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gotwind
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
1564 Posts |
 Posted - 11/06/2009 : 12:54:08
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Another U.K. company, better Generation have designed the 'power predictor' that may be of interest to some, I have no affiliation with the company.
The power predictor is a simple and inexpensive device that measures the amount of solar power and wind energy that
could be generated by home owners and businesses.
The device forecasts how long it takes to recover the costs of
installing renewable energy equipment. It also recommends the most cost-effective form of
renewable energy and the most appropriate equipment manufacturers.
http://www.bettergeneration.com/power-predictor/power-predictor.html
Ben.
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Fish4Fun
New Member
94 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 15:03:44
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Very cool find! I have been looking for a product that does EXACTLY what this product claims to do. $165 is VERY cheap for the functionality! I have little or no interest in their "front end" for the data; I hope that the file format is relatively easy to extract the data from! As soon as I am fairly confident this company is reputable and their product performs as specified, I will be ordering one of these! If anyone has one of these, please let me know. I would love to know how it performs and have a look at one of their data files! If I get one of these I will write a VB front end to parse the data (unless they have gone to the trouble to encrypt it.)
I am very excited about this :-)
Fish |
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gotwind
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
1564 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 15:17:26
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Hi Fish.
I can certainly confirm the company is reputable, I've known Toby the MD for a number of years, he has been working on this for 2 years.
They are going to send me one to evaluate, so I can give you some further info then, although they do suggest a minimum site evaluation period of 1 month.
I'm fairly certain it will 'do what is says on the box' - The price is indeed cheap compared to other methods, particularly solar sensing over a period of time.
Ben. |
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Toby
Starting Member
United Kingdom
5 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 16:24:16
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Hi there - this is Toby from Better Generation. Thanks for the post Ben. Our objective with the Power Predictor was to create an independent tool for renewables site assessment at an *accessible* price - and hopefully we've achieved that. The file format is CSV, and data can also be downloaded back into Excel from your account at www.powerpredictor.com
Fish - of course you're welcome to write your own parser, but we'd really welcome your input into on our payback platform. We've put a huge amount of effort into providing annualized power production forecasts for a wide range of turbines and solar panel types on the market. Since we're using a web platform we can add, amend or remove wind turbine power curves and other attributes at any time, keeping pace with innovation in the industry.
We will even be able to refine the calculation methodology if any improvements can be identified. We're open to suggestions!
Cheers
Toby
toby@bettergeneration.co.uk
www.bettergeneration.com |
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gotwind
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
1564 Posts |
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Fish4Fun
New Member
94 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2009 : 03:02:06
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Toby,
If you are interested in sending one to the US I would be eager to set it up. Best I can tell the current exchange rate is ~$1.65/ British Pound, not sure about import/export taxes or shipping. I can provide credit card, pay pal or simply mail you a check, whatever is best for you. If you are interested in a simple VB front end, when I get time to get it put together, you can distribute it via GNU if you like it.
Let me know!
Fish |
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daveames
Starting Member
USA
41 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2009 : 06:06:38
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this is some cool tool! i could not buy the components alone for that price, never mind the data logging and number crunching program needed to extract usable data. well done!
i'd like to get in on that deal of getting one sent to the states as well.
ben: i agree that longer data sampling is best- but we may still be able (with a smaller sample) to establish a range of correction for our site with a local reporting station and correct for the rest of the year with those figures.(for wind)
solar might be simpler still..visually confirm that the "solar window" is clear for the rest of the year and correct per local published tables.
kind regards, dave |
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Toby
Starting Member
United Kingdom
5 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2009 : 15:54:42
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Hi again
Thanks for the suggestion on the battery. The battery supplied with the Power Predictor should be good for at least six months by our reckoning, but by our calculations, if you swapped it for a really high quality Duracell, you could get up to two years logging off a single battery!
We put a lot of effort in making the power consumption really low.
@Fish - we've had considerable interest from the US too. If you'd like one, we can certainly arrange shipping for you no problem. Let us know at sales@bettergeneration.co.uk if you want to take it forward.
Best
Toby
www.bettergeneration.com |
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Fish4Fun
New Member
94 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2009 : 17:45:58
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Toby,
An interesting approach to the "battery" might be to develop a small solar charger or mini-turbine that would allow the unit to operate indefinitely, of course sell that as an "accessory":-)
You've got mail ;-)
Fish |
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Tim
Junior Member
156 Posts |
Posted - 14/06/2009 : 17:46:18
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Saw the Power Predictor given UK-wide coverage in today's Sunday Times (or could have been the Sunday Telegraph, have flicked through both).
Cowboys flogging coke-can sized 250KW VAWTS will hate 'em.... |
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gotwind
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
1564 Posts |
Posted - 15/06/2009 : 17:10:34
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I recieved my Power predictor at 9.30 am today.
I had it up and running in approx 10 minutes and was recording/saving data (in 10 minute bursts) to the included 512 mb memory card.
Very easy to get started - I will write a full review page once the 1 month evaluation is complete.
Here is the Power predictor bolted and insulation taped to an aluminium scaffold pole - their is very little weight so a far lighter method could be used (water pipe maybe in the states)
And an instant look at what was currently being 'observed' - Plenty of solar radiation - 6.7? (not sure what that relates to yet).
and a m/s (metre per second) wind speed of 1.6 m/s (approx 4 m.ph). 11.24 being the time.
