco (they have lots of lights and fridges).
So business you have 12×10+40 = 160 kW
say you got the average open strip mine. A small operation that employs 350 people. Its not high-tech. It processes gypsum (different types of mines uses different amounts of electricity) for another plant in nearby Anchorage. That stuff is shipped by rail. I’d estimate 2000kW energy.
So subtotal:
homes: 3,750 kW
Stores: 160 kW
mine: 2000 kW
you need to generate at least 5,910 kW a day or you’ll have power issues. If all the homes are electric heated and not gas or oil, add another 1000kW a day.
In all, you needs at least 6,910 kW a day, but not more than 9,000 kW. The 2,000 kW a day difference allows some flex and deals with expansion of the town or unexpected high power consumption.
Remote Alaskan towns should not rely on diesel, or anything that needs to be shipped in. If the shipment is late or not coming, everyone could freeze to death. You’d want something that comes out of the earth reliably. Like geothermal. The earth won’t die for a very long time. If you place the plant near a volcano or place with thermal activity, you’ll get good, reliable high power output for the next couple thousand years or so.
Donald asks…
What is the best book for building an electric car?
I want to begin the project of building an electric car, can someone tell me what the best book to aid in this process. I am a novice.
admin answers:
The one EV car I currently have (have 2 vehicles that run on hydrogen also) I converted from a vw bug and is free to charge. As I live completely off the grid all my electricity comes from solar panels and 2 wind generators, which I also built.
However I did charge up at Costco in Carlsbad California (I actually only drove up there to fill up) if I remember right it was around $2.00
Not sure if you’re interesting in doing it yourself, but I’d be willing to walk you step by step threw the conversion. I’ve converted 3 of my own cars (a datsun truck, ford ban, and a vw bug) and a few for neighbors. I’ve also converted cars to run on hydrogen, ethanol and biodiesel, by far EV is the easiest.
If you’re interested here’s what it would entitle…
– The engine compartment is first cleaned out of any gasoline components.
– Electric components are then installed in exchange.
– A battery bank is built and incorporated.
– Existing starter and driving systems are connected.
– Turn the key, step on the gas pedal sending more energy to the electric motor, & thus more power to the drive system, which in return creates more speed, more acceleration.
– The system has normal automotive top speeds and acceleration, typical to the vehicle your modifying. If your top speed was 85 mph and your acceleration was 1 mile per min, then this will be what your left with after the conversion.
The methods are extremely simple, making the process possible for anyone, everyone, ANYWHERE.
Typical tools, hardware & supplies are used, making access to parts available for all.
Electric Conversions can be easily accomplished in ANY model vehicle, even tractors, Generators, types of machinery, etc.
Project lengths range from 1 day to 1 month.
If you’re interested I wrote a guide on it which is available at www agua-luna com
My last EV conversion ran me about $1400. Everything is available online. I have a how to do it yourself guide available at www agua-luna com that will walk you step by step through the process. If you have ANY questions feel free to contact me through the site. Here’s a list of what you’d need…
Advanced DC Motor
The motor is an 8″ Advanced DC series-wound motor. It weighs 107 pounds and is rated at 68 peak horsepower. These motors are available in several sizes.
Adaptor plate
The adaptor plate mates the motor to the transmission. It is constructed of 1/2 inch aluminum and is pre-drilled with bolt hole patterns for both the motor and transmission. An aluminum spacer is also used for proper spacing between the shafts of the transmission and motor. Adaptor plates are available for many cars.
DC Motor Controller
The controller regulates current going to the motor. It is a solid-state device that uses a pulse width modulator (PWM) that sends short bursts of current to the motor at a rate of 15 kHz. Controllers are available from both Curtis and DCP.
Potbox (Potentiometer)
The potbox is a 5K ohm throttle between the controller and the accelerator, similar to the way a sewing machine pedal works. The potbox’s lever arm is attached to the existing accelerator cable.
Main Contactor
An electric relay that serves the same purpose as the ignition switch in a gas car. When the key is turned to the start position, the contactor closes the circuit to allow current to flow to the controller.
Circuit Breaker
A safety device that shuts down power for servicing or during an emergency. The circuit breaker is installed under the hood and can be switched both off and on from the drivers seat with an extension or cable.
Main Fuse
The main fuse protect the system from high voltage spikes. A fuse should be installed at each battery box or group of batteries.
Shunt
A shunt is placed in series within the wiring as a means to connect meters. Shunts are available in different sizes for both high and low power configurations.
Charger interlock
A relay that keeps the circuit open so nobody will inadvertantly drive off with the charge cord plugged into the car.
DC/DC Converter
The DC/DC converter is similar in function to a gas car’s alternator. It charges the 12 volt accessory battery by chopping voltage from the main battery pack down to 13.5 volts.
If you interested I offer several DIY alternative guides to walk you step by step threw EV conversion process at agua-luna com or
www agua-luna com
Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.
Dan Martin
Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World… Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY… All With Just One Click of A Mouse…For more info Visit:
www AGUA-LUNA com
Stop Global Warming!!!
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Your Questions About Solar Generators Reviews
Sharon asks…
Best Solar powered generator capable of running a small refrigerator and a few other appliances such as charge?
rs and lamps? pretty much a generator for keeping a house up and running when all of the power goes out. And one that charges in the daytime particularly in 6-10 hours. Reviews or personal experience would be awesome thank you.
admin answers:
Considering the purchase, installation, maintenance, and replacement costs of solar photo-voltaic panels, you’re paying 38 cents a kwh for that power and that’s without batteries, coal costs 1 cent a kwh and natural gas costs 15 cents a kwh. Solar is not a backup power source, it’s only viable if subsidized by the government or if grid power is unavailable in your region.
If you want a backup power source, buy a portable tri-power generator, install a transfer switch and a natural gas valve and you can run your house on natural gas if you loose your electricity, if the natural gas line has been interrupted, you can run on propane, if you can’t get propane, you can run on gasoline. If you’re off the grid, it would be a good idea to use an absorption refrigerator, they can run on natural gas, propane, or kerosene. A large propane tank can be put under your yard for free if you agree to purchasing a certain amount of propane each month. A heat fired refrigerator is often used because of reliability as losing the refrigerator means losing your food.
Ken asks…
What is your experience with the solar generators that are advertised on the web?
They cost about $1500 to $3000 depending on power. A panel, a charge controller, huge lithium battery, inverter.
I’m not asking if the price is right. They sound so sensible I’m wondering why they aren’t being offered by the larger manufacturers?
Anyone have any experience?
Thanks!
admin answers:
Without a link to the products you are talking about, it’s hard to give an accurate review. My guess is they are either kits that have been put together from the basic components, the few I saw from a Google search were just all of the components available at any solar equipment provider or an all-in-one device that combines battery, charge controller, and inverter that you plug a solar panel into. They are off-grid systems, which means you can only power the equipment from that battery, if the battery runs out (during a rainy stretch of weather), then you would need to unplug from it and plug into your regular electric. Duracell is rebranding an all-in-one device, except for the solar panel, that is made by Xantrex, and selling it as their own, so the big companies are starting to get into the game.
Something that size is probably just good enough to either provide emergency backup power in the event of an outage or enough for a cabin. A one-size-fits-all system is hard to make to work for most people. We put together kits that are a good starting point, but are often customized to meet the customers particular needs.
Http://www.altestore.com/store/Portable-Power-Systems/Xantrex-X1500-Backup-Power-System-802-1500/p2066/
http://www.altestore.com/store/Kits-and-Package-Deals/Off-Grid-Cabin-Systems/Off-Grid-Cabin-package-1-170W-PV/p5692/
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