ron@logico.UUCP (Ron Moore) (10/30/84)
I live in a mountain pass which routinely get 20-30 m.p.h. winds every
night at dusk and every morning at sunrise. Also, if you are familiar
with Los Angeles weather, there are seasonal winds called the Santa Ana's
which blow through in my area in excess of 100 m.p.h. With all this wind,
there is a corresponding problem with downed power lines. I am consequently
interested in purchasing a windmill for electric power generation, but
there are a lot of variables I still do not know about. How much money
will get you how much power? Who makes them? Can I make my own, from
scratch, or from a kit? What kind of efficiencies are possible and
practical?
Thanks in advance...
--
Ron Moore (818) 887-4950
Logicon, Operating Systems Division
6300 Variel Ave. Suite H
Woodland Hills, Ca. 91367
{the.world}!trwrb!logico!ronems@amdahl.UUCP (Edward Michael Smith) (11/03/84)
> there are a lot of variables I still do not know about. How much money > will get you how much power? Who makes them? Can I make my own, from > scratch, or from a kit? What kind of efficiencies are possible and > practical? > There are many good books on windmills, and several companys that make them. (Also some bogus books and companies...). One book I remember was The Mother Earth Handbook of Homemade Power (?) or something like that. I will get the correct reference from home. It gave several ways to do it your self. As for the purchased windmills, pick up a copy of The Mother Earth News. Lots of ads in it. I also remember having seen a small one advertized in a boating magazine for use on sailing ships... If I remember right (which is often in doubt...) the cost was about $2k per peak kilowatt. $/average kw depends on your wind. -- E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems The opinions expressed by me are not necessarily those of anyone. (And certainly not of Amdahl, any lawyers, and all the ships at sea.)
ems@amdahl.UUCP (Edward Michael Smith) (11/07/84)
> I live in a mountain pass which routinely get 20-30 m.p.h. winds every > there are a lot of variables I still do not know about. How much money > will get you how much power? Who makes them? Can I make my own, from > scratch, or from a kit? What kind of efficiencies are possible and > practical? I found the book! Title: The Mother Earth News Handbook of Homemade Power (c) 1974 by John Shuttleworth, publisher: Bantam Books $1.95 (in 1974...) This is a non-technical introduction to doing it yourself on a shoestring budget. It does also list some manufactures names. It is a bit dated... You can make your own, either from scratch or from a kit. It would not be in the high performance range of the comercial products. High efficiency is about 70% with 40-50% being more typical. With the wind you have, efficiency should not be a problem. Theoretical energy captured by a 70% efficient wind mill at 25 mph is 300 watts for a four foot diameter, 2.6 kilowatts for a 12 foot unit. Some vendors: Henry Clews' Solar Wind Company RFD 2 East Holden, Maine 04429 Has a catalog available for some fee ($2 in 1974) that includes Australian and Swiss units. Dyna Technology, Inc. Box 3263 Sioux City, Iowa 51102 Bucknell Engineering Company 10717 East Rush Street South El Monte, Ca. 91733 Supposedly these folks only make small units. I know that large ones are made. If anyone needs info on them, I still have a few brochures from the last tax season that I could dig out for an address. (In California, at least, there has been a flurry of 'tax advantaged wind investments'). You could ask your tax advisor if they have any... I would like to be included in the distribution for any other info. -- E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems The opinions expressed by me are not necessarily those of anyone. (And certainly not of Amdahl, any lawyers, and all the ships at sea.)