Micro CoGen.

Quote from: bryanb on January 31, 2019, 10:38:36 PM

Quote from: David Baillie on January 31, 2019, 07:03:41 PM
net metering in BC is limited to "green" generation
The industry refers to grid connected systems without feed back as grid zero systems.

Yes, I already have BC Hydro approval on the "green" veg oil generator setup.  I didn't think the 3 phase induction motor would be a certified setup but was interested as a standalone generation. 
The only detail I am having a problem with now is the inverter.  A solar inverter mppt does not play well with a generator governor but a wind inverter mppt does.  Unfortunately there does not appear to be anyone manufacturing certified ones any more.  SMA, Power-One/ABB, and Ginlong/Solis, used to make grid tie certified wind models but have discontinued them.

A grid zero sounds good but is not appropriate for this application.

I am trying to find a used/old stock certified wind inverter so if you hear of anyone who is selling, let me know ...

that is extremely progressive on their part... give me a moment I'm confused!.  In terms of grid connected wind inverters I would try contacting farm energy in ontario. Chris Myers rebuilds inverters and turbines and has a large inventory of toys. I dont know if he can help you but if anyone can...   http://www.farmenergyinc.ca
Cheers,  David

Oh boy... not to pee on your parade but net metering in BC is limited to "green" generation as of the last time I looked. I know green is a moving target but right off the bat grid tied veg oil using repurposed 3 phase motors is out... legally. I'm all for a little guerilla generation but most areas have gone to digital meters so the days of spinning it backwards on the sly are over. Unless you have a solar array in the background or wind turbine hydro will simply not grid tie you. There are plenty of options. The most straight forward one I can think of is to offset your usage with a dedicated load panel and a small battery inverter setup. Generate however you want feed into the bank greater then the daily usage... costs saved. With a simple generator sub panel you can switch over to grid on days you are not running the system. The industry refers to grid connected systems without feed back as grid zero systems. Very flexible as to generation sources with mama grid in the background to save your bacon if needed. Financially... well the grid price will always be the cheapest so it has to be about cool factor...

It's really hard to argue with those prices on the used gear. The comms on the micros run through the ac wiring. You just plug in the monitor to an outlet near the main panel and hook it up to the Internet.  Setup an account and you get panel by panel monitoring. I've heard less than great things about the older micro inverters. I really like the new ones. The price has come down as well. Like everything it's application specific. For us  In ontario between critter guard and rapid shutdown requirements split arrays, partial shading, snow cover we use them a lot. They usually match my modelling. We use the sol metric software for estimating.

Rodents chewing pvc wiring I think was the number one reason all the rapid shut down rules came into effect. I think when you are talking micro inverters you mean the older enphase ones. They were pricey. We are using the ap systems ones. 2 panels each and you can daisy chain the ac from 7 of them all with built in connectors both ac and dc. Price wise if you need optimises on a string inverter it works out cheaper to micro. If you strings are all fully exposed to sun a single inverter is the way to go but you can't diagnose single panel faults.
Cheers, David Baillie

When you do figure out the bad string maybe look into optimizers for the panels. They will give you panel by panel readings and a heads up if one or more go bad. We use them for partially shaded locations where we have to use the central inverter. More and more we are switching over to micro inverters due to all the rapid shut down requirements and the inherent dangers of high voltage DC strings. Not sure what you have installed forgive the intrusion if its too obvious.
Cheers, David

Well mixed premixed bags of concrete should meet their specs.  How many people actually read the bag though?  Or measure the water.  If you can get a truck in by all means but for a few piers you will pay dearly for small quantities.  Is quality is an issue add a shovel of cement per two bags and increase your strength...
Best regards, David Baillie

Quote from: veggie on March 16, 2017, 08:52:47 AM
In order to support the vertical posts which will hold my solar panel mounts, I intend to set some cardboard
sono-tubes into the ground and fill them with concrete.
I have a question about mixing the concrete.

Will the following procedure work...
-Place my vertical poles into the son-tubes and support the poles in a vertical mode.
-Pour in a dry bag of redy-mix
-Add water and mix with a rod
-Pour in a dry bag of redy-mix
-Add water and mix with a rod
....repeat until the sono-tube is full.

For me this would be much easier than renting and transporting a cement mixer.
Anyone have experience doing this ?

