anyone viewed the : Michael HarveyRenewable energy and creator of Earth4Energy.com ? is it helpful ?
looking for info on building a wind generator and alternate energy, His site says it offers low cost solutions and info. Just wondering if it is good or just fluff ?
Or can anyone tell me of an information source for wind generators. . . and can they be hooked up directly into a fuse box panel ?
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 13th, 2010 at 4:08 am
This earth4energy stuff is a scam.
There are however some really good wind resources, including a book that takes you through the details. Details below.
Homebrew Wind Power
A HANDS-ON GUIDE TO HARNESSING THE WIND
Dan Bartmann & Dan Fink
Foreword by Mick Sagrillo
ISBN: 978-0-9819201-0-8
Published by Buckville Publications LLC
This book also covers the theory so it is a great reference. Their work is based on the work of other pioneers in the field. I will put in a few links below that are trustworthy.
Now for the fuse box question.
You can’t mix the utility power with wind or solar unless you have some sophisticated and expensive grid-tie units.
More commonly, the wind generator sends its energy to a charge controller which charges a bank of batteries. An inverter takes the power from the batteries and converts it to 120 volts AC. The AC power could then be fed to a fuse box panel that was dedicated for this purpose.
There are lots of variations, and if money is no object, there are lots of nice solutions. If you are on a budget then you need to be more creative.
In any case, order the book listed above. These people really do build working, commercial quality, generators from scratch — scratch as in starting with magnets and wire, and it covers everything. I think it is the only book of its type on the market.
Be aware that the internet is swamped with this Earth4Energy stuff. I have a writeup on some of their foolishness here http://www.nlcpr.com/Deceptions6.html
Good luck and have fun.