Windsine Inc. Blog

State aims to restart LIPA home solar-energy rebates

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:52:10 -0400

Hey Everybody--

Check out this article in today's Newsday:

State aims to restart LIPA home solar-energy rebates

Windsine Receives LIPA Trade Ally Award 2010

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:01:14 -0500

Windsine is recognized as the Long Island Power Authority's (LIPA) first ever Outstanding Wind Program Ally. The certificate of recognition was awarded for Windsine's perseverance and participation in the LIPA Small Wind Energy Program on Long Island. Thank you!

LIPA Rebate Dropping January 1st, 2010

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:42:55 -0500

As expected, LIPA has announced they will adjust the rebate incentive for homes and businesses for their Solar Pioneer Program in the new year. Beginning January 1st, 2010, LIPA will reduce the solar PV rebate amount to $2.75 per watt. So as to take advantage of the $3.50 per watt they now offer, in addition to the State and uncapped Federal tax credits, it may be wise not to hesitate in your decision to install a solar photovoltaic system. Those who apply now for a LIPA rebate will secure the current rebate incentive AND have the option to install the system anytime within 6 months from the date of approval. Delaying could cost you $7,500 in LIPA rebates on an installed 10KW system. To receive the current incentive, applications must be submitted before December 31st, 2009. Happy Savings!

(Click to enlarge article)

12' diam. Axial Flux Wind Turbine Time Lapse

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:22:37 -0400

I built a solar PV powered camera power supply, and this is basically what we do with it. The camera used was a Canon A650is running CHDK firmware for the Ultra Intervalometer. It is powered by the sun, and can basically be used indefinitely, allowing me to shoot many thousands of images in a single session. For this particular video, the images were shot in 15 sec. intervals and then the stills were animated. It is a little jumpy, but I have been practicing with this setup for a little while, and have gotten a little better with the programming. I have been shooting a lot of projects with this setup, so expect to see some more videos soon :-)

Credit to Blu Mar Ten for the audio track, "Starting Over" (amazing track).

More image stills of this setup - look in the gallery: http://windsine.org

A little clip about Hugh Piggott

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:58:59 -0400

Listeroid with Axial Flux alternator

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:46:28 -0400

If any of you have followed my posts on Fieldlines: (view here) in the past, you will recognize my Lister engine. I got this around the end of 2007, and started playing around with it in hopes to build a reliable back-up DC generator that would charge our batteries during extended periods of inclement weather. I wanted it to be somewhat automated during the charge cycles so that I would not need to babysit it as much. In other words, as long as the engine kept running reliably in any given ambient temperature, there would never be any way for the batteries to become under or over charged. It seemed to me that the only real way to do this, was to use a charge controller. Since at the time we were running a 24v bank, and I knew at some point in the future we would be upgrading to a 48v system, it made sense to build the alternator for 48v nominal at the particular RPM of the engine, and simply use a MPPT controller to buck down to 24v on the output. This would allow us to remain at 24v and see an increase in efficiency while using the 48v generator. In the near future, if we happened to upgrade to 48v, the generator would still work (at a slightly lower efficiency). The controller I chose was the Outback MX60. I would have designed the alternator for a much higher voltage, however in the event that the controller malfunctioned, it would still work by directly wiring the rectifier into the soon to be had 48v bank (we always try for redundancy). I now have run this setup for a while, and have experienced no problems whatsoever. I feel safe to say that it is a very reliable way to do things, and in the near future I might want to raise the alternator voltage even higher (48v nominal is actually close to 82vdc open circuit) to increase the efficiency of the setup and decrease the heat generated in the stator due to I^2R losses. If you know Ohms Law, you know that resistance will generally stay the same in this type of circuit. If you then can lower your current and allow the voltage to rise for any given wattage, then you can see a decrease in heat lost in your conductors due to resistance. This, in a nutshell, is the basis behind Buck and Boost converters and how MPPT actually works.

I took a few minutes and made a video for it:

So we have approximately 250 hours on the engine so far. It runs great and starts first crank even in the dead of winter. The axial flux alternator also makes it easier to start because there is actually no load put on the engine until it is actually up to speed, so it tends to be very easy to start.

So it seems that we are close to being 21.6% efficient.

If I went up to a higher voltage alternator, this would get even higher. This might explain why I got a higher efficiency when I was operating a 24v bank instead of the 48v.

Farming with Solar and Wind energy

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:48:37 -0400

Just a little history:

We were looking for an electric tractor for a while. About a year ago, we happened to find one in Connecticut (Im a Craigs List addict and I'll admit it). I actually bought it for my girlfriend as a gift, and it wasn't too long before her and I drove up in the work truck and loaded it into the bed. When we got there, we saw that the batteries were removed for long term storage, and it was in very good condition. It had some wiring issues (mice love to chew on wires) but the front mount mower deck seemed to be in good shape. The tractor was a 1970's General Electric Electrak E12, and into the truck it went for $400.

It sat in back of my shop for 6 months under a tarp before I got a chance to mess with it.

This Spring, I really wanted to mow grass with it. I was sick of the noisy, mowers and tractors we usually use for this, plus I really wanted a device I could use that took full advantage of all the free electricity we have. We are always looking for ways around using oil and gas, and I really wanted to recycle this old tractor and get it back on its feet. Who knows, maybe it will last another 30 years?

After repairing and rewiring a small portion of the relay and control wiring (had a bad switch also) and replacing the batteries, it came back to life. It has an on board charger as well, which I wasn't too keen on using, so I wired up a 36v MPPT charge controller so we can charge it with its own PV array.

Shortly after doing this, we happened to find a rear mount tiller for the unit. It was located in Massachusetts and in another couple days, we had a tiller. The tillers are very rare and sought after, so we had to act quick. It is not in the best shape, but it works well and it always can be painted. We never got the mount for it, so I had to fabricate one. I also had to fabricate some sort of lift for the tiller because it weighs close to 200 lbs. and it would be impossible for Nicole to use it. I set up a 24v linear actuator on the mount I built up so we could use a switch to raise and lower the unit while in operation. I wired it to the rear four batteries under the seat. In hindsight, it moves up and down too slowly, but I actually think its a little safer this way. It seems to work out ok, but time will tell if it holds up.

Overall Nicole and I are very happy with it. It mows all the grass around here no problem on a single charge. It tills the garden. It does it very quietly and reliably. It costs nothing to operate. What more can you ask for?

Here is a video of it that I have on YouTube:

The new site is up!

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:13:42 -0400

We are so happy to have the new site up. It basically gives us a concrete foundation to build upon and share many details with regards to all the new and exciting things that are happening all the time. Please check back often because new blog entries and site info will be added all the time as projects move forward.

Thanks for visiting!!

-RoyR