From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Scottish Scientist"  wrote in message   
   news:8d8ca589-a828-4513-8e4c-034f6b467fdf@googlegroups.com...   
   > On Sunday, 7 July 2019 00:27:15 UTC+1, Jim Wilkins  wrote:   
   >>   
   >> Where I live in New Hampshire, USA the average wind is under 10   
   >> kts,   
   >> wood stove smoke often rises vertically. Temps run from -20C in   
   >> winter   
   >> (-40C,F in northern NH) to the mid to upper 30's C / high 90's to   
   >> 100F   
   >> in summer.   
   >>   
   >   
   > Hi Jim,   
   >   
   > "10 kts" is 5.1 metres per second right?   
   >   
   > This shows some places with a higher wind average speed than that.   
   >   
   > New Hampshire 80-Meter Wind Resource Map   
   > https://windexchange.energy.gov/maps-data/83   
   >   
   > The trick is to build the wind farms where it is windiest and   
   > transmit the electrical power to customers via the grid.   
   >   
   > I've seen maps showing that it is much windier in winter in New   
   > Hampshire - so the wind power would be most useful for heating in   
   > the winter whereas solar can help with the air conditioning in   
   > summer.   
   >   
   > (Continued later after I have had a good night's sleep).   
      
      
   This state makes good use of alternate sources including micro hydro,   
   several productive wind farms and wood-fueled electric generators. I'm   
   in a forest of 80~100' oaks on the downwind side of a ridge. The site   
   provides plentiful free firewood and logs for my home made sawmill but   
   little wind and restricted sun. To use my solar panels effectively I   
   have to set them on the lawn and move them to dodge tree shadows, so   
   they are only good for tests and emergency power outages which can   
   last a week here in summer hurricane and winter ice storm country.   
   Their folding support legs are Vs made from electrical conduit.   
      
   These can be used for an inexpensive DIY datalogger for alternate   
   energy systems.   
   https://tekpower.us/tp4000zc.html   
   The optical isolation avoids common mode (and short circuit) problems   
   between voltage and current channels and the batteries can be   
   rechargeable AAs. I use an old laptop with added serial port cards to   
   read them because it runs on low power DC and I can read the COM ports   
   but not USB in DOS/QBasic programs, thus avoiding Windows port polling   
   interference and allowing me to use all bits of the parallel port for   
   digital I/O. There are also USB versions of the meters if you don't   
   want to program control outputs. The separate datalog files can be   
   combined in a spreadsheet by aligning the timestamps.   
      
   I think the meters are better suited to PWM than MPPT controllers. The   
   panel output, controller output and battery in/out power meters don't   
   agree very well when running the MPPT.   
      
   Grid-tied solar without batteries is common here but stand-alone   
   systems like I built appear to be practical for daily use only in   
   remote locations. DC-powered refrigerators for them are either very   
   expensive or of questionable reliability, like my Alpicool.   
   https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Alpicool&ref=bl_dp_s_web_0   
      
   It does have the advantage of not needing a pure sine inverter   
   constantly drawing on the battery.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)