I have a hard school project, or least it seems hard. My teacher wants me to build a windmill model with nothing but office supplies. Is he crazy? I think so. Any how can anyone help me or point me in the right direction? Thanks.

Sure. But site your sources so you don't get in trouble by your teacher. I've heard that teachers have now caught on to students ability to complete assignments in a few minutes using the Internet and so they are asking you to site your sources if you are using the Internet, like you are right now, to research an assignment.

Goal:
- Convert wind energy into mechanical energy. Tap the mechanical energy produced to generate electricity.

Supplies:
- Chart paper for wings
- Punching machine for holes
- a spoke and pin to assemble the mechanical unit

For a how to demonstration watch the video below.

Convert the Mechanical Energy into Electricity

You can either buy a dynamo or use an old motor from a small walk man or similar appliance. The smaller the motor, the better. Also get a small torch bulb to showcase the electricity produced.

How to:

- Fix the axis or motor on the spoke of the windmill
- Take two electrical wires and connect (solder) the ends to the motor and the other respective ends to the torch bulb.

When there is wind (which you can produce artificially using a table fan) the windmill will rotate, resulting in the motor rotating and the reverse current should be sufficient to glow the bulb.

Duration : 0:3:55

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: assignment, bulb, dynamo, electrical wires, electricity, mechanical energy, MOTOR, office supplies, solder, table fan, teacher, video, wind, wind energy, windmill

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Last November, Californians passed Proposition 1A which was for high speed rail.

High speed rail down the Central Valley will save the environment BIG TIME. The reason is that 1 out of every 7 Americans lives in California according to Census data. This means that a HUGE number of people will be using the high speed rail system. It is estimated that the high speed rail system will eliminate over 12 BILLION POUNDS of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming each year. That is the equivalent of removing more than one million vehicles from the roads.

Yesterday, President Obama signed the stimulus bill that includes $9.3 billion in incentives for high speed and intercity rail projects. California's high speed rail project is eligible for assistance from the stimulus package. Exactly how much we still don't know.

After votors passed Proposition 1A, fighting started over how much this was going to cost and the 22-year schedule for building the high speed rail system. Federal money will help on both fronts by lessening the burden on tax payers and the State of California. Construction should also be able to move forward more quickly.

If you live in California and want to calculate the trip time on the high speed rail system from one city on the route to another (and even the estimated ticked cost) go to:
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/map.htm

Technorati Tags: california construction, californians, central valley, environment, federal money, greenhouse gas emissions, high speed rail, high speed rail project, last november, million vehicles, President Obama, proposition 1a, state of california, stimulus bill, stimulus package

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A friend of mine would like to install a wind generator for electricity but the local power company won't let him connect to the power grid unless he can show that he has a million dollar insurance policy. He has called every insurance company he can think of and no one has this insurance policy that he can buy. The reason that he wants to connect directly to the power grid is that he does not want to have to use a battery bank but instead use the power grid to store electricity. Do you know where can get this kind of insurance policy in the state of Texas? Thanks.

Your friend isn't telling you the whole story. All you need to do is to call your local power company and tell them that you want a reverse meter so that they can measure the amount of energy you are feeding back into the power grid in order to assign you proper credit. There is specific wiring that you need to use that must be approved by your county. They require this specific wiring so that your system doesn't electrocute a lineman who is working on a line somewhere down from your solar power generator.

You don't go and buy a million dollar insurance policy either. You get an umbrella policy on your homeowner's insurance. An umbrella policy is property insurance that goes beyond what the homeowner's insurance covers. This is also sometimes called secondary insurance. You can google this to find a company that will sell this to you.

Just keep in mind that there are quality standards you need to follow if you connect to the power grid. You need a reverse power relay and an automatic transfer switch that will disconnect you from the power grid in case of a power outage. You also need to say "in phase" with the power grid. The manufacturer of the wind generator should tell you everything you need to know to do this.

Technorati Tags: battery bank, energy credits, insurance policy, local power company, power grid, secondary insurance, solar panel, solar panels, solar power generator, state of texas, umbrella policy, wind generator

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Science tells us that when air heats it rises because it becomes lighter in weight. Cooler air weighs more and hence it falls. This means that the air near the ceiling is warmer than the air near the floor. The difference in temperature between the floor and ceiling causes upward air flow as hot air rises.

You can exploit the science of air flow to your monetary advantage by creating a sunroom in your home.

In a sunroom, air is warmed. This warm air enters the house through a strategically placed vent. Once the air is inside the house, it cools and falls to the floor. This cooler air is pulled back into the sunroom by another cleverly placed vent. Once the cooler air is inside the sunroom, it is heated again and the cycle repeats itself over and over again.

The flow of air is controlled in the sunroom by solar powered ceiling fans.

Solar powered vent fans placed into the vent openings in the sunroom also control the flow of air.

If your sunroom can not be attached to your house, you can use solar powered fans in your sunroom to push the warmer air into a vent shaft near the ceiling, and to pull the cooler air into a vent shaft near the floor.

During hot summer months, you can simply close the vents in and out of the sunroom.

