Wind Energy

[mattphillips78]

Hi,

i have an allotment which is really windy and exposed, and there is usually at least a strong breeze there. i'm looking for ways to harness this energy, just at the level of being able to charge our mobile phones, ipods etc. Has anyone any ideas how I can achieve this and the best products to go for?

Thank you for your help in advance,

Matthew Phillips

[xone]

Hi, if it's wind energy you want to harness you could get a simple caravan turbine and hook that up to an inverter. I don't know much about small caravan turbines. Failing that you could get a 200 watt or more turbine attached to many deep cycle batteries which in turn is hooked up to an inverter. Thing is it'd cost quite a lot of money just for charging mobiles and ipods, espically when you can buy solar chargers for all these items on ebay for less than £20 and if you remember to charge them up before you leave the house you don't even need to worry about spending £20 on a solar charger. Another option is to get, assuming you travel to the allotment by car, a car charger for the mobile, ipod etc.

I wouldn't fancy leaving a whole load of renewable energy kit at an allotment either, I've started seeing turbines and solar panels being nicked form those road signs that light up when you approach them.

[dave45]

I have to agree - if its just for small-scale battery charging don't even think about wind. It is expensive, oversold, moving parts, and difficult. Solar is also expensive, but not as much, oversold, NO moving parts and easy.

[greenupma]

Wind is actually cheaper than solar, though that is only a relative statement. Solar - no moving parts, yes that's certainly a plus, but if the place is a windy place (and possibly not a very sunny place), micro wind turbines will be a much better bet, don't you think?

[dave45]

Well if you have very long pole on the top of a ridge or hill, and no obstructions, and a high average wind speed, then maybe :-)

not your normal allotment position though !

http://www.scoraigwind.com/ is worth a read