I was asked to write down my experiments in alternative energy, so here it goes...
I'm not an expert, just the happy tinkerer that finds some stuff and tries to make something from that i can benefit from, or just have fun in making it work.
Solar cells, i got a batch for almost free, end of production line remnants from Phillips, i bet if you look around or Google it, you can come up with sources in the USA that deliver them cheap also.
Production panels mostly are expensive, these cells ( end of production, end of sale etc) can be had for scraps.
Having the same milli Amperage, you can couple these cells up to any voltage you need, or doubl the Amperage whatever your need or choice.
Done so far:
Used an old generator from an car ( 75 Amp) some pullys 1:4 and a home made wind generator, making blades from PVC tubing cutting them so, that blades came out, 2.8 meter total diameter, 5 blades.
Since the windgenerator head will not turn fast enough to get the generator working fast enough add the pully's and v belt to up the revs 4 times or more, depending on your needed speed for the generator to work reliable.
In the modern car generators is the rectifier and voltage regulator already build in to charge an old car battery or better deep cycle marine battery.
Never run a generator without load......it will run away in speed and self destroy....
Put it high above any restriction, houses, trees etc, higher = more wind = more energy.
You can get sinus inverters 12 volts to 110 or for me 230 volts 50 Hz.
I had a spare one for 500 watts continuous, after my tests were done i sold this contraption to a farmer 3 years back and he stil uses it for supplying light and using small electric tools in a shed far from the grid.
You can start with small generators using electric motors as generators, and go from there.
Some commercial generators can be had, even relative cheap.
http://www.allsmallwindturbines.com/
Large list there, read some of the PDF files for instruction manuals, and tips.
Most of these turbines come with electronics charging circuitry etc.
Solar cells.
Depends on what you can get make an array that delivers at least 19 volts free running without load.
Use a Schottky diode for reverse polarity protection.
You can get relative cheap solar cell voltage regulators that will take the energy from the cells and that will charge a battery ( 12 volt)
For the homebrewer there are special I.C's that will do the job, with some external components they will do the same, when i started these weren't there, now they are available.
When you use the generator or the solar cells, the best way is to make your alternative supply from a combo, wind and solar energy.
No wind, there will be daylight to charge the battery, no sun, there will be wind at night to charge the battery.
I'll start a small turbine project this year with just a 1 meter diameter fan.
An old Papst 50 watt 12 volt DC motor will be the generator.
With the right revolutions it developes 18 volts DC followed by a Schottky diode for 5 amps ( just 0.15 volts voltage drop) for reverse voltaage protection and a homebrew loading circuit for the battery and dummy load for if the battery is full to ballast the generator.
So far my first part.
piccie of the used solar cells mounted on stainless steel plate.
Your comments please ;)
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