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Random Renewables Thread

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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,306 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    It's possible. Earlier this year, the max the grid could take was 75% from wind. This percentage has obviously risen further but that 77% could well be the current max.

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,633 ✭✭✭✭the_amazing_raisin


    Speaking of wind power

    Normally I dismiss "revolutionary" rooftop wind turbines as scams, but to be fair to this company they're saying their one has been verified by several independent labs and they've got a trial installation going on a commercial building

    Having said that, their website doesn't actually link to any of these reports. Their LinkedIn page has some more information, each unit is rated at 5kW AC, so it's a bit of a beast


    I think they're smart by going for commercial buildings with flat roofs which probably don't suffer from the same poor airflow that houses would have


    It'd be nice if they did a smaller model that can be mounted on the ridge of a peaked roof. If you could get a fairly constant 500W out of it then that would help meet a lot of the base load for most houses, and might get some more charge into your batteries

    I would say this is probably 75% chance of being a scam, down from the typical 99% for most rooftop turbines

    "The internet never fails to misremember" - Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost



  • Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 6,873 Mod ✭✭✭✭graememk


    Once they actually get them in hands with real people... (youtube essetially) if it works there it will spread well by word of mouth.. or not (see tesup!)



  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    Something like this would work. That tool doesn't seem to be able to weight a location based on multiple residents though, so the proposed location is suboptimal.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,633 ✭✭✭✭the_amazing_raisin


    Yeah I'm pretty sure it's going to be a flop, the general rule of rooftop wind turbines is that you're trying to make the best of bad airflow so you are doomed to get bad output

    Like I said, they're being clever by going for office buildings and apartment blocks rather than houses to try and get the best performance

    It would be nice to see something like these alongside on all the taller buildings in Dublin to generate some clean energy

    From an investment point of view, they probably aren't cheap so I can't imagine them paying for themselves any quicker than solar


    What would be cool would be if someone released an open source version that could be put together using some sheet aluminium and 3D printed parts so it was dirt cheap to build

    If you could get something that was roof mounted for under €250 and gave a steady few hundred watts then a couple of them on the roof of a house would pay for themselves pretty quickly I reckon

    "The internet never fails to misremember" - Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,613 ✭✭✭bullit_dodger


    Interesting point .....the Chinese government are planning 4 more smaller dams upstream from the 3 gorges with a total capacity of 38,000MW, so nearly doubling the capacity of the existing 3 gorges. That's a shed load of power.



  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 19,649 Mod ✭✭✭✭slave1


    Chinese are good at dams, I visited the decades old Aswan dam in Egypt a few years back, they put it in for the Egyptians and a nice China memorial on site. Scale of the dam was unreal.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,560 ✭✭✭DC999


    Was reading a mad stat recently. China has added more solar in the last few years than the whole EU has installed since solar became a thing.

    Another stat was how much solar they install in China that is also made in China. Was a huge %. Which gives them more security of the kit and better pricing.

    And it’s part of the reason the EU are looking to start to manufacture more solar + renewables – to can get access to stock. 



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,306 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    China installs more solar PV per year than the rest of the world combined

    China installs more wind generation per year than the rest of the world combined

    China installs more hydro per year than the rest of the world combined

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,306 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    There are several dams upstream and several dams downstream already. The combined output is roughly enough to power a country like France or the UK. Fully renewable, zero emissions.

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,613 ✭✭✭bullit_dodger


    They also build more coal power stations than anyone else - I heard it was like one a fortnight or something bonkers?! But I guess it's not to be surprising. They have a huge population, many millions of people going from effectively a subsistence agricultural mindset to more of an urban one and of course the power requirements are different. More (Electric) cars being bought etc.

    Massive power requirements



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,306 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    It's not even their own population, it's the fact that they make everything for everybody in the whole world 😁


    It's true about the coal power stations, although they use the least filthy technology afaik. They simply need an enormous amount of power.

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,613 ✭✭✭bullit_dodger


    True - a trade war with China will end only one way :-)

    Still....

    China is building more than half of the world's new coal power plants | New Scientist

    Even with the best CO2 scrubbers in existence, you're still getting a lot of emissions out there. Granted their options are somewhat limited. They need the power and they need it to come online quickly, and they have the worlds largest deposits of coal, so i understand the willingness to use that, but it's worrying.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,633 ✭✭✭✭the_amazing_raisin


    I dunno, a lot of China's added capacity smacks of mismanagement. They're economic model is based on infinite unsustainable growth (same as most of the modern world, just on steroids)

    A lot of their economy demands that everything is always increasing, including generating capacity

    Rather than risk upsetting the artificial growth chart, or increase efficiency, they just build more coal fired power because it's readily available and cheap for them to install

    "The internet never fails to misremember" - Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,613 ✭✭✭bullit_dodger


    yeah, that's what I was saying above Raisin. They have one of the largest, or thee largest coal deposits on the planet, so it's a readily available resource for them to exploit. One thing that makes them different from the rest of the world is that 50 years ago in terms of ecomonics, most of the western world was 1st world. Most of china 50 years ago was peasant farmers. That's not to say that there weren't high tech people in china 50 years ago, but rather the dominant demographics isn't/wasn't the same. So the need for power there has exploded exponentially as the "urbanification" happened. Car ownership, computers, etc.

