Some chose the indirect path, converting wind generated electricity into heat using electric heating appliances. One of the smaller early Danish heat generating windmills was officially tested. Image: Illustration by Rona Binay for Low-tech Magazine. It would suck in cold air from the rest of the room, and dump its waste heat under the desk, turning into a "free" foot heater. Source: 7, Providing enough storage to bridge a week without wind thus requires up to 7 tonnes of water, which corresponds to a volume of 7 cubic meters plus insulation. For example, here in Barcelona, it would be useless. clifdweller | Also, designing some cavitation into the submersed rotor might increase the rate of heating. If you had any pointers to resources, links to other people's DIY direct wind-to-heat pump setups, or were planning on doing an article on those, that would be greatly appreciated! Or is it just controlling the flow rate of the water? https://www.catchpower.com.au/live-catch-feed. James Joule built it in the 1840s for his famous measurement of the mechanical equivalent of heat: one calorie equals the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 cubic centimeter of water by 1 degree Celsius. A 2015 study investigates the possibilities of heat generating windmills in Lithuania, a Baltic country with a cold climate thats dependent on expensive fuel imports. In other models, heat generation happened at the bottom of the tower from the top of the windmill there was a shaft down to the bottom where the water brake was installed. What steam turbine? A mechanical heat pump is simply a heat pump without the electric motor instead, the wind rotor is directly connected to the compressor(s) of the heat pump. Obviously a water brake windmill is suited for a windy climate. 3. Any thoughts? Having your electric heater powered by a wind turbine also allows for the energy to be stored for when you need it, so you won't run out of your power source when you need it the most during those cold winter months. This is not about math, it's about language. Intended use: Outdoor entertaining | Output: 42,000 BTUs | Fuel source: 20lb propane cylinder. This article is amazing and I love the idea of this. [14]. Radiators are usually controlled by temperature thermostats preset to the desired temperature for each room. I think they are claiming a round trip efficiency of 60% for electricity storage. The best oil-filled radiator heater: De'Longhi TRD40615T. Anyway it's not a point - end goal is to reduce our dependence on resources, Posted by: It compares these four technologies for three system sizes: a small windmill aimed at heating an off-the-grid household, a large windmill aimed at supplying heat to a village, and a wind farm producing heat for 20,000 inhabitants. When the heating is turned on, the water is pumped through the house and then flows back into the tank, where it can be heated again. Thinking about it some more, you should also be able to get kinetic energy out (or electricity) and water, by running a turbine on the compressed air and collecting moisture from the cooled air. The scientists calculate that the maximum distance that is cost-achievable under optimal wind conditions is 50 km. 14. This results seems to be excessive compared to the other heat generating windmills, but the energy output of a windmill increases more than proportionally with the rotor diameter and the wind speed. Source: 13. BEST HARD-WIRED POWERED: Master Flow 1000 CFM Mill Power Roof Mount Attic Fan. However, in the LO-FA windmill all mechanical parts for energy conversion were moved to the top of the tower. Luckily there are greener ways of heating your shelter this season without using electricity: 1) Fireplace and kerosene heater. The CAPEX values are however much higher for heat pumps, so they don't have the same low tech cool as retarders. Some exclusions apply. All other technologies are in between. The direct alternative for wind power that everybody knows is the old-fashioned windmill, which is at least 2.000 years old. But that's because you heat people, not spaces. FREE delivery Mon, Feb 20 . Instead of having the turbine use the water as a break, you could use the turbine to pump the water through a cooling track and suck the heat out of the house. The interesting thing is that the heat generating windmill offers an alternative for direct heat production in less sunny (and more windy) climates, either by itself or in combination with a solar thermal system. The heat medium would be work done inside the house by the electricity. A solar thermal collector skips the conversion to electricity and supplies renewable thermal energy in a direct and more efficient way. Much simpler, less material (i.e. Compression will give you a heater, and then releasing the compressed air will give you cooling. Still, thanks for expanding our horizon of the possible! According to Eco-shed of the Year winner. In this case, it becomes possible to build a pretty reliable heating system with a smaller heat storage tank, because the combination of two often complementary energy sources increases the chances of direct heat supply. Posted by: Given the right conditions, a mechanical windmill with an oversized brake system is a cheap, effective, and sustainable heatingsystem. Could be a good opportunity for a smaller manufacturer, though starting a company around this is probably not so straightforward - there must have been a reason why Westrup in Denmark is no longer around. page for more details. It transferred the rotational energy from its wind rotor directly to the axis of a machine, for