Alternative Energy Forums

Hi,

I am looking into designing a new bus stop where it is self powered without the need for an external power source, the energy it generates will power enough lighting for the bus information to be visible at night and another for illuminating the bus stop to bus drivers. I want to power it by:

Using the suns rays, it warms up the main black vertical pole, as it warms the air within it rises and flows to the top. At the top there is a small turbine that uses the energy generated to charge a small battery that then powers up to 4 1 watt LEDS.

Is this possible? I imagine that it would still work all year round even i Winter due to the black coating on the main pole? How would you go about fabricating this?

I am an industrial designer so am no electronics wizard so please bear that in mind! thanks for your help!

laz

I think it is possible only for limited time but not for a long period but yet is depends upon the location you are living in & about the electronics circuit you need to make circuit which will display all information regularly updated.

me_ben

Hi, thanks for your reply. Its for use in the UK, the energy generated only needs to charge a battery (9v?) and then power a couple of 1 watt LED's. any other feedback would be appreciated thanks!

laz

Hello Laz

I am an innovator so to expand on your idea about using the pole as the total source of energy production, I think it is a great idea. Most poles are long cylindrical objects yet they have intrinsic potential as energy gatherers as well. The length of the pipe could have this new soft-plastic solar cells wrapped around it. Then inside the hollowed shaft of the pipe place a tall set of battery's to store the needed energy for long durations (say 7 days). Next on the pole place place a set of Solar panels about every 5 or so feet to add additional power capturing opportunity. And last but not least, why not use the height of the top of the pole for a small wind turbine. Because while the sun always goes down the wind does not always stop blowing through the night.

If you PM me I can link you to all the devices I have mentioned here!
Best Regards

Nflight

It sounds like you're proposing a very small-scale solar updraft tower. The problem, though, is that typically these need to be quite large to have any realistic use. The only way it could be used in cold weather is if the column were encased in an evacuated tube, similar to some solar water heaters. Though I'm not typically a proponent for PV cells, I would agree with Nflight's suggestions in this case.

Yeti

There are 3 main elements to a Ground Source Heat Pump system. The first is the ‘ground loop’ which is a length of pipe buried in the ground, either in a borehole or a horizontal trench. For a modern detached house you will typically need two trenches about 40 to 50 metres long to supply enough heat for the house. The ground loop collects the heat from the earth.

avenir.jim

They were planning on building a large-scale solar turbine generator like this in Australia(with a black "skirt" at the bottom to gather more heat energy). Last I heard it was still up in the air(sorry, I couldn't resist).

solarcook

I have a similar question - concerning use of moving warm fluids, namely trying to get electricity out of hot water.

As I am in Turkey and we all use solar panels for hot water but we never use all of that hot water so I am thinking - is there a way to get electricity out of it somehow.

I was also thinking about maybe a little turbine to capture the water movement?

Davvit

The application noted falls within the science call heat transfer. The sun light incident on earth delivers 1 kilowatt/ square meter at best not including the fact of angle of incidence... So I don't think this application is feasible considering the current data.

jthorn

Your idea is technically ok, but there is big question. How much heat will teh black pole capture throughout the day, and will it capture enough heat to make the air within accent? If it is possible then what is the time frame. That means, that there must be a ratio that within time time, by receiving this much of sunlight, this much volume of air will accent to this height. I hope you understand. Without these calculations on hand, you cannot start on your project.