Tuesday, January 25, 2011

METHODS FOR REDUCING ENERGY USE

Sometimes we appear to have blinkers on. People  complain about the high cost of  petroleum  fuel and  gripe at any inconvenience  caused by  a shortage of  such fuel  yet  when you tell them about alternatives, even free  options, they  turn away and  don’t want to listen. This seems very strange until you realize   the real problem is such action would require change on their part. They would have to give up cherished and long held beliefs and maybe also a change in how they do things.

Right now the majority of people looking to go off grid are not affluent and comfortable in their existing lifestyle. The cost of moving away from dependence on grid supplied energy can be considerably higher than the utility bill they seek to get away from.

The mundane cost creeps up on you unnoticed. For example when you have a well, indoor plumbing and a built to code septic system there is energy use involved. First you have to pump the water up out of the well.   When you flush, gravity drains the toilet, but every so often the surge pump cycles and inundates the tile bed. All this water pumping requires electrical energy so there is a cost associated with something as mundane as flushing a toilet or washing your hands or taking a shower.  Especially a shower, because most people do not like to take cold water showers. 

Although some people have heard of energy budgets, few people have heard of or bother to time log energy usage.  In a typical home, there are two peaks associated with most families. These peaks occur in the morning during breakfasts and dinner time. Power utilities have long ago learned to anticipate such peak demands. They bring on-line extra generating capacity in anticipation of a surge in demand and the end user rarely notices any effect.  During  summer time  there is a large sustained demand for  electrical power for air conditioning   that  begins mid day and grows to a peak  that is concurrent  with  evening meal time preparation. This time also happens to coincide with family members arriving home from work washing up and preparing the daily meal. There may be an upsurge in laundry activity as dirty work clothes are washed in preparation for the next day.
Because grid tied users are accustomed to having nearly limitless power available they seldom give any thought to conservation or spreading out the energy use over a wider time frame.  
A great many homes use electric cooking and use appliances a decade or more in age. These appliances were not designed to conserve energy. Most people choose appliances for convenience not energy conservation.

For the off grid home peak demand may become a critical issue.  The energy budget may indicate average use is only 1.8 kilowatt but it may not indicate peak demand could spike at 6 or 7 kilowatts. A 2 kilowatt inverter looks to be able to supply the needs but in reality you need an inverter twice that size.

A common action is to eliminate electric stoves in an effort to eliminate that particular energy consumer but little thought is give to what makes for an energy efficient substitute. Most people assume going with a propane stove is a solution. But is it?
Another obvious choice is to use a wood cook stove.  There are two drawbacks to this approach. The cook stove tends to heat up the house to an uncomfortable extent during summer months. In the south it was common practice to have a ‘summer kitchen” to avoid heating up the whole house.  It’s a good idea but in northern cold climates it also involves a lot of extra work to shift from indoor cooking to outdoor cooking and back again. Except in very benign climates even the outdoor kitchens needs a roof and possibly shelter from rain storms.
The other draw back to this approach being a supply of suitable fuel for the wood stove. Cooking requires a hot, clean, and smokeless fire.  The cook needs a fairly complex stove to properly regulate the heat so the food is heated but not burnt to a crisp or contaminated with smoke and ashes. With wood stoves the conventional method of regulating the heat is to move the pot closer to or further away from the source of the wood fire heat.

A new development in simple  wood stoves involves gasification of the wood for a hotter flame and more complete combustion   One type is called top lit updraft (TLUD) and uses almost any sort of wood scrap including bark, grass twigs and  wood chips. It uses only a third as much fuel to produce the same cooking heat value. For heating stew pots, boiling water for tea and rice it is excellent. Heating a WOK for Asian style cooking is also quick and efficient, but cooking in an oven remains a challenge.  This highlights   the fact cultural background play an important part in energy use. These kinds of stoves are now extensively used in India for example.

Propane is easier to control but  ties you to a supply chain  stretching from well head  through a pipeline to a tank farm and delivery trucks on the road network  in order that the big propane tank outside your off grid home is ready to fuel your stove  and maybe  some other appliances.

Solar cookers are available, but do not work after dark and is not much use for making breakfast coffee early in the morning. As with wood stoves control of the heat can be problematic. Most cooks would not be happy with   how it works.

By now it should be obvious that electric cooking is still the best and most versatile method.  The challenge therefore is to find the most efficient electric cooking appliances.  It requires something which can be run from an inverter and a modest solar panel array.
Cultural factors must also be considered.  People who are accustomed to meals prepared mostly in ovens are not going to be happy with meals intended for WOK cooking.  Stews and gravies will not necessarily be acceptable to people accustomed to foods cooked on grills, skewers and on flat irons as is the case with Roti and chapatti breads.
A rice steamer simply does not work as well over an open fire and using a skewer.

French style cooking relies heavily on a multi burner stove for preparing the various sauces and baked dishes requiring multiple pans and pots not to mention oven space.

In actual fact, meals involving more fresh foods that are lightly cooked or even raw with vegetables lightly sautéed are healthier than something that is over cooked to the point of losing nutritive value. However this may involve a complete paradigm shift on the part of the people.
The subject of energy efficient cooking could fill a whole chapter if not a whole book. A long time favorite is the pressure cooker. This has been popular for canning and preserving for decades.

