[mdlug] Free electricity for life? I doubt it.

[Jay]

Greetings Carl (et al),

On Wed, 12 Oct 2022, Carl T. Miller wrote:

> Yeah, following up on a recent topic at the meetings,
> I saw this video.  The whole time I was thinking that
> there is no way this could actually generate enough
> power to run a refrigerator.
>
> However it is entertaining to watch a DIY generator
> being built.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtCBLpLZrtY

    You can run the math on it, using the diameter of the blades, the 
pitch, and the wind speed, and calculate the amount of *potential* energy 
production that would be available for a given blade design.  I'd hazard 
to guess what they built is below 10 Watts.  Gonna take a LONG time in 
some pretty brisk winds to run a refrigerator for more that one cooling 
cycle.

    I have a 600-Watt 5-foot diameter wind turbine, and it RARELY ever 
produces more than 75 Watts - and then only briefly.  Granted, it is not 
up high enough to clear the tree tops and get some steady wind.

    My array of PV panels do far far far better at producing enough energy 
to run my home.  Four 290-watt panels matched with "Apollo" MPPT solar 
charge controllers, keeps my 1600 Amp/Hour bank of LiFePO4 batteries 
charged.  This battery bank runs my LED lighting, fans, radios, scanners, 
alarm system, security cameras & DVR, flat-screen TV, ROKU device, 
Internet router/hub/WiFi-AP, numerous computers / servers / workstations, 
HDMI monitors, USB chargers, Ham radio equipment, CPAP machine, etc. 
Yes, much of my home runs directly off 12-volts D.C. WITHOUT AC Inverters.

    My A.C. needs are met with a 5 KW Grid-Tied solar array, so the 
fridge/freezer, furnace, window air-conditioner, and microwave, will still 
run.  I *DO NOT* export energy to the Grid as DTE sucks WRT a fair excange 
for any energy that I would put onto the Grid.  So I have NO contract with 
them and have set my "Grid Profile" for "No Export".  My Enphase IQ7 
Inverters track the Grid and never go above the line voltage where current 
would flow out onto the Grid.

    So, when the Grid fails, we hardly notice.  It's like living inside a 
giant UPS.  Everything just keeps on running...indefinately...for FREE !!

    The 600-Watt Wind Turbine was an experiment that confirmed that we DO 
NOT get enough steady wind in southeast Michigan to be very usefull. 
HOWEVER, just inland from the Saginaw Bay or from Lake Michigan, there is 
LOTS of steady wind and many energy companies are making good use of it :)

    Though the following website is WAY out of date and in need of some 
serious updates (maybe this Winter I'll rewrite it), it shows how I wired 
by "Hybrid Home" to run on 12VDC.  http://nuge.com/solar

    Enjoy!
       --- Jay  WB8TKL