Solar VS Wind power

Post by **Bendyknees** » 31 Dec 2006, 15:56

Got chatting to a freaky looking new age traveller in a psychedelic Bedford CF today8) Noticed he had an extendable mast on the back of his van and i asked him what it was for, his reply surprised me. He had a small wind tubine which sat on the top. As I continued the convo' i started askin why he didnt go for solar (which he did have as well), but he was addiment that uneless your solar panel is huge and the weather fair they are pretty poo, however the turbine would kick out about 280watts in a 30mph wind

Now ive been lookin at these and they start at about £255 which aint cheap, but neither is a 200w rated solar panel. So the question is seeing as i use my van as much in the winter as in the summer which 1 do i go for?
Now i know that you rarely get a steady 30mph wind even in winter/spring so 200+ watts of power is going to be faily infrequent, and in the summer you can go for weeks witout breeze, but in winter you can go for a week without decent sun, and when it does come out, at our position in the world you are hardly going to get peak output from your panel.

Post by **sixsprings** » 31 Dec 2006, 16:43

if you let me know the weekends you'll be camping over the next few years, then i can let you know if they'll be windy, or sunny

seriously, it's an impossible question, a bit of both is the answer, along with a petrol generator for the days neither is working. sorry

Post by **Other-Power** » 31 Dec 2006, 18:29

Hello, first thing my first post on here.

Ill get around to telling my story in a post soon.

To power a van by wind is a bit of challenge but not impossible. First things first you need to work out your electrical power consumption. When you have worked this out then you can go around buying (boring and expensive) or making (fun and cheaper) a wind turbine! There easy to understand with a little mechanical understanding and GCSE physics!

For me to help, tell me your power needs and let's say 15mph winds then I can help you loads more.

Sorry to jump in with out saying who i am but this is my area of knowledge.

Any one else wants to know more PM me.

Regards Jonathan

Post by **leroy99** » 01 Jan 2007, 12:10

when i get my van on the road i was going to try and mess on with wind so that when im camping i could put up the turbine and charge the leisure batt a little over night. i would be interested how other people are going about this, im not into spending loads of cash but like making my own things, i was going to mess on with old alternaters etc..

Post by **KarlT** » 01 Jan 2007, 20:58

Hmmmm! Will follow thread with interest!

Post by **Other-Power** » 01 Jan 2007, 22:16

Hello again.

Car altornators are ok but you need to gear them and then that means losses and extra work.

ill repost some info on this in a couple of weeks when i hope i have my van.

Regards Jonathan