What is Digg?Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate
Readers have reported that this story contains information that may not be accurate.Sponsored by Travelzoo
Take Advantage of Ridiculously Low Holiday Airfares view!
travelzoo.com - Flights $52 and up for Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year. But move on it now.
61 Comments
- LowenSoDium, on 10/12/2007, -0/+36Step 6: Profit
- DrMatt, on 10/12/2007, -2/+37When you've completed it, post this again and I'll digg it...
- fugazi, on 10/12/2007, -5/+31There is not step 3,4, or 5. Why post an incomplete guide?
- geminitojanus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+221kW/hr is about the going rate for how much power an (average) house uses. It may not seem like it, but if you go around your house and take note of all of the things drawing power, and how long they're on, you'll tend to realize that it's about right.
For example, in my house, the peak power usage is about 1.4kW hours, reached at about 4pm to 6pm whenever the air conditioner is running and most of the computers in the home are on. After 6, it begins to get colder outside, and we can trade the air conditioner for less powerful halogen lights and ceiling fans (15W per light, 50W for ceiling fans, about 10 lights in the house on at a time, and maybe 4 ceiling fans at a time). [The average for our house is about .8kWrs].
So, unless you're running a bunch of P4/Athlon 64 systems 24/7, keep all of the lights and air conditioners and ceiling fans running, turn on your electric stove, your microwave oven and all of your hair dryers at the same time... it should be enough.
And even if it isn't enough to take your house completely off the grid, it'll likely take your house at least 50% off the grid, and maybe 80-90%, meaning that your electric bills can be reduced by 80%. And tell me this, who couldn't use that extra money right now, with gas prices as bad as they are? - captainpete, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21When you're a couple hippies living in a trailer park. :)
- Eliminator, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13This one looks more or less complete:
http://www.otherpower.com/17page1.html - mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14..since when is 1000 watts enough to power a home?
- howittsdone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6MAKE magazine has full instructions on how to make a Chispito Wind Generator (similar to the one above). This link has similar instructions to MAKE's: http://www.velacreations.com/chispito.html (apparently you have to pay to see it on MAKE's website).
- middleman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6It would seem they have solar cells in the background to, so mixing the wind generator with those, you would probably have plenty of power.
- bradleyland, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6geminitojanus, I'm not sure about your math. In Florida, we've all become very aware of the power requirements of our homes, as we have to find alternatives when the grid goes down after a hurricane. We (as in me and my family) run a 5500 watt generator, and we have to be careful what we turn on and what we keep off.
Your water heater and dryer are both 220v appliances. In order to draw 1000 watts, they need only to pull 4.5 amps, which isn't much for an induction heating element. A typical home has 60 amp service, which at 110v, equates to 6600 watts.
1000 watts to power your home would require some serious changes in lifestyle for your average Floridian. - JazzSax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Good idea, but Ohms law tells us that will only produce roughly 8.3 amps at 120V. Article does not state if an inverter is being used or if house is indeed 12/24/36 VDC. If house is DC, production will be at 83.3A 41.4A/27.7A respectively, which could be sufficient without too many "extras". Good idea and good for the cause.
- Tricky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Sounds like fun with electricity. Finish it soon, please.
- Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Somebody sell me a kit - with mounting pole an instructions for how to wire it into my house electric - and I'll buy it and put it on the roof.
- cunnybungler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You might want to consider compact fluorescent bulbs. Not only do they consume less energy, they give off less heat. It's kind of stupid in this day and age to run 65w incandescents unless it's absolutely necessary.
- aphexcoil, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4and where is the "nuclear plant in your backyard" FAQ ?
- evolseven, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't know about 6-7 kWh, i right now live in an ok sized 1600 sq ft home in Texas, during the summer i average around 1700-1900 kWh a month.. which puts me at around 2.3-2.5 kWh average over the day.. my peak draw probably never gets close to 6-7kw.. and i run 3 computers and a laptop, of course i run mostly compact fluorescents.. but this is for Texas.. which means i use a hell of a lot of cooling.. so i doubt most homes average 6-7kWh.. hell i would be pissed at myself if i managed to do that.
7x24(hours)x30(days) = 5040 kWh per month
5040 x 0.146(price of electric in Dallas,Texas) = 735.84
i would hate to be paying that 735 dollar electric bill - cantankerous, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Step 1 - start to build 1000 watt wind turbine
Step 2 - tell all your buddies and then announce on digg what you're doing.
Step 3 - smoke some pot
Step 4 - get the munches, raid the fridge and take a nap.
Step 5 - ya dude, let's finish this tomorrow. - pithy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Does anybody know the financials with something like this? Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a kit from a company?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5RTFA
the turbine recharges battery banks. - revokin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://shop.altenergystore.com/
- vonskippy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3How-to build your own home based zero point energy module.
Part 1:
Cut out this simple cardboard plans holder - after all, you don't want to go dishing thru a hundred mixed up pages to find what step you're on (I use scissors - you could farm it out to a laser cutter if you want).
