Which one will be best. Solar or Wind

[cobra1]

I need to build something that can put out around 1kw of power, it will be connected to a 300ah 24v pack.

Im liking the idea of solar because it has no moving parts etc etc.

but then i like the idea of wind as in britain theres normally more wind than decent sunlight.

the obvious answer would be use both, but i am trying to decide on one or the other.

anyone got any opinions or experience here??

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

1KW of solar would cost you a fortune, and only work part of the day and part of the year, most of the time output would be FAR below 1KW.

Wind power is MUCH cheaper, but only works when it's windy - but Britain is windy more often than sunny!

 

[cobra1]

This was my thinking too Nigel, at least with wind it will work at night aswell, and i guess all year round.

think i will need to do some sums to see what it will take to get 1kw continuous in moderate winds.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

This was my thinking too Nigel, at least with wind it will work at night aswell, and i guess all year round.

think i will need to do some sums to see what it will take to get 1kw continuous in moderate winds.

What are your actual requirements?, are you wanting to average 1KW per hour over any 24 hour period?.

 

[cobra1]

Hi Nigel,

The main things that need to run constantly are as follows:

Lighting: 24v @ 30Amps MAX
Air Pumps: 240v @ 125watt

The 240V supply is fed from a 24v-240v inverter. Ideally the plan is to have the battery bank fully charged constantly and the solar/wind turbine power the lights and pumps directly, the batteries will then only be used when they are really needed.

 

[kaychewy]

You will struggle to get 24kWh per day for a reasonable cost.

Battery:
Your battery is way too small and can only supply 1kW for about 6 hours. With such a deep discharge you will be lucky to get 200 charge - discharge cycles. To get better life and cover the night time or lack of wind you will have to put in at least 10 times the battery capacity. Cost will be about $20,000.

Solar
Solar will require about 12 kW of peak power and will cost about $70,000 or connect your system to the mains.

Wind:
Wind is useless unless you have an average wind speed of more than 5 meters per second. Tho cover quiet days you will need at least 10kWh generator mounted on a 30 metre tower. Generator will cost $20,000 and tower another $10,000

So unless you are prepared to spend $50,000 to $100,000 in capital cost I suggest you purchase a 1 to 2 kW diesel generator.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I agree, the requirements would require a LOT of capital expediture, and would be unlikely to provide full coverage even then.

I would hate to even think how big solar panels would need to be to provide a minimum of 24KWH per day, all year, in the UK.

 

[bryan1]

Hi Cobra,
As for the chat we had about this the other night, go for say 2 off 100 watt min pv panels and put them in series, that will give you some power everyday depending on weather conditions. As far as the wind generator goes as your in town best to check with the council that are allowed to put one up. If the council will let you put a tower up then I can help you out with building the wind generator. As I said a dual axial flux wind generator will fit your needs to a tee and they are easily built. Just remember with wind power if your batteries are fully charged the wind generator will keep pumping current into them so a diversion controller and suitable dumpload will be needed.

Cheers Bryan

 

[peufeu]

> Lighting: 24v @ 30Amps MAX
=> 720 watts

Replace all incandescent lights with either fluorescent or LEDs, having at least 4x the lumens/W, you save 75% of power. High efficiency lighting costs more, but you will save a lot more on your generator.

 

[celia19O5]

well, it is great to have an energy equipment. It is not only to save money but also save the environment.
Thus, in your case, you should apply both if you can afford

 

[colin55]

save the environment

- from what?
What we are doing about saving the environment is having absolute minimal effect.
All this “saving greenhouse gas” is saving less than a fraction of 1%.
And we are doing nothing about the real polluters.
The arsenic and cyanide from mining, the fluoride from aluminium smelting, sulphur from burning coal. These are the real hazards.
Consider this: The average car uses 88kw to drive down the street. 22kw is used for propulsion and 66kw is lost in heat. This is where the major waste occurs.
A single-person-household uses about 30kW-hr per day. How can you reduce this when it includes showering, washing, cooking, lighting and heating.
Consider the pollutants generated to produce solar panels for even a 1kW system. It’s enormous. That's why the Japanese wanted to use the clean water from Tasmania to process their solar panels.

 

[tytower]

We are but a spike in the graph of world time
6.5 billion years the earths been around, a few hundred million man. All our pollution in the last 100 years. What makes anybody think we could stop what must eventually happen.?

The only solution would be a catastrophy that reduced the population by 95% immediately . The population will be 15 billion in 2020 its said
I personally think it will be all over before then.