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gotwind
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
1067 Posts |
 Posted - 10/10/2008 : 19:46:30
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Ben,
Stop concentrating on wind power which is only 30% or so efficient, as wind farms would not be built if there wasn't huge grants.
Concentrate on water power - river and tide as I am.
I am working on a radical new propeller/impeller design which once I have carried out trial, could be revolutionary.
Good luck and regards
Mike Gilbert
Hydro is great and usually available 24/7, however how many of us have a river at the foot of our properties, 1% maybe..
Ben.
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Tim
New Member
77 Posts |
Posted - 10/10/2008 : 21:05:44
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I'd love to win the lottery (have to start playing it first) and buy a place with a stream running down a hill past it. Would put a waterwheel in (I know, even overshot not as efficient as a Pelton or Turgo but Oh how much more aesthetic), run an alternator off it for electricity, and also mechanically run a heat pump off it with the exchanger in the tailrace, all going back to the house with a foot of insulation in all walls and roof, and heatsinking first to a large insulated concrete slab under the foundations, then to an indoor pool set in a huge south-facing conservatory where I could grow mangoes, figs, passionfruit, pomegranates, pineapples and breadfruit.
However like 99.9% of the people in the UK, not a sausage of a chance. |
Edited by - Tim on 10/10/2008 21:12:23 |
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BushWhacker
Junior Member
Canada
339 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2008 : 03:58:26
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Umm, Tim, with most lotteries having a 1 in 14,000,000 chance of winning the jackpot I think you forgot a few 9's after the decimal.
Cheers, and good luck (perhaps you will find the winning ticket lying on the ground)
BW
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler. - Albert Einstein |
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Gill
New Member
Australia
55 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2008 : 05:39:29
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I can see where he is coming from and tend to agree from a community viewpoint. With large and dry Australia, 70% of it's population lives within a 1 hour drive of the coast and the power of millions nay BILLONS or TRILLIONS of tones of water raised and lowered twice each day by tidal forces, the potential here is huge, far larger, predictable and reliable than wind. For the UK with it's more dense population I'm not surprised they take a more progressive approach in this regard but we still build much too small for the power available. I have a hydro and it is great, far better than my wind and solar put together and cheaper than either to make and run... WHEN I HAVE WATER FLOWING. The individual rarely has access to suitable fresh water flows let alone tidal flows. The individual can only experiment with what he has access to and for most of us that is wind. As true as I feel Mike's appraisal of available energy is, it would be better directed toward government rather than the individual developer. It is after all "What you do with what you've got". Don't stop building windmills and do nothing. Keep up the good work fellas! Well, that's my opinion.
Cheers... Gill |
Edited by - Gill on 11/10/2008 05:52:35 |
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