Part 2.
To be posted later.
Part 3
To be posted later.
Part 4
To be posted later.
......,continue on..............
Part 4236
Sit back and enjoy your endless free energy. Be sure to see the "how to build your own particle beam weapon" article so that you can protect your new found energy source from jealous neighbors and shady government types.
--- - brandizzle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"1kW/hr is about the going rate for how much power an (average) house uses. It may not seem like it, but if you go around your house and take note of all of the things drawing power, and how long they're on, you'll tend to realize that it's about right."
Hm...No. Maybe I just run too much ***** at once but that's about what my bedroom alone uses. - leonbev, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"and where is the "nuclear plant in your backyard" FAQ ?"
I think that Iran is working on that one as we speak. - seeSharp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm still holding out for "Mr. Fusion"
- jerbaker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@baconlt
That's what a grid-tie inverter does. You just plug in your power sources and forget it. When power is available from the solar panels or wind turbines it comes from there, but if it isn't it comes from the grid. These are called grid-tie systems. When you produce more power than you are using you can run your meter backwards. - Scooter1974, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Looks like a cool article (if it was finished) but how did this get to the front page?
- BasouKazuma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What if you build two of these wind turbines and have them work together. Is that possible? If so, then you could be completely self sufficient for your power needs.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2ahh the things you don't know.
if everyone had all their appliances turned on at the same time, the existing grid would over load, so why hold alternative power to that kind of standard when current mains supply wouldn't handle it? we only tend to use a couple of electrical appliances at any one time, you would be supprised how just how easy it is to power your home off the main grid. - foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"What if you build two of these wind turbines and have them work together. Is that possible? If so, then you could be completely self sufficient for your power needs."
haha. that's cute.
a) the wind doesn't blow all the time
and
b) well, i'll just describe my scenario. my room is built-on, and has it's own a/c, that uses about 1kw, alone. it runs once ever hour and a half for about an hour (which means it runs about 67% of the time). what can i say? i like being cold a helluva lot better than i like (or hate, for that matter) being hot. then, add the 150w (i believe) ps of my ***** little 6-year-old emachines (that's on all the time), and another 150w for my ceiling fan (that, too, is on all the time)... 150w/120v=1.25a. yup, that's about right. heck, my power drill has a 6a motor, and that rotates a helluva lot faster than my ceiling fan. so, what am i up to right now? 67% of 1000w is 670w 150 150=970w; or almost a whole kw. that doesn't even include my monitor (which is on about 30-50% of the time my computer is (which is 24/7). let's say 100w total, 50w average. i'm already over my quota. i've already burnt out my turbine. poor me. all is lost; but wait! i'm still not including my xbox (which is on for about an hour everyday), my tv (which is on about twice as much as my xbox), printers, pc speakers (2ch, powered (of course), alarm clocks, cell phone power inverters/chargers, light bulbs, or the modem/router that i remotely suck power from; and i'm willing to bet, in any given day, that's an additional 100 w. 100w (250w*.04) (250w*.08)=~150w used here and there. i was already over my quota on the things i use most throughout the day. now, it's even worse; and i haven't even told you the best part. i'm just one person in a family of four. not to mention, i didn't say anything about water pumping/heating, clothes washing/drying, large, kitchen appliances (cooking, cleaning, freezing), etc... all of which i use in very small amounts throughout the day. very small amounts which use more w/h than i do in a day. 2000 w water heater, 5000 w clothes dryer, 1000 w microwave, 5000 w range, 500 w fridge... those probably stay on for about an hour a day, just from my use, alone. wow. rack up 1/2kw !
so, if you live alone, and use as little electricty as humanly possible, then what you described MIGHT just work. although, i still have my doubts; and so does God. don't forget. wind is a factor here; and he doesn't want to have to keep blowin' just for little ol' you. - timdorr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Unless your bedroom is host to a cluster of servers, there's no way you can be pulling 8.3A in there. I've got two computers on 24/7 (desktop and media center), my laptop, my girlfriend's laptop, a 52" RPTV, central air, appliances, lights and all that and I only pulled 1.4Kw/hr last month. You've got all that crammed into your bedroom?
- ricksite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1From what I understand, batteries, electrical circuits, etc... make up a lot of the expense of wind energy. I don't know if this is feasible but I was thinking it would be cool to build a windmill that supplies electricity to a heating coil in my garage to warm it in the winter. I would build it as simple as possible meaning it wouldn't have a thermostat, voltage regulator, batteries or any other unnecessary parts. It would simply convert wind energy to electricity and then into heat. This wouldn't be a primary heat source but it would supplement a gas heater. Does anyone know if something like this is feasible?
- evolseven, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1it also depends on your situation as well.. me and my wife are on 2 completely different schedules, so its hard to have the cooling off at certain times, as well as lighting at night, etc etc.. also hot water gets expensive.. it sounds like with your draw, you probably dont have a washing machine/dryer or you have gas appliances.. and you may be in a complex/building that has a boiler.. and you dont have an electric stove/oven.. because i know those are big parts of my electric spending..
