Chimney wind turbine as seen on dragons den and tonights panorama

Yorkityke

I'm overwhelmed by how many knockers and armchair experts there are on this thread. Ready for some hard facts? After Dragons Den I tracked the guy down by searching his name on Google and I bought one of his big turbines after going to see it. Its correct that location is everything. I fitted it on my property which is 1/4 mile in from the White Cliff's between Folkestone and Dover and semi rural. Average wind speed around here is 8mph normally but its been mad recently. It produces useful juice from 5 mph and I've never seen it below that. It started turning as I put it up and as far as I know has never stopped since. I have had an full tank of hot water everyday since. I run the lights circuits off it but not the plugs. Too many apps n toys plugged in. Its not a joke or toy and its virtually silent. I've just been ok'd for a 2,500 grant under the Low Carbon Buildings programme and I've just ordered two more. When they are installed I've arranged for the first one to go back to the factory and be rebuilt with the new levitating bearing set-up which really are silent. Two will give me all the power I need in the house and eventually I will have two feeding into the National Grid which will pay me 0.52p a Kw from April 2010. I wish that was all in place now. The winds down here over the last 3 wks have had it pumping KW out as never before. It's bugged me for years how we are held over a barrel by power and oil companies. Bring on the electric cars, then I'll really be winning. The comments about the 30 cm Turbine are incorrect, power out put is relative but it would be more suitable for a caravaner or boat owner. If anyone saw the Panorama prog you might remember the Presenter looking at a 25K windmill turbine. He actually bought the SETs instead and saved 23K and he will recover his outlay within 12 months on his savings. It will take me a bit longer but the Government are buying two of them for me. I like vertical turbines because they don't throw ice at me, take off in a high wind or self destruct slinging deadly blades and scrapnel around if aren't home to switch it off .. and it doesn't drum or whish. Oh and there is no way grid electricty can power my electronics. Short story is ... don't knock it til you've tried it personally! And from what I have just learned on Friday one of the popular High St shops are just about to sign a deal to have all their stores fitted with them. Check out the Low Carbon building prog and get yours free too .. and they don't sign off on crap or cons. 30 million is sat there waiting for you to ask for it. For me, I just got some of my PAYE back lol. Oh and if you are thinking of solar ... and carbon footprint is important to you, the solar panels are so carbon intensive to produce presently mining, transport, manufacture.. some will never negate their own footprint deployed in the UK.

Cardew

Yorkityke wrote: »

I'm overwhelmed by how many knockers and armchair experts there are on this thread. Ready for some hard facts? After Dragons Den I tracked the guy down by searching his name on Google and I bought one of his big turbines after going to see it. Its correct that location is everything. I fitted it on my property which is 1/4 mile in from the White Cliff's between Folkestone and Dover and semi rural. Average wind speed around here is 8mph normally but its been mad recently. It produces useful juice from 5 mph and I've never seen it below that. It started turning as I put it up and as far as I know has never stopped since. I have had an full tank of hot water everyday since. I run the lights circuits off it but not the plugs. Too many apps n toys plugged in. Its not a joke or toy and its virtually silent. I've just been ok'd for a 2,500 grant under the Low Carbon Buildings programme and I've just ordered two more. When they are installed I've arranged for the first one to go back to the factory and be rebuilt with the new levitating bearing set-up which really are silent. Two will give me all the power I need in the house and eventually I will have two feeding into the National Grid which will pay me 0.52p a Kw from April 2010. I wish that was all in place now. The winds down here over the last 3 wks have had it pumping KW out as never before. It's bugged me for years how we are held over a barrel by power and oil companies. Bring on the electric cars, then I'll really be winning. The comments about the 30 cm Turbine are incorrect, power out put is relative but it would be more suitable for a caravaner or boat owner. If anyone saw the Panorama prog you might remember the Presenter looking at a 25K windmill turbine. He actually bought the SETs instead and saved 23K and he will recover his outlay within 12 months on his savings. It will take me a bit longer but the Government are buying two of them for me. I like vertical turbines because they don't throw ice at me, take off in a high wind or self destruct slinging deadly blades and scrapnel around if aren't home to switch it off .. and it doesn't drum or whish. Oh and there is no way grid electricty can power my electronics. Short story is ... don't knock it til you've tried it personally! And from what I have just learned on Friday one of the popular High St shops are just about to sign a deal to have all their stores fitted with them. Check out the Low Carbon building prog and get yours free too .. and they don't sign off on crap or cons. 30 million is sat there waiting for you to ask for it. For me, I just got some of my PAYE back lol. Oh and if you are thinking of solar ... and carbon footprint is important to you, the solar panels are so carbon intensive to produce presently mining, transport, manufacture.. some will never negate their own footprint deployed in the UK.

