How to Generate Home Renewable Energy

[Antaletriangle]

http://www.44power.com/whatreallyhappened/
Home Made Energy
http://www.homemadeenergy.org/?hop=cyprusmete
By far the easiest-to-follow guide we came across - our own experience says you should set aside maybe half a day to buy the parts and get it fully installed. This kit includes information for generating energy using solar panels and wind turbines.

This is the only guide that assumes absolutely no knowledge about power engineering. Impressively, our support ticket was responded to in under an hour (although it could take a little longer at weekends), and there is an unconditional 8 week money-back guarantee.

Best of all, the technology required is readily available and cheap - we were able to access all the parts needed for well under $100. Given that its proven to decrease the power bill by as much as 80%, in some cases even completely, you could well recoup your investment in under two weeks.

The installation of this kit can be done on any kind of house or building. Home Made Energy is aimed squarely at electricity "novices", and it is still our top pick for 2008.

October 2008 Update : there is now a promotion running on the site, and it is temporarily available for $49 instead of $297 - as such, we recommend ordering sooner rather than later.

Rating 8.5/10
Ease of Use
Power Savings
Customer Support
Environment Benefits


2. Earth For Energy

http://www.earth4energy.com/

Our second pick uses a similar technology as our top pick - and again, we were impressed by the fast support, money-back guarantee and low setup costs.

This kit includes comprehensive information on how to set up home solar panels with cheap materials, explained in a simplistic easy to understand manner.
All in all, it's a fairly decent package which means you can be enjoying solid energy savings for very little, very quickly. So why only four stars?

Well, perhaps we were spoiled by our top pick, but we found the directions a little harder to follow - and since ease of use is so important, we decided to knock off a star. But this product contains a good information about wind power generators, as well as solar panels.

Click Here to Get Access to EarthForEnergy

3. DIY Home Solar Power
http://www.diyhomesolarpower.com/?hop=cyprusmete
DIY Home Solar Power is our third and final pick, and it actually includes 2 separate courses to help you create your own Home Solar System.

They report up to 50% reduction in the power bill - however the guide wasn't so easy to follow, because it required some technical knowledge

When a support ticket was submitted in order to inquire about some technical difficulties with the installation process, our support ticket was not responded to. A full, hands-on support system is vital if a relative "novice" is to install the technology, and here unfortunately it just wasn't there.

Overall this is a decent product, but unlike our top pick, it includes only information about Home Solar Panels, without including sufficient information on Wind Power Generation.

Click Here to Get Instant Access to DIY Home Solar Power

These days everyone needs solar energy.
Why?
Gas prices so high.. Electricity is so expensive..
Save your Money - Just think about it:
Don't pay for your electricity any longer...
Instead, the power company will pay YOU...

[Dantheman62]

Hey A, I wonder if this could be developed into a business?

I am pleased to announce that my electric rate increased
this billing cycle, but my total bill dropped along with our
consumption.

Our average consumption runs about 9 kwh per day. This
billing cycle it dropped to 7.5 average per day. This includes a freezer a fridge washer and dryer.

The drop in consumption is due to the use of kerosene
lamps for lighting. The more you do it the better you get
at it. One hurricane lantern per person goes with you from
room to room. The large area lamps go out when you leave
the room. We aren't hurting and it is cheaper than solar.
We used 15 gallons of kerosene last month. Most of that
went for space heating with 1-2 gallons for lighting

[Dantheman62]

Hey Baggy I was hoping you would get in this thread because of your experience, what do you think of the link in the above post by Anta? I mean is it that easy to make your own solar and wind power without going with big commercial units?

Originally Posted by Dantheman62

Hey Baggy I was hoping you would get in this thread because of your experience, what do you think of the link in the above post by Anta? I mean is it that easy to make your own solar and wind power without going with big commercial units?

Do your homework!

There is a ton of resource available for free on the net.
Two pay sources I can personally vouch for are
Home Power Magazine
http://www.homepower.com/store/index...ge=item&pid=14
Charlie's video is an inspiration and introduction
http://www.alternativepowervideo.com/index.htm

Do your homework!

Solar is not free and it is not a panacea. After studying it
and owning an old ailing system for 5 years I think the
Amish have the best line on solar power
http://features.csmonitor.com/backst...-a-simple-way/

Keep it small, keep it simple, and always have a backup.

[Dantheman62]

O.K. Alright already geez, I'll do my homework! Since I'm not to busy not looking for a job! LOL! I'll look at the links and go from there, Thanks, Oh and I know nothings free, this is America! Land of the free, where nothin's free! HaHa

[Anchor]

Its easy to do, but the startup costs are high - especially if you want to go fully off-grid.

