WE POSTED A PICTUE OF A SINGLE SAVONIUS TURBINE. TWO OR MORE CAN BE STACKED. WE SHALL DISCUSS HE ALTERNATOR LATER. LET US LOOK AT HE SAVONIUS TURBINE. JUST LKE THE ANEMOMETER, THE SAVONIUS TURBINE HAS A DRAG PROBLEM. BOH THE FRONT OF ONE SCOOPER AND THE REAR OF THE OTHER SCOOPER FACE THE WIND.THERE IS A DRAG ON THE BACK OF THE SECOND SCOOPER. THIS IS PARTIALLY RESOLVED BY PUTING 3 SCOOPERS SO THAT WSHEN ONE SCOOPER IS FACING THE WIND, THE OTHER TWO SCOOPERS ARE NOT DIRECTLY GIVING HEIR BACKS TO THE WIND. IF YOU CAN IMAGINE THE TURBINE BEING TURNED BY A 6 O'CLOCK WIND,ACTUALLY ONLY SIDE IS AT WORK TURNING THE TURBINE. lET US SAY THE RIGHT SCOOPER FACING THE 6 O'CLOCK WIND. THE LEDT SCOOPER IS IN FACT A DRAG! WHAT IF WE CAN PUT A COVER IN FRONT OF THE LEFT SCOOPER, THEN WE REMOVE THE DRAG. BU WE CANNOT FIX THIS COVER SINCE THE WIND DIRECTION CHANGES. LIKE FROM 6 O'CLOCK, IT MOVES TO 9 O'CLOCK. GHIS IS WHERE THE COVER IS VANED AND ALWAYS MOVE TO WHERE THE WIND IS COMING FROM. IMAGINE YOUR TURBINE INSIDE A CIRCULAR CAGE. AROUND THE CAGE IS SHROUD WHICH COVERS HE DRAG SIDE AND IT PIVOTS AROUND THE CAGE DEPENDIGN WHERE HE WIND IS COMING FROM. IT HAS VANE OPPOSITE THE COVER TOLAIGN THE SHROUD. THIS IS DISCUSSED FOR UNDERSTANDING BU MANY TURBINS IN THE OLD WEST ID NOT HAVE THIS SHROUD AND WORKED WELL. A PICTURE MIGHT BE FOUND LATER ON AND POSTED HERE. WE INTRODUCED THE PROBLEM OF DRAG. MANY DESIGNERS OF THE NEWER TURBINES INTRODUCED SHAPED TURBINES TO MAXIMIZE SCOOPING AND LESSEN DRAG.

ONE DESIGN IS AN OPEN TOP THE SCOOPER TO MAKE THE WIND MOVE UPWARD ALONG THE SCOOPER. AT THE SAME TIME THE AREA OF HE BACK OF THE SCOOPERS IS REDUCED, REDUCING DRAG.

HELLO EVERYONE. IT HAS BEEN A WHILE AND I WILL JUST CONTINUE USING THIS BLOG ON ALTERNATIVE ENERGY. BUT WE WILL SKIP SOLAR ENERGY IN THE FOLLOWNG DISCUSSION AND COVER WINDPOWER TO GENERATE ELECTRICTY. THE PRO OF WINDPOWER IS IT IS 24 HOURS, EXCEPT WHEN THE WEATHER IS SO CALM. SOLAR POWER REQUIRES LIGHT. THE CON IS IT IS MECHANICAL AND INVOLVES MOVEMENGTS AND HAS VIBATION ISSUES AND GENERAL WEAR AND TEAR. WE CAN PROBABY SAY THAT THE EARLIEST USE OF WINDPOWER WERE THE BOATS WITH SAILS. BUT USING PROPELLERS TO CREATE ROTATION , CREDIT SHOULD PROBABLY GIVEN TO THE DUTCH WINDMILLS. ALL THEY DO IS TO CHURN BUTTER TO CHEESE. LET'S REVIEW THE DUTCH WINDMILL. THEY ARE BIG WITH HUGE PROPELLERS AND TURNED SLOWLY BUT WITH HIGH TORQUE. THIS TORQUE CAN BE COVERTED TO SPEED WITH GEARS. THE DUTCH WINDMILLS FACED ONE DIRECTION AND DO NOT HAVE RUDDER VANES. WELL, THIS TYPE OF WINDMILL IS NOW CALLED HAWT, HORIZONTAL AXIS WIND TURBINES. THEN MOST OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE ANEMOMETER. THREE CUPS SPNNING AND CAPTURES AIR PRESSURE FROM ANY DIRECTION. NO VANES ARE NEEDED. THE AXIS IS SKYWARD, THUS, IT IS A VERTICAL AXIS WIND TURBINE OR VAWT. WE DISCUSSED TWO MAIN TYPES OF WINDPOWER DEVICES. EARLY WINDPOWER ELECTRICITY GENERATORS IN THE U.S. ------------------------------------------------- THE EARLY WIND TURBINES IN U.S. FARMS WERE VAWTS. AMERICAN PRACTICALITY AT WORK. DRUMS AND CAR ALTERNATORS WERE ABUNDANT IN THE U.S. THE 55 GALLON STEEL DRUM WAS SPLIT TO TWO HALF SCOOPERS AND ARRANGED TO FACE OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. THE DRUM HALVES OVERLAPPED NEAR THE CENTER WHERE THE SHAFT IS. THE SHAFT WAS HELD BY BEARINGS ON BOTH ENDS. THE OVERLAP ALLOWS THE AIR FLOW TO CIRCULATE TO THE OTHER HALF. PLACED IN A LOCATION WHICH HAS STRONG WIND CURRENTS, THIS TURBINE CAN DEVELOP TREMENDOUS SPEED AND TORQUE. IT IS CALLED THE SAVONIUS TURBINE. PLACED ON THE GROUND, A CAGE PROTECTED PEOPLE FROM GETTING HIT COMING NEAR THE TURBINE. A CAR ALTERNATOR IS LINKED TO THE SPINNING SHAFT WITH BELTS AND PULLEYS. CAR ALERNATORS NEED A BATTERY TO EXCITE THE ROTATING ARMATURE. BUT ONCE SPINNING, IT WILL SELF EXCITE WITH GENERATED POWER SENT BACK TO THE ARMATURE'S ELECTROMAGNET. MANY ISOLATED FARMS IN THE U.S. HAD LIGHTS AT NIGTH AND POWER THE WHOLE DAY. THE SAVONIUS VAWT IS AS SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE AS IT CAN BE AND ALTERNATORS EASY TO OBTAIN BY BUILDERS.