First post eh. Nothing to do with the firm selling them I suppose.

A full tank of hot water every day! Rubbish!

At 8 mph winds even the 50cm industrial version produces 10 Watts. So if the wind blew all day at 8mph that would produce 240 Watts.(0.24kWh) and cost less than 3p if you were getting it from the mains.

That has to go to a battery, then an inverter and heat your water. Even if that process lost no power(and it obviously would use a lot) you have 0.24kWh to heat a full tank of water.

How did you feed that 0.24Watts into the tank?

Now the best well lagged hot water tanks available will lose 2 kWh a day in heat. So you would need 8 times the 0.24kWh generated to replace the lost heat from the tank.

Have you forgotten you had the immersion heater switched on?

Just a joke!!

P.S.
This 'armchair expert' is a Chartered Electrical Engineer!

For_Keeps

kippen_noedel wrote: »

Cardew does have a serious point based on the figures the company specifications they themselves declare
for the price of the 40cm & the 45amp controller, (excluding fitting & rewiring) it will take 28years of average 8mph winds to break even based on todays cheapest electricity rates.

Maybe he does but I guess its how he gets his point across.

I was looking into this and I do appreciate both sides but what I have found is I'm better sticking to old fashion savings like only boil the correct amount of water you need for tea, coffee and when cooking. I find covering pans when cooking heats up quicker so use less gas. I shower instead of baths (much cleaner anyway), when I'm cold I put on more clothes. I regulate my rads depending on which rooms we spend the most time in. I found that when I looked into all these new technology it actually costs a hell of alot and you probably looking at a minimum of 5-7 years (on the cheapest) to get back (in savings) on your original layout. So I would really say be very careful when sales people tell you all about the savings you going to make because you probably won't make any before 15 years

Cardew

kippen_noedel wrote: »

Cardew does have a serious point based on the figures the company specifications they themselves declare
for the price of the 40cm & the 45amp controller, (excluding fitting & rewiring) it will take 28years of average 8mph winds to break even based on todays cheapest electricity rates.

Kippen

By my calculations, even taking the impossible situation of winds blowing constantly at 8mph(i.e 24/7) it will take hundreds of years not 28 years.

The 40cm SET produces 6 Watts with an 8mph wind.

6w x 24 hours x 365days = 53kWh so electricity worth approx £5 a year.

The set up will cost around £1500.

The whole thing is a joke.

Yorkityke

kippen_noedel wrote: »

now now tyke, no need to live up to the nickname by threatening people

Cardew does have a serious point based on the figures the company specifications they themselves declare
for the price of the 40cm & the 45amp controller, (excluding fitting & rewiring) it will take 28years of average 8mph winds to break even based on todays cheapest electricity rates.

True and True ... me threatening Noooo ... I'm a !!!!!cat. I just don't suffer fools readily.

I'm not dissin you ... but anyone who lives in the UK knows any figures can be spun to mean whatever. Smart Power who are friendly, approachable and open know that too and have deliberately talked the performance down. As have several American companies I've talked with too. And they know all about been sued for sub-performance money back over in the US. SmartPower subscribe to the 'Good service is about giving customers more than they expect' deal I have found. Get the sellers quotes in writing and if it doesn't live up get your money and insatllation costs back. Soon smarten them up.