Ben. |
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Fish4Fun
New Member
94 Posts |
Posted - 28/06/2009 : 06:10:16
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Gotwind, Toby,
Following is the e-mail I sent to Toby on June 12, 2009 :
quote:
Hey Toby,
This is Fish4Fun from GotWind. I am interested in purchasing one of your Power Predictor systems. Please let me know the easiest way to complete this transaction.
Additionally, if there is anything I can help you with in facilitating US distribution, please feel free to contact me about that. I think your product has tremendous potential and I will be happy to help you passively or actively.
With Warm Regards,
xxxxxx
Being a retailer, I am very conscious of the demands and expectations of product merchandising. I understand that Toby is going through an exponential growth period with the emergence of his new product, but as a customer who was very willing to purchase his product at retail, I am feeling a bit "neglected", and I can only imagine how that feeling would be magnified if I had actually sent him money. To his "credit", he has not attempted to take my money, but his lack of response to my inquiry leaves me with a great deal of anxiety about his ability to provide customer service if I were to become a vested consumer.
I fully expect you, as his friend, to delete this post; however, you should seriously consider lending support to MFG/Retailers who fail to provide the same level of professionalism that you provide. I am still interested in his product, but at this juncture I will need to hear a lot of positive responses from his customers before I commit to a purchase. I was willing to purchase based on your ok, now I am not. I have a fairly extensive background in embedded systems and product emergence, I could have been a very good, willing to pay full retail, contact for him, but at this juncture I think he needs to spend some time working on his infra-structure. Don't get me wrong, if his product is what he says, and the price is as indicated, I wouldn't waste my time attempting to duplicate it, and he will have little difficulty selling it, but I no longer have confidence in him, and I will think twice before accepting your approval as unbiased. I am saddened by this. I truly hope that there was some confusion that is easily explained, and I will be the first to apologize if I failed in any way to communicate my desire to purchase his product, but, by the same token, as a consumer, I am now "weary". I truly hate that.
I hope that Toby sells a million units world wide and that my experience was a simple misunderstanding or mis-communication. The amount of work that goes into a unit like this is tremendous, and the number of people potentially interested is also tremendous, but dealing with individuals is how one gets paid for that work. When people are willing to pay you, you really should consider giving them the time of day.
Ben,
If I have "crossed the line", and you would like me to refrain from posting in your forums, all it takes is a simple PM and I will not waste your bandwidth. I hold no grudges against Toby nor you, but I feel you and the other members should be aware of things like this. As stated, if there has been some confusion or misunderstanding, I will be the FIRST to apologize.
Fish |
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gotwind
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
1564 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2009 : 21:28:33
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Hi Fish.
Difficult for me to comment without upsetting someone, I will email Toby myself.
I suspect it is a very busy time for him and his company, with distributors requesting his product all over the world.
Even I get 10s of emails a week, worldwide from people wishing to distribute the Orange prototypes we designed and built, the Orange power pump, the dance charger and mini wind charger.
I must admit, as we have no intention of moving the concepts into production (we do own the patents however) I tend to ignore a lot of the requests.
The 'in production' Power predictor' is slightly differen't as it is commercialy available and I appreciate your concerns.
Lets see what happens 
I also notice Maplin have added £30 to the retail price 
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?moduleno=266979
Ben. |
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Toby
Starting Member
United Kingdom
5 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2009 : 23:34:05
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Fish, Ben
Sorry for the slow response to your postings here/mail. We are currently getting huge volumes of email - although Fish I agree we've let you down in not responding more promptly to your enthusiastic reaction. I did find your original email which is flagged for a response but has obviously not received one yet. Apologies!
We are currently working hard on internationalizing the Power Predictor software so that it will work just as well in the USA and elsewhere. This is no mean feat - it gets complex. Fish I'm going to try and call you tomorrow to see if you would be interested in helping us evaluate the unit on your side of the pond.
Best regards
Toby
www.bettergeneration.com |
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Fish4Fun
New Member
94 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2009 : 18:23:03
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Toby,
As stated, I went into this eager and willing to purchase one of your units, I think your price is fair if the product is as represented. I also fully understand being overwhelmed by e-mails and product inquiries. I run a small retail store, and I gave a great deal of thought about building an "online business" before I finally decided I did not want to go that route, likely for many of the same reasons you are currently experiencing problems. I have no idea how "large" your operation is, but I would suspect that you are currently the primary person in charge of product development, Firmware development, software development, product MFG, Sales, Distribution, Shipping, customer service and quite likely accounting and the "warehouse". Despite my above post, I do fully understand how overwhelming a new venture can be, and I feel a bit ashamed I "called you out" in that manner; however, ultimately I think getting "called out" in a small forum like this can potentially help you in the long run realize how demanding internet consumers can be. I do not envy you!
I will be happy to "evaluate" one of your units in the USA, I would also be happy to simply purchase one of your units. If I do get one of your units, I will almost certainly write a VB front end to parse and display the data, unless the web-based collection of wind/solar data is part of your purpose, I would think a standalone application would simplify your distribution.
Feel free to call, I will PM you my Cell Phone number in the event I am not @ the store.
Fish |
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Victor
Average Member
United Kingdom
666 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2009 : 03:53:13
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I think the unit has great uses.
I`d like to se eit as STAND ALONE for outputting data to a laptop without having to log onto the internet and upload the data to the website...
Overall....Great little device!!
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Edited by - Victor on 03/07/2009 03:54:25 |
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Topic |
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Power predictor - Data collector