Produce your own electricity
The electricity is expensive! If you do not agree with the rates of electricity distribution, enjoy the tips below! They’re informations presented in “Superinteressante” magazine (12/2013)
By @jpcppinheiro.
In theory, it is possible to earn money by producing electricity. A rule of Aneel [the Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency], from December 2012, released a kind of bartering in the country: who produces more energy than consume can sell electricity to other consumers. Just get used to the idea of keeping a sty in the backyard or ride bikes a lot. It’s not easy money.
Electric Bicycles
Benefit: two people pedaling on a stationary bike generate enough electricity to keep the stereo turned on.
How much: about US$ 1,006 per bike.
Gyms and hotels already use bicycles that transform pedaling into electricity. The pedals move a dynamo, which generates electrical energy from mechanical.
Of course, for a home, the project is unprofitable — after all, a lone cyclist don’t do miracles. But, in a gym with 20 bikes that offers four spinning classes per day, the result is 300 kWh per month, enough to light more than six homes per month.
Windmill
Benefit: the simplest (160 W power) generate about 40 kWh per month, equivalent to the consumption of your refrigerator.
How much: between US$ 1,788 to US$ 4,470 depending on power.
With winds about 10km/h to 12km/h, a small windmill is already able to keep the refrigerator turned on. The electricity is produced in the wind turbine by the wind strength and then taken to a battery system.
Before purchasing the technology, worth checking if the wind regime obeys a regularity in your home address.
Solar panels
Benefit: photovoltaic panels can generate 10 kWh of power on a sunny day, the equivalent of spending a fan on 5 hours per day for an entire month.
How much: between US$ 6,258 for homes that consume 250 kWh per month.
The photovoltaic panels, which are becoming more efficient, operate from the impact of the Sun on the panel, taking off electrons, producing electrical current.
Electricity can be stored in batteries or sent to the public network to reduce the bill.
Mini-hydroelectric plant
Benefit: a water wheel with attached generator can produce up to 100 watts DC, enough to light a small power house.
How much: between US$ 4,470 to US$ 8,046.
Your mother was using the old water wheel in home decoration? You can recover the artifact and put it to work.
You just need to have a river or stream with falls near home to produce electricity. The mini-hydroelectric plant works by the action of water, which, falling on the wheel, drives the dynamo and produces the electricity.
Biogas // Landfill Gas
Benefit: 64m³ of biogas daily maintain a 7.5 kW generator running for 16 hours. It is enough energy to supply the consumption of a TV, shower and ironing facilities. 425 pigs are needed.
How much: between US$ 4,470 and US$ 44,700, depending on size, style and material of the biodigester.
The fuel comes from the decomposition of organic waste [food scraps and feces of cattle, pigs, birds and humans]. The transformation occurs in the biodigester, a container where the waste is placed and capped.
Inside it, bacteria decompose the material, generating biogas that can be burned to fuel generators, stoves and heaters. Of course only farmers have sties as big as needed, but raw material does not lack.
Source: Superinteressante