    While it looks like the growth rate is nuts, it's only cause they are in some respects catching up - but yeah, the "law of large numbers" will catch them....eventually.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,308 ✭✭✭Ubbquittious


    Things are starting to rumble there. It will be an interesting few years ahead, Xi has brought them a long way down the wrong path



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,677 ✭✭✭con747


    Anyone looking for smart plugs? Good offer on Sonoff, 37% off a 4 pack costing €24.78 delivered on Amazon Prime. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0813CMZHZ?psc=1&smid=A26QA7NDH2SGKH&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

    No energy monitoring but good value.

    Don't expect anything from life, just be grateful to be alive.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,633 ✭✭✭✭the_amazing_raisin


    We lost a turbine today, let us take a moment of silence for all the good work it's given us over the years

    So how long before the Muppet brigade comes out and starts talking about how every single wind turbine ever has exploded into flames and destroyed three schools and an animal hospital in the process?

    Although, did they forget to put lightning protection on the thing or something? I guess it must have just been hit too hard

    "The internet never fails to misremember" - Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,308 ✭✭✭Ubbquittious


    Who is "we" in this case? Some multinational investment corp looking after the pensions of well-to-do New Yorkers? They can well afford a new one I'd say



  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 94,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Very little. You can run one in your hand. But it's still a heat engine so max theoretical efficiency is still the temperature difference between hot and cold divided by the hot temperature. In theory they work better when it's cold , whereas the cold temperature for steam turbines is limited by the boiling point of water even if you can reduce it a good bit by partial vacuum when condensing steam.

    They can be made as sealed generator units with a free piston. One moving part. Then again one of the reasons they started using electric torpedoes was because internal combustion engines need higher tolerances than electric motors. So while I'd like to see a cheap cylinder with two terminals we may be waiting a while.

    http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/indexe.htm with plans for DIY toy ones.



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  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 94,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    The total on grid is still up to 75% but we can export too. Renewables have produced up to 96% of the amount of local demand because we were exporting close to 25% of what was on the grid at the time. (The 25% was mostly fossil fuel for spinning reserve, high inertial and grid stability near the large cities. But could also be hydro, CHP, incinerator, biomass.)


    Single Energy Market documents https://www.sem-o.com/publications/general-publications/

    Grid Constraints - non-synch generation is still limited to 75% (future target is 95%)   Week 42 2022 Weekly Operational Constraints Update



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,308 ✭✭✭Ubbquittious



    I thought @the_amazing_raisin found a specific stirling engine with 700w output but I can find no details of it anywhere. Lots of toy ones or ones that need a propane flame or similar to run. 700w from the back of a stove would be great



  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 94,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Fogas do a CHP thing with a Stirling engine IIRC 1KW electrical output from 5-15KW heat output. Handy if you have an old folks home or hotel where you have the heat on 24/7 https://www.flogas.ie/business/business-heating/chp-combined-heat-and-power-systems.html

    random google found this https://helec.co.uk/products/stirling-engine-chp/ - 37% electrically efficient (95% as CHP ) 60,000 hours free piston sealed unit , no costs though :( and you have to use it for at least 4-6 hours at a time and it's not worth doing unless you can use all the heat.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,308 ✭✭✭Ubbquittious


    Ahh they are burning the gas directly inside the thing so probably close to 2000 degrees temperature differential. You might struggle to get it to run off a renewable source of flame unless it's from a digester. Still this is interesting stuff. 60,000 hours is impressive compared to normal combustion engines



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,633 ✭✭✭✭the_amazing_raisin


    GE renewables in this case, but we've lost the generation capacity at a time when we need all the renewables we can get


    I know Arklow bank is pretty outdated, and a shell of what it's supposed to be. But it's always frustrating to see a turbine get destroyed

    "The internet never fails to misremember" - Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost



  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,308 ✭✭✭Ubbquittious


    How does it work? You get paid not to use power, or you get paid £3/kw to inject power during peak times?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,677 ✭✭✭con747


    Looks like not to use, most likely will have an effect here if they are preparing for rolling blackouts. I'll be saving a little bit more in the batteries for the power cuts so.

    Don't expect anything from life, just be grateful to be alive.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,633 ✭✭✭✭the_amazing_raisin


    Seems you get paid to shift demand to night time. It seems that OVO are doing it on as a percentage of your usage, if less than 12.5% of your usage is during peak times you get a bonus


    Not sure how the others are doing it, maybe they're using power profiles to figure out what appliances are running at what times

    It's a bit intrusive, but it's also a great example of how smart meters can actually be used to save money for both the customer and the grid

    "The internet never fails to misremember" - Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost



  • Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 6,873 Mod ✭✭✭✭graememk


    I used 73 kwh last night.. 😂 Although that's over the 9 night rate hrs.

