Home Power Generation

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Sidestep

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#1204427 27-Dec-2014 10:45

LesF: I'm no expert (still just a casual browser on the subject, thinking about experimenting with it someday) but am I right in saying you probably don't want to attach this sort of thing to your house because of vibration noise it will cause? Advice I have seen suggests you want a free standing pole or maybe a on a building other than a dwelling. This may not apply to a quiet commercially built turbine, I'm thinking 'experimental' designs may be an issue tho.

Our homebuilt ones were not quiet or vibration free.

We live in a high wind area.

They both eventually self destructed, throwing blades off (one went 20m+)

That's just one of the reasons I'd only put in a commercial type, tested & rated one now.

A turbine large enough to provide any decent power is too large to safely attach to your house.
There's a surprising amount of tension on the upwind guy wires of a freestanding tower.

We're very rural - but the tower height required to reach clean air ran us into resource consent issues.
You'll need to check with your local council.

Niel

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#1204572 27-Dec-2014 17:01

He did say he wants to play with it, and not generate serious power.

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MichaelNZ

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#1204573 27-Dec-2014 17:04

Niel: He did say he wants to play with it, and not generate serious power.

I suggested a way he could 'play with it'. There really isn't any cheaper or easier options with wind. It's either do it properly (even if using budget hardware) or not at all.

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richms

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#1204575 27-Dec-2014 17:27

The biggest hassle with both solar and wind is mounting the equipment. Panels are so cheap now that they aren't the most expensive part if you are only doing a few 100 watts. Same for a small wind generator. The pole and concrete and support wires will cost more to get done than what's on top.

Richard rich.ms

MichaelNZ

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#1204582 27-Dec-2014 17:50

richms: The biggest hassle with both solar and wind is mounting the equipment. Panels are so cheap now that they aren't the most expensive part if you are only doing a few 100 watts. Same for a small wind generator. The pole and concrete and support wires will cost more to get done than what's on top.

+1

Allow about $150 per 200W panel for roof mounting. Ground mount even more.

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SepticSceptic

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#1209153 6-Jan-2015 12:35

Saw a wind turbine made with a plastic blue barrel cut lengthwise. I think someone was tinkering with an idea, as I haven't seen it for a while. I think the halves were stacked to get the most wind, and had a sturdy upside-down U frame, and guy wires to stabilise it.
It was on a small hillock on SH1, just before the Toll Payment Kiosk, heading south, by Puhoi.

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raytaylor

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#1209572 6-Jan-2015 22:20

I am told that a gentle annie or fisher and paykel smart drive out of a washing machine make the best wind turbine.

The hardest part i think is going to be finding slip joints to transfer the power down without using a wire, so it can freely turn.

You see smart drive wind turbines appear on trademe occasionally.

A wind turbine needs to be approx 12m above any surrounding hills or obstacles - We have used a number of commercial ones (spending upward of $1k) and they seemed to be very robust in their design, and well built, but they blow themselves to pieces with turbulance when you put them on a hill or dont have them high enough off the ground. We had ours about 6.5m above the ground on top of a hill.

Here is a picture to show you why.

We have also seen ones where the blades were found in the next paddock

Used both great watt and Air Breeze Marine at various sites - all failed from not being high enough.
Also I note that someone used one of those ones jaycar were selling on their house in napier along a main road - it blew itself to pieces too.

Ray Taylor

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