IMHO you dont go Solar to save money - you go Solar for independance.

A..

[Marian-Librarian]

Antaletriangle,

Have you any experience with this product that you could give us first hand knowledge? I would really like to know...the size of the small grid couldn't possibly run all of those items....not enough power...

Also, when using keo in the house...be sure to use a CO2 detector, as the fumes can be toxic in a tight house. When we used a small kero heater from our local home store we kept a tri-level house comfortable...not warm, but comfortable. The house had 1800 sq feet.

A CO2 detector is a must, as this is a silent killer...you go to sleep...and you never wake up. My son is a professional fireman, and insisted I get one to keep us safe...good advise.

I have also used camping lights(propane) inside when we have had storms...but again, have a window cracked for source of fresh air...

A propane stove is great too to cook on when the lights go out....and it is FAST.

I really would love to see more people post here about any first hand experience with different/alternate energy sources....good to brainstorm and share....

[Dantheman62]

Here's a great site!....http://www.mrsolar.com/content/solar...-inverters.php Am I over simplifying this or can't you just use a wind mill type set up geared to run a 200 or even 300 amp automobile alternator or set of alternators, regulating that to charge a set of 6 or more deep cycle batteries and then invert the DC to AC for your home by either multiple convertors or one multi-outlet convertor? Using all large gauge wire to eliminate voltage drops across long distances. Seems simple!, am I missing something?

[Anchor]

@DTM62:

Wow, you have automobile alternators that big?

To your last point, it is quite simple if you understand the basics of DC and AC.

With some inginuity you can generate electricity from sources of energy that move anything especially where the movement is rotation: Windmills, Waterwheels etc...

The most important thing to get right is the control of the charge voltage so you dont fry your batteries if they become fully charged. For this you need a charge regulator that has the ability to divert excess load to somewhere where it can be just used up (heating the air) or better still making your hot water.

It is better to have higher voltage battery banks, 24v or 48v is common in domestic systems, since this reduces the cabling thicknesses required. Eg: An inverter driving 3600W of load will be pulling over 75A from a 48V battery, but at 12V it will need over 300A - which requires massive heavy and expensive cables and huge fuses, especially as it may surge to twice that.

Domestic systems with battery strings over 48V are rare because the voltages are getting dangerous much beyond that. In Europe you need special certification and conform to strict design rules to make systems over 60VDC, so most people stop at 48V, since the bulk charge voltage on most 48V battery strings made of flooded/wet cells is 57.6V (@2.4V per cell) - just under the limit. I beleive that the US has similar restrictions and personally I think its a good one.

Obviously if you are using automobile parts, then 12V is the way to go, but some lorries or trucks are 24V and these may be a better proposition.

My home system is 24V, at 600Ah with at 3kw inverter, my "portable" system is 12V at 600Ah but only has a 600W inverter.

If I were starting from scratch on a full power off-grid system, I would do it for 48V batteries in the design and about 1200Ah of storage - a massive investment AUD36k, and also 2000kg! (each 2v cell is 82Kg) - with an 18year design life; I would also use redundant inverters 3 x 2.6kw wired in parallel. The model I have in mind can work in teams of up to 5. (Victron or MASS).

(Note: many inverters are sold that can team up to provide greater output power, but you do have to get the ones that are designed to do this - there is normally a data cable that links them all so they can syncronise the outputs into a single phase. Otherwise it's impressively expensive bangs and sparks all round).

A..

[Dantheman62]

http://store.solar-electric.com/ This site has everything you need from solar to wind, to batteries,cables,inverters,towers,specs,and many different manufacturers with all prices too! You could really go from a couple thousand to tens of thousands of dollars depending on what you need or want.

[Dantheman62]

Thanks Anchor for the above info! I greatly appreciate the input! I always try to think of the simplest ways of doing things with the least amount of money. Work smart not hard. LOL! Oh, and the alternators, yes just google high output alternators, I've seen 800 amp 24v alternators!

Originally Posted by Dantheman62

Thanks Anchor for the above info! I greatly appreciate the input! I always try to think of the simplest ways of doing things with the least amount of money. Work smart not hard. LOL! Oh, and the alternators, yes just google high output alternators, I've seen 800 amp 24v alternators!

At otherpower.com they related an issue with using
auto alternators. Can't remember it right now, but will
look. Think it might have to do with rpm's and wind
variability.

It is important enough that they have opted to building
their own generators (some from wood) to accomplish
the mission