NationStates Jolt Archive

With all the stuff about expensive electricity companies, I've decided I want to make a generator that's not powered by the national grid. I've searched on google and only found basic stuff (such as the lemon method which produces only a tiny amount of electricity) or stuff that is way adavcned without giving the beginnings. So does anyone know how to make an electricity generator that can be made in such a way that an electric device (such as a TV) can be connected to it? I know I could buy solar panels, but I want to start from scratch so I spend as little money as possible.

I understand that the National Grid burns stuff to make electricity, but how does this work? How does it get converted to electricity?

Anyone have any answers?

A generator is basicaly just a coil of wires and a magnetic field. I think you can turn an electric motor into a generator just by spinning it and collecting the electricity that comes out from the wire leads. In order to spin nice and fast you need a motor. The ammount of money you spend on diesel or gasoline would probably be greater than the ammount you currently spend on electricity. Sorry about the pun.

If you really want to make your own electricity, Honda and other companies make generators that you can buy.

Developing your own power grid of such a sort would be phenomenonally expensive, but it is theoretically doable.

Most generators are pretty highly engineered peices of kit, especially if you want any reliability or efficiency out of it. Perhaps the easier way would be to reduce your reliance on electricity, thus not having to bother paying for diesel.

You realise that thanks to economies of scale, no matter how efficient your "burning" generator, you will still spend more money on fuel than a power company does? It'll probably cost you more in the long run.

Anyone have any answers?

Most physics books and all basic electricity books will tell you how a generator works. You need three things, a wire or coil of wire, a magnet, and motion between the wire and the magnet. A simple generator is not difficult to make. The problem comes in building one big enough to run a TV, etc. and providing a source of motion.

You realise that thanks to economies of scale, no matter how efficient your "burning" generator, you will still spend more money on fuel than a power company does? It'll probably cost you more in the long run.

There are some companies that make wind driven generators but they are expensive. You have to use one for about 10 years before they pay for themselves. :(

For combined heat and power applications, I'd recommend a Stirling Engine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine) system.

simple, a bicycle connected to an electric motor and lots of monkeys with lots of banana.

solar panels or have a litte wind turbine stuck on your roof

solar panels or have a litte wind turbine stuck on your roof

...cannot provide enough power to get him off the national grid, I'm afraid

It's possible to build small scale hydro generators if you have a stream in your backyard. Small wind generators are also possible.

For what you're interested in, you might start with:

http://www.homepower.com/
http://www.microhydropower.net/
Some basics:
http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid189.php

...cannot provide enough power to get him off the national grid, I'm afraid
If you're really interested in getting off the grid with home-built generators, it is possible. It requires some investment of effort though.

As far as solar goes, solar panels are nice, but don't overlook solar water heating, which is much more efficient.

...cannot provide enough power to get him off the national grid, I'm afraid

There are times when the wind turbine can actually supply power to the national grid, however when the wind isn't blowing...you have to remain connected.

Which is why you need what is effectively a giant UPS for your house if you're going to go to home power completely off the grid. There are two parts to any solar power system for the home - the actual panels, and then the UPS, essentially a giant battery pack. (This is much like the solar-electric cars you see out racing in Australia - covered with solar panels, but carrying a load of batteries that are tapped when you need more power than you're receiving at the moment, and charged when you're not.)

Back when California was having severe brownout problems in the late 90s, some people who worked from home installed small solar power systems so that they would have power during brownouts.

For any solar, wind, or hydro project, your success will depend mostly on local environmental factors. Solar works much better in San Fransisco than London. If you live on the side of a mountain, wind may be a very good source, but not so much deep in a valley. Hydro, of course, requires that you have at least a stream running through your backyard.

...cannot provide enough power to get him off the national grid, I'm afraid
Not with that attitude!








--------------------------
Copper is pretty cool, when it gets excited it produces energy.
Sexual energy.


--------------------------------
Foo Fighters
Generator

Lately Im getting better
Wish I could stay sick with you
But theres too many egos left to bruise
Call it sin
You can call it whatever
Eating deep inside of you
Well if it were me its all Id ever do

Steal me now and forever
Ill steal something good for you
The criminal in me is no-one new

Till you find something better
When theres nothing left to use
And everything starts going down on you

Im the generator
Firing whenever you quit
Yeah, whatever it is
You go out and its on
Yeah cant you hear my motored heart
Youre the one that started it

Send me out on a tether
Swing it round
Ill spin your noose
You let it down
Ill hang around with you
Till you find someone better
When theres no-one left to lose
Everyone keeps going down

Im the generator
Firing whenever you quit
Yeah, whatever it is
You go out and its on
Yeah cant you hear my motored heart
Youre the one that started it