~~  END  ~~

HI TECH IN A WOOD STOVE

Most people take it for granted  that a wood stove is simply a wood stove but  even here  high tech has crept in.
The latest  buzz word is wood gasification. Put in a nut shell it is a combustion chamber  designed to  cause wood to char  while emitting  gases that burn.  What you  see is simply a pale flame  little or no smoke and   when the fire is finally done very little ash compared to  what you are used to .  The secret is in the dimension of  the shell of the combustion chamber or pot. It causes air flow around the burning  wood fuel that  encourages  gasification of the wood  leading to a hotter flame and more complete combustion of the available fuel.  Some 20 years ago a German friend casually told me he really like his new fireplace because it  left hardly any ash to clean up.  Nothing  much was said  about the  whole  ceramic  fireplace  which had a very modern look to it.   He did say he had imported  this fireplace from Europe.
Now I realize this was an example of wood gasification technology at work. 

Since that time  many more  products have  appeared on the market.  Some  wood stoves talk about including a catalytic  after burner stage in the design resulting  in cleaner emissions.
The World Health Organization (WHO)  determined  that over a million deaths per year resulted  from poor air quality inside many third world  huts  as a result of smoky cooking  fires.  It was also noted that poverty prevented these same people from buying better  quality  cook stoves that burned  cleaner  and  did not contribute  smoky emissions  to the interior of the living quarters.
WHO  announced a contest for someone to come out with a new design for a cook stove that was inexpensive to make ( under USD $10) and  which used less fuel and produced  less  emissions.
The winning  submission was described as a top lit up draft stove  (TLUD) that consisted  of  several concentric  cans  with holes punched in them around the  circumference.
This innocuous stove  is deceptively simple looking. It just looks like a can with holes in it. However  by actual tests  it  burns far less fuel  and  does so  smoke free. A common  test measure is  to see how fast it will heat up a quart or gallon of water. This is an unequivocal indication of BTU output .  The original  stove  was  just a pot but since then people have  experimented  and  found the addition of a small computer fan greatly enhances the heat output of the fire and  increases the gasification process.
The fan can easily be powered by a pair of penlight batteries  or a small solar panel.
This makes it ideal for off grid use.

If you could  combine  this  kind of  stove with a suitably sized  Stirling engine you could  generate  electricity  while burning wood  for heat. And also be completely independent on  fossil fuel supplies.  EPA and other  experts  have determined that burning wood is carbon neutral so the  environmental  concerns about  global warming due to green house gasses are also addressed.

~~  END  ~~

Monday, January 24, 2011

MORE ON TOOLS FOR OFF-GRID

Some people going off grid try the traditional method of building a log house in the woods. Others tend to attempt going a more modern way by creating their own power source and living with as many modern appliances as they can power.

The early pioneer homestead approach will rely heavily on traditional logging tools and wood cutting implements. Saws axes and knives play a prominent role.
When one of these gets broken or needing resharpening the blacksmiths tools and techniques come into play. For several centuries the blacksmith represented   the best technology the century had to offer.
Gradually as   the automotive age represented the pinnacle of industrial technology   and mass production with identically formed parts that were interchangeable this changed.
With interchangeable duplicate parts, fine tools like precise wrenches sockets and various screwdrivers became the norm. The adjustable wrenches and pliers gave way to precisely sized wrenches to work mass produced fasteners.
If the off grid home is making use of a lot of technology and equipment then   the most suitable tools are those intended to open and close these nuts bolts and screws.

As the level of technology increases the off-grid dweller needs to have more and more knowledge in order to be a successful DIYer. If a PV panel and battery is included in the system   some knowledge of how to use a multi meter is required. Equally important is an understanding of what safe work practices   are required.

As a minimum a decent set of socket wrenches as well as a set of open end and box wrenches will be needed. With so many styles of screw heads in use a full set of screwdrivers or else a set with interchangeable tips becomes essential.   A multi meter and some electrical tools for cutting, stripping, and terminating (crimping) wires are essential if you intend to do any wiring yourself.

If your mechanical skills extend to doing pump and motor repairs additional tools will be needed.  The list becomes endless.
As a guide to what basic tools are needed consult DIY books on home repair, Auto repair and farm repair work.  Most of these books begin with a recommended list of common hand tools you would need  to accomplish the tasks explained in the book.
You will quickly find many tools are common to each group. Carpenters use a hammer  that has a claw  for removing a nail while mechanics  have a hammer  with a round ball in place of the carpenters claw. Sine I have both I find myself using  whatever comes to hand first  that works. In every category of tool you will discover a range of sizes  from the tiny to the gigantic. Each has a specialized place.
If your off-grid place includes  horses  pretty soon you will want  a minimal blacksmiths forge and anvil for shaping horse shoes. This opens up a whole new range of  possibilities.  As soon as you master the basic techniques you will realize that you now have the beginnings of making your own tools. From then on there is an endless number of possibilities.
 
If you are building or adding on to or even just repairing an existing dwelling, various  carpenter and wood working tools  become essential. Rough tools for logging  can be fabricated  by a blacksmith  but finer tools  for indoor joinery work  require a delicate touch.  Good quality cutting tools requires  special alloys  that can be sharpened and that will hold that edge.  This requires more than a forge, hammer and anvil to maintain.
At the very least a collection of various files and grind stones are required. 

Although we have  become accustomed to molded plastic and stamped metal for most of our household appliances pioneers  were extremely innovative in making things  out of wood.  Sometimes  the only factory made appliance was  the metal stove. However stones can be used to build fire places. Wood and leather was used to make pumps  and wooden buckets  were the norm. 

The point of this is not to advocate a return to pre industrial days  but to point out that  in the absence  of  abundant  energy and a manufacturing base  capable of fabricating  all the convenient  appliances we got used to it is still possible to make the essential things  we need to be comfortable.

The industrial age depended entirely on nearly free energy and in the beginning  low cost labor.  If