The reality is that if you are serious about getting into the wind power thing, reducing your carbon footprint and trying to tap into the Feed-in Tariff then the you need to get the biggest unit you can afford that fits your circumstances. I discounted the prop turbines and invested in verticals. If you can get the biggest you'll get 2.5Kw a day in the right location. Get two and you are in front.

The government WILL buy you two!!!! If you ask. I did .. and they have.

More options will open up when the Government gets its but..t into gear over permissible developments. I reminded Ed Milliband of that yesterday morning on a 38 Degrees ground breaking mass phone in. (Wave Day).

I didn't mount mine on the roof I have it on a temporary moveable platform which circum navs planning. The Planning Office didn't seem to have much of a problem with a replacement chimney or four anyway ... but I went for the big suckers and didn't want to tempt them into a 'the present law is ...' position.

Lets make it clear ... Forget it if you are buried in an urban/suburban environment ... but there will be options for those people shortly. I won't say more at this time, to avoid car dewdrops bias accusations (breaking news on that later) but I've had such a good result that I'm exploring options.

Alot of the wind speed sites are pants, one inputs your postcode, you have three options, rural, urban , suburban enter each for the same code and get different figures. Helpful ... not.

As for the yield/repayment scenario many figures are off the mark if people use their bonces. The Low Carbon Buildings Prog ... who I don't also work for ... ( actually I've done more promoting of it than the Gov' ... for no personal gain!) ...

... will give you up to 2,500 pounds for your RE instalation.

Forget 28 yrs(?) or whatever, you get your PAYE back to pay for it.

Everything else be it 3p an hour or what ever (and its much more) is profit.

I work at this sort of thing because I can see the tankers off shore holding us to ransom for oil and have found a way to get 10p back of every litre of diesel I buy. The dismissed 3p+ goes to that too grab it back philosophy too. Old saying, watch the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.

Efficency will improve now the dogs can see the bones. Who would have thought a little car would have done 80mpg the Xmas petrol went to 50p a gallon. Who cared?

There is 30 million pounds still in the Low Carbon Buildings prog and it goes back to the Gov in April 2010. Whatever you buy into for goodness sakes ask for your share.

As for Arch knocker Cardew, you need to have a bit of imagination and change you name on other sites you subscribe to if you don't want to be discovered.

Turns out folks that old Car Dewdrop owns a carbon heavy Solar Panels business!

And on that note ... I'm off to Mount Blanc while the snow is still deep and crisp and both legs are pointed in the same direction. Peace. :A

Cardew

I think we should accept that Mr Yorkityke is a little eccentric.

kippen_noedel

Yorkityke wrote: »

I'm not dissin you ... but anyone who lives in the UK knows any figures can be spun to mean whatever

lol, I didn't use anyones figures, only a simple calculator and simple arithmetic.

I will certainly NOT be buying one based on your absolutely astounding results that bear no semblance to anything quoted by the manufaturer. That would be a bit like me buying a car because you said you get 1000mpg on yours.

when the price drops 80% or electricity rises 400% I might reconsider, until then
'hot dry rock geothermal generation' is the way to go.

Yorkityke

Can't believe I've logged on, on holiday. But ... was that a whoosh I heard? lol.

Are we now been made to believe that anyone who takes part in extreme sports is eccentric? Oh .. and has a wind turbine?? Is that libelous?? Eccentric ... Maybe ... why be boringly 'normal'?.

We'll discuss the concept around the Chalet's log fire tonight in Chamonix Mont Blanc, memories of soggy Britain fading away ... and see if anyone would prefer to be sat at home in the armchair, paying homage to Victor Meldrew. Good come back though Mr Dewdrop hahaha. MOTHER!! .. Get the big net ... we've caught a whopper!

sequence

:rotfl::T

Good thread

1carminestocky

LOL. I see the internet's well 'ard triumvirate, Hunt, Punt & Cunningham are at it again. Hilarious.