Below is a diagram of how to create a sunroom for your home.

Components of a Sunroom (Solar Room)

Build your sunroom on a southern front.

Your sunroom needs a transparent (glass) roof that lets sunlight in. Use double-pane glass. Double-pane glass allows sunlight in while preventing heat from escaping out.

After the sunlight enters the room, you need an absorber that captures the light and turns it into heat. The place to locate this absorber is the floor of your sunroom, on the north side, at the back of the room. Your sunroom should have a concrete floor. Use large drums filled with water and painted black. Seal the lid on the drums to prevent the water from evaporating.

Getting Around Building Code

You do not need electrical wiring or plumbing in your sunroom. Just build it against your house but don't actually connect it to the house (no electricity, water, or continuous wall connections). Building code defines such a structure as a porch.

Technorati Tags: absorber, air flow, ceiling fans, diy solar, glass roof, solar, sunlight, sunroom, transparent glass, vent fans

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The U.S. now leads the world in the amount of electricity produced from wind power. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) based in Brussels announced the news last week.

The U.S. had massive growth in this sector last year. The wind power industry in the U.S. grew by 50% last year to reach 25 GW.

This is the first time that the U.S. has lead the world in the use of alternative energy.

World wide, 120 GW of wind power generators were installed last year. This is a savings of about 158 million tons of CO2 every year.

The world is finally getting educated and doing something serious about countering the effects of global warming.

Even China surprised the world by doubling their wind power usage for the fourth year in a row. China came in 4th place behind the U.S.

Wind power almost costs the same as coal and nuclear sources of energy. Wind power is much cheaper than solar power which explains why wind power is growing at a faster rate than solar power.

The main challenge of both solar and wind power generators is how to store the energy that is produced during off peak usage hours.

To discover more about a promising technology that stores energy in water go to:
http://www.mysolarsecret.com/blog/alternative-energy-investment/the-holy-grail-of-energy-storage-achieved

Technorati Tags: alternative energy, effects of global warming, energy council, energy investment, energy storage, energy world, global wind energy, solar power, wind power generation, wind power generators, wind power industry

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1. Alternative Energy, Solar Power and Wind Power Videos I have put together a compilation of solar power videos, wind power videos, and alternative energy videos for you. These videos will help you learn the latest developments in the...

I'm searching for a cheap way to build a solar panel rather than buying the ones from solar manufacturers. I would like to stay under $1,000 dollars. I think I can save a ton of money because the sun is always shining on my house where I like. Is it posssible to capture some of this light and convert it into energy than can power certain appliances in my house? What would I need to buy? How much time and effort woulld it take? Where can I get the items I need? Thanks.

You have a few options.

Probably the easiest thing you can do is to make a flat plate collector to generate hot water. If you live in a cold climate, you will have to use evacuated tubes which will blow your budget.  The idea is to use a flat plate collector as a pre-heater for your existing hot water system. This will save you money. You can't do a complete solar heating system for your water because it will not fit your budget.

Your second option is to put a solar panel on your roof that will convert sunlight into energy that your home can use. Now get it out of your head that you are going to "make" a solar panel. Do you "make" a computer in your home? No. You don't have the equipment to stamp out a CPU chip or a motherboard. Likewise you can't build a good solar panel at home because you don't have the equipment. What you do is to "assemble" or "build" a computer. You buy the modular parts and then just plug them all together and screw on the computer case. A solar panel system is the same way. You buy the individual parts that make up a solar panel system and then you just plug them together.

The first thing you need to do is to buy a solar panel. Because of your budget, I recommend this 80W panel that will cost about $460. Get it on Amazon here:

80W Solar Panel

The next thing you need is a solar charge controller. This will regulate the flow of electricity from your solar panel to the battery you are charging. You don't want to overcharge or undercharge your battery. A controller will make sure that doesn't happen. Plus, it will tell you when your battery is no longer charging property so you can buy a new one. 

I recommend this cheap solar controller that will cost about $25. Get it on Amazon here:

Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller

Now you will need an inverter. An inverter will take the DC power from your 12 volt battery and convert it into AC power (110V - 220V depending on where you live) like the kind you use in your home. Here is a crazy fire sale special on Amazon for a good inverter that is selling for $30:

Universal 12V DC to 110V-220V AC Power Inverter plus + 5V USB Adapter

Next you need a 12 volt deep cycle battery. This is the more expensive "gel" kind that can be completely charged down without damaging the cells. Cost $225.

MK Deep Cycle Gel Cell 12 Volt Battery

That's it. You should be able to put this rather robust setup together for about $800. This is a good piece-meal approach to solar power. Basically, this setup will allow you to run one small appliance off of this. You could run a light near your computer or something like that. Start off small. Then, when you feel comfortable, you can build upon this setup. Notice that the solar panels I recommended above are modular which means you can just plug in additional solar panels to them. Also, you can buy another deep cycle battery and put two batteries together by wiring them in parallel creating what is called a battery bank.

Technorati Tags: appliances, budget, flat plate collector, hot water system, solar charge controller, solar heating system, solar panel system, sunlight

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