Veggie

I think your basic technique would work.  If you substitute standard ready mix for rapid set you will be good to go.  Some fence installers just pour it in dry and add water.  Personally I use 2 bags of  standard mix at a time, a wheelbarrow, and a hoe it's cheaper and I think the well mixed standard mix is stronger.
My two cents, also in canada, and having hand mixed more concrete in hard to access spots then I care to remember
Best Regards,  David Baillie

Hey Bob, what were the specs on the microgen 175? your minimum square footage probably matches how I would like to end up.  We have a 5 1/2 year old and a 3 year old kicking around so space is still cherished.  I am resisting rebuilding bigger thinking we are good.  Its hard because there are so few voices of reason telling you NOT to do more.  Finding a sane voice on financial matters or realistic expectations is hard often treated as pariahs or doomers by society. Bankers, food retailers, entertainment industries are all quite willing to offer advice and its being taken; completely nuts.  If you followed through on their "advice" you would have a mortgage on a big house, two car loans, a line of credit for Mutual funds, would eat 6000 calories a day and be parked 12 hours a day watching tv while facebooking about it... 
Sanity will make a comeback.  Give them something to latch on to.
Best Regards,   David Baillie

for canada with our tight house standards a heat recovery ventilator is a must.  I use a venmar here. At low speed it cycles between heat exchange for 20 minutes and recycling for 40 minutes. The air passes through a core that exchanges the heat from stale air to fresh.  It uses about 40 watts an hour so during the day when we are walking around the house , opening doors and leaving for the day I put it on a timer to shut it down completely.  If you were doing it for a tiny home I would do a tube in tube setup with two muffin fans.  Condensation is those small spaces would be a killer in a cold climate.
David Baillie, Journeyman Carpenter, efficient house enthusiast.

Hello again,  had to go away, babies it seems takes up a lot of time...
So glad to see the new sections.
I am 48.  I cant speak for millenials.  As far as tiny homes they fill a yearning no different then the vw van, hippie commune, Nearing homesteading, Shaker colony, or longing for Thoreau's cabin of earlier times.  When life gets hard and troubling people want out. The financial picture for Millenials SUCKS and they know it. I think the tiny home movement will mature into just smaller more affordable homes. The smaller home trend is picking up too.  My township just shrank minimum size dwelling to 650 sq ft. We live in a 1300sq ft well insulated home that was originally off grid. Even on grid now we only use about 7 kw of electricity.  When we were hardcore we used 3kw. When we were off grid I scoured the internet looking for small or micro power solutions.  What I found was this place.  I've learned a great deal from it and the brain trust here could rebuild the electrical world for the better.  What made me go away for the most part is what you consider "small" and "micro" I consider HUGE. With a smaller better insulated house loads shrink. The Site's emphasis on industrial diesels and antiques 1/4 ton beasts was very intimidating. I follow Steve U. 's work with the inverter generators and that is where the future is if you want to attract some fresh blood.  A project under a few thousand, meet all your electrical need on less then 15 amp at 110ac.  Charge a bank.  Convert an off the shelf genny to run on propane, do some simple heat recycling.  Just some ideas.
Im trying to play with some of those concepts myself
Best regards,   David Baillie

Here are my rudimentary ideas in motion pardon the mess: A scrapped inverter generator with bad carb.  a propane regulator from a scrapper genny, 10 ft of 3/4 inch hydronic finned copper tubing, a welded on 3/4 inch pipe fitting.  True micro cogeneration

The thread was how to Cogen with a Prius right?...
There are starting to be a lot of them in the as is/parts category up here.  They exist, they are available, are they a decent platform? What they could run on, should run on could go on forever no?  All fuels have drawbacks and all have advantages.  If you tore out its battery pack and mounted the ups and a larger pack in it would it make a decent Cogen unit? Or would it be no better then an iddling car...
Thanks, David Baillie

Fair enough I stand corrected...

thomas I'm sounding like a stick in the mud but the efficiency of the commercially available cells is not much different then 20 years ago. As far as 220-260 that's just a packaging choice.  both efficiency levels were available 2 years ago. I recently purchased a used kyocera 50 watt panel for a small project and it is stamped 1994.  Its performance specs match a new one exactly. My only point was that so many of these news releases are just hype.  I too am looking forward to the next step but the current one is pretty damn good anyways...
David

I wonder at what percent efficiency it becomes self defeating.  I can already fit more 14% panels on my roof then I can use. The limit is always the batteries now same reason trackers are becoming obsolete.  At least someone is pushing the envelope I guess...
David Baillie

I always wonder if these promos are not the solar industry's equivalent of the concept car; it gets great press but does not go anywhere. Has efficiency of actual panels that are sold increased at all in the last 30 years?  Cost has dropped significantly which is good but the cells are still the same no?
Neat link, thanks
David Baillie