Update 8-2014

Was in Raon last weekend and solar panels are everywhere with prices down to P70 per watt. The Taiwan made are more expensive and one store claim that they have German made SP but he himself suspects they are from China. 100 AH deep cycle battery can cost as low as P5k.

UPDATES:

     We are planning to build models of VAWT like the Savonious and the Lenz2 turbines. We shall attache stepper motors which have permanent magnets inside (PM). We plan of table top models to be spun by an E fan or a "garden" model, sitting on a 10 foot poles on the ground.

     On solar panels, it is in the news that ADB is allocating     70M dollars for alternative energy investgments. We believe this will be through banks.

     Solar Panels is down to about P150/watts, so a 100 wattter will cost P15k. Output is 5.6 ampere and given 8 hours in day with sunlight, it will produce rought 45 AMPERE-HOUR.

     What is 45 AH? Well, it can run 45 20 watts flourescent for 1 hour. or 9 for 5 hours.


BK

Lenz2

Hi Greenogie. welcome. I saw you as a registered follower. thanks....I will be posting  easy to built turbines at first small models then full size using recycled parts. WELCOME

BK

Solar + Wind

The voque today is to go Solar and Windpower. When there is inclement weather, chances are it will be sunless and windy, a windgen can be handy.

A nice wind turbine today seems to be the Lenz2, vertical axis wind turbine or VAWT. Google it.

The author recently  built a VAWT with 5 blades. It was 1.2M tall and 1 M in diameter. It is somewhere in STa Rosa. VAWT are slow, so a low speed gen is required.

Watch our for our "Practical Windpower Gen.We are experimenting using a car aircon motor which has permanent magnets but uses a commutator. It is a DC generator and uses brushes. We are building a HAWT, the usual propeller and we shall be using PVC for the blades which will be around one meter long. TGhe center hub will be from an electric fan metal blades.

We are also experimenting with VAWTs such as the Savonius type, the Lenz type, and some our own. Following is VAWT 101:


Vertical turbines are not as efficient as Horizontals. For most of us, we remember the ANEMOMETER in airports. That is a VAWT. Usually 3 cups evenly spaced. The front of the cup is pushed by incoming wind. For the same of fundamentals, let us imagine a 2 cup anemometer. Say the wind is six o' clock and the cups are on 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock. And say the, the cup on 3'clock is pushed by the wind. The cup on 9 o'clock is showing its rear right? Since it has no cavity like the one at 3 o'clock, the force there is less. In other words, the wind is actually pushing both cups from 6 o'clock towards 12 o'oclock but there is a differential since the front of the cup with the cavity is acceopting a bigger "push". so, the one at 9 o'clock is actually a drag. So, only  one cup is working, the other one in fact is a drag. One solution is to cover the drag side but the cover has to change direction according to where the wind is coming from. It can be done with a cover which rotates and has a vane to always face the  wind.

Another appraoch is to build cups with a shutter. A window at the rear open inwards when the rear is facing the wind but closes when the wind is hitting the cavity. Now a patent in the U.S,as claimed in the web, is a design where the shutters look like jalousies which opens on one side and closes on the other side.

BK