example for sawing wood or grinding grain. Directly coupling a mechanical windmill to a mechanical heat pump is cheaper than using a gas boiler or the combination of a wind turbine and an electric heat pump. The heat medium would be work done inside the house by the electricity. A heat generating windmill with a water brake, placed inside the bottom of the tower. The mill was built by Jorgen Andersen in 1975, and stood in Serritslev. At the time, Denmark was almost entirely dependent on imported oil for heating, which left many households in the cold when the oil supply was disturbed. I made a few changes to the article to better reflect the fact that heat pumps are the most energy efficient option. Kris De Decker | I'm very curious to read those results, but you did not provide the link you are talking about Posted by: In the meantime, if anyone else has more info, feel free to share it. No reviews. [12] However, using similar models for heat production can decrease embodied energy and costs, increass lifetime, and improve efficiency. Posted by: Essentially one of these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump_and_refrigeration_cycle#Gas_cycle - they're not technically as efficient as a phase change, but if it's simpler and there are fewer moving parts, it might be a win. Obviously not everyone has space for a heat generating windmill, but there's no need to put a windmill next to each house. The heat storage tank of a water brake windmill works like any other heating boiler. [13]. Even 'Wind Power for the World: The Rise of Modern Wind Energy' doesn't give its meaning. I think I would like to experiment with this idea and build a mini Water Brake Windmill with the intent of heating a small off grid house. Question I have is: Does anyone, any companies make these devices for sale? [1] In temperate or cold climates, the share of thermal energy is even higher. [1] [15] In this second type of heat generating windmill, heat is produced with with mechanical heat pumps or hydrodynamic retarders, not with a water brake. Posted by: So I experimented a bit toward creating more concentrated heat at a high temperature. or knows someone who could? Once you have a mechanical-input heat pump, it's a simple matter of rerouting the refrigerant flow as to whether the machine extracts heat from the outdoors, and brings it inside, or vice versa. Hybrid power systems can provide reliable off . Toby | metals), no generator, fewer controls necessary (associated with frequency control, transformation etc), turn rotational motion directly into heat (especially if all you want is the heat from the wind). Positioned between the power source and the battery, a charge controller stops your battery over-charging by regulating the amount of power channelled to it. The only commercial model once made is not for sale anymore. Posted by: you could try to make it dual mode one to heat water and one to run a pump to pump water through pipes in ground at night and through house in day to cool the house acting as a wind powered geothermal plant. And here's a patio heater you'll find . The question is how does one turn the heat producing source (the windmill)on and off. steve | Consequently, the heat generating windmill is at its best as a decentralised energy source, providing heat to an off-the-grid household or in the optimal case a relatively small town or city, or an industrial area. Use left/right arrows to navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device, Waltons guide to buying an insulated garden room, John Coupe from Secrets of Shed Building, Familiarise yourself with the equipment required. Has anyone out there done any experimentations of their own? Great work and service that you are providing! One cubic meter of heated water (1 ton, 1,000 liters) can hold up to 90 kWh of heat, which is roughly one to two days of supply for a household of four persons. Electricity produced by renewable energy sources can be and is being converted to heat in an indirect way. Pro Breeze Mini Heater - Ceramic Fan Heater perfect for Desks and Tables - Personal PTC Heater, White Read Review. With it though, how would one control the temperature of the house? I absolutely hate the "new" math illiteracy. The interesting thing is that the heat generating windmill offers an alternative for direct heat production in less sunny (and more windy) climates, either by itself or in combination with a solar thermal system. Here it is: http://www.langdal5.dk/energi/info.html. Panels fitted to a roof can be neat and unobtrusive, unlike the more obvious presence of a wind turbine. This means that less solar and wind energy converters and thus less space and resources are needed to supply a certain amount of heat. Heat pumps are certainly the most efficient way to heat either stored water or a house directly however they do not operate on a varying amounts of input power as does simple resistance heating. Tests have shown that small wind turbines producing electricity are very inefficient and dont always generate as much energy as was needed to produce them. 11 Also important is that the cost of thermal storage is 60-70% lower compared to batteries or the use of backup thermal power plants. Or they could be fabricated locally. They are in their seventies and eighties now, some of them have passed away. Davide Honey | Reuben Lewis | Posted by: The direct approach to heat production is considerably cheaper and more sustainable than converting wind or solar generated electricity into heat by using electric heating devices. 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