- Piper7865, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A large battery bank would be needed if you wanted to get the house totally off the grid and I'd probably go with a wind turbine/solar cell mix if I was to do that so that if one isn't going very well the other can still get energy. I've always wanted to do this but I rent .. though even if I was to do my room that'd be cool .. don't know how I'd rig that though .
- tmcleroy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2or power your pc XD
- dhughes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"...generating 3 phase ac, rectified to dc, and fed to a charge controller. "
- Tyrel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18.3 amps.. so I could run a couple computers and a light bulb. That's certainly all I need!
[edit]Actually, I don't need a light bulb... if I need light I can just use a USB-powered LED.[/edit] - D4V1S, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4or i could build one to power a HPS lamp and run a zero-energy marijuana grow operation.
- noobalicious, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Here's step 6 (profit): Figure out a way to stay connected with the grid, allowing you to sell back excess power to the power companies. If you sell back more than you use in any given month, you'll get that money back. This has been going on with solar panels for a while, and with one or two of these things, you could see some decent checks I'm sure.
- ZerozenOnes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That's some seriously crafty hippie. Digg to him tho'. Energy self-sufficiency is the way to go.
- modestmouse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Is that guy seriously wearing sandals with that jig-saw?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+01KW is plenty enough to power a home, especialy when you switch to energy saving lightbulbs like those new florecent white GE ones or SYLVania 20W 120V 60Hz .26A 3000K White Model CF20EL/TWIST a 20Watt that easily produces more Lumins than a 120 Watt Incandecent Far more efficent, save on your cooling bill in those hot summer months when regular lights just cook you alive in your house these stay relitivly cool in compairison.
I did a complete audit of my house recently and replaced only lightbulbs before I was pushing 3.7Kw/h easy now I do less than 1Kwh and THAT has nearly cut my electric bill down to 1/4th
If you can afford it I also recomend AMD Opteron Processors with HE Dule Core and Power Now technology My AMD 250 Runs at 55Watts not to bad for a Beast, far better than any other processor i used and saves alot on electicity, although i dont recomend a 200 series opteron unless you plan on using multiple Processor Slots like I do with my Tyan K8WE motherboard - grgt1994, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1geminitojanus: Great background. But wouldn't the wind also have to be blowing constantly to support your math?
- jerbaker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Jeez dude. I live alone and run my PC 24x7 (which consumes 240W at all times without the CRT). I have a normal refrigerator and run the A/C when it's hot (I live in Southern California with summer temps regularly above 100°F). I use a CRT monitor and televison. I even have lights on a timer that always come on at predetermined times. I consume about 220kWh per month for a grand total of 0.342kW of continuous draw. If it weren't for the PC running 24x7 I would use less than 75kWh per month, or 0.102kW continuous draw.
I don't do anything special to reduce power usage other than using CFL bulbs and turning lights off that I am not using. You don't have to live like a freakin' hippie to stop destroying the planet. - baconlt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Is there a FAQ for building or site for buying some not so expensive device which allows the power to be drawn as available from the turbine, and automatically switch to or balance drawing from the grid?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+8i reported your mum.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0BE A MAN dont woose out and buy a kit
Not if you have the tools to build your own alternator. Seriously when you pay for a kit your paying for someone elses time in addition to the parts, if you know what parts are usualy in a kit you can find them and jerryrig parts often times more effecently than a kit could and do it for cheeper, such as using parts from cars and old apliences in your local scrap yard. and for pennys on the pound. And you call yourslef a MAN wanting to buy a kit and do things the woman way. There is no shame in reading directions however as long as your building a wealth of knowledge to save you money in the long run. Sure if you buy a single unit you can save some time but if you aquire the skills and tools to do it yourself you can quickly build more and more and profit from your experience. We are in a economic state of instability with forign energy dependancy .. even E85 must be processed and what do those companies use to power their large factorys , Coal and Natural Gas!
Anything you can do to learn this skill will help you out in the future especialy if there should be an incident were we are forced to suport ourselfs - bigmark1972, on 05/06/2009, -0/+0It is way cheaper to make your own windmill from a kit.
http://how-to-build-a-windmill.com - GreenApple123, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0
I love my RPTV and recently the lamp blew out on it. I bought a new one from an online site I found called http://www.laptopsforless.com/rptvlamp and it works great. Has anyone else purchased replacement lamps for their RPTV before? Is it OK to do through an online company? - aguspell, on 08/11/2009, -0/+0¿What happens if theres no wind?
- triplehelix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1there are kits all over the net. your not going to be able to put it on your roof though, you'll need a tower and guy wires.
and for those who might be ecologically minded check this out:
http://digg.com/technology/100_mpg_car_available_NOW -
Show 51 - 61 of 61 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is