    Per hour I could pull 7 on the car, up to 6 charging house batteries, and suppose I could do 6 on the tank lol... Only have a 16kva supply though.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,306 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    Has the Guardian sacked all editors and do they not use any free spell checkers either? 🙄

    KW hour

    kilowatt hour 

    kW/h

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,308 ✭✭✭Ubbquittious


    I'd say they're too preoccupied with truss to bother with the minor articles



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,560 ✭✭✭DC999


    Tbh, this is great to get paid in UK to load-shift. We humans change very reluctantly for the most part (me included). And often go back to the old way of doing it quickly. So here’s the carrot (save money on bills, which most are likely worried about to some degree anyway). The stick is rolling power cuts otherwise.

    For now it’s a simple step1 of the journey. Cut usage between X and Y hours and get paid (somehow).

    Then as people get better at it, the industry can do more to change the time we load-shift to. IMO peak TOU rates are gonna keep climbing. So if we can all learn to load shift (and electricity industry can then tell us what times are the best), it’s all good. I know there’s load on this forum already ninjas at it.

    But even for me as recently as maybe 2+ years ago, I’d no sense there was an impact to using power at certain times of the day. But I'd be very much the only one in my family (siblings and parents) now with that understanding. So money talks, and this carrot helps behavioural change.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,466 ✭✭✭randombar


    Looking for 2 x 300W panels, have space at the end of a string for 2 more.

    Any recommendations on where to look?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,633 ✭✭✭✭the_amazing_raisin


    I agree 100%, saving money is often a harder sell than it should be. But as soon as you start dangling money in front of people to do something fairly simple then they'll jump up and pay attention

    One thing I was thinking recently to get rid of that evening peak would be to roll out hot dinners in schools. A lot of that peak demand is from cooking dinner, and a lot of the reason people are having dinner in the evening is because their kids haven't had a hot meal all day


    Giving kids a hot dinner in school would make it easier for the parents to also do the same. It would then mean you could have something a lot simpler in the evening which doesn't need to be cooked (or not as much), reducing the electricity demand

    It would also have the side benefit of hopefully getting some more nutritious food into kids. I know that somehow when my kids see other kids eating fruit and vegetables they have no problem eating them, but whenever they're at home you'd swear they were worried about being poisoned 🙄

    "The internet never fails to misremember" - Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,092 ✭✭✭Mr Q


    You would need the same panels ideally, or very similar ones.

    If they are 300w are they a few years old?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,466 ✭✭✭randombar


    4 or 5 year old JA Solar 300W Mono Si 60 Cells

    Do they have to be the same or would just the same wattage do?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,306 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    It doesn't matter if they're not the same, but your string will be pulled down in performance to the least powerful panel. But does that not stop you buying some panels, you might well find a 350W panel cheaper than a 300W panel

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,466 ✭✭✭randombar


    Ya basically looking for the 2 x cheapest over 300W panels I can get my hands on



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,306 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    That's the spirit. The best solar PV panel is the one that is the cheapest 😁

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 140 ✭✭fael


    Anyone any ideas how to get some bus bars quickly? I have way more bolts and washers than bus bars, and wonder if I have misplaced some of the bars. I bought 32 cells and have 32 bus bars, but I have another 21 bolts/washers/split washers.

    I need another 17. But shipping from China takes a month at the earliest.

    Anyone any leftovers by any chance? Or recommendations where to source?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,677 ✭✭✭con747


    I think some made their own with flattened copper pipe with holes drilled into it.

    Don't expect anything from life, just be grateful to be alive.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,466 ✭✭✭randombar


    53 bolts / washers doesnt seem right to be honest?

    I've a few busbars spare at the moment you could borrow for a bit? (Cork based)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 302 ✭✭spose


    32 should be enough. Only need more to top balance so can just do 16 at a time instead



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 140 ✭✭fael


    I'm not sure how you would make it work with 32. I'm building a 2p16s system. So every 2 cells are paralleled to be 1 cell, and then 16 of those cells in series. How would you do that with 32?

    Thanks for the offer but I'm a 2.5 hr drive away :) Appreciated though.


    Not a bad idea actually, my dad works with copper a lot so has all the tools. Problem is he lives abroad, but I'm going there in 2 weeks so might do that instead of waiting for the post to come from China.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,677 ✭✭✭con747


    I know some here done it but not sure if it needs to be a certain gauge of pipe, I'm sure they will see this and post what they used.

    Don't expect anything from life, just be grateful to be alive.



  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 19,649 Mod ✭✭✭✭slave1


    Amazon



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 302 ✭✭spose




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,633 ✭✭✭✭the_amazing_raisin


    This shop might work? They're EU based so shipping should be quick


    You can also check AliExpress and look for shops that have EU warehouses, I think PWOD has one

    "The internet never fails to misremember" - Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 140 ✭✭fael


    That was my first port of call, but can't find any on there. Unless you have a link?

    Cheers I'll have a look at that. POWD and Oye don't have bus bars in stock in the EU. Found another shop but would cost €200+ for the bus bars including shipping 😮

    As a side note the price for the bus bars is extortionate, it's just plain copper held together with some heatshrink. I'll have a chat with my dad and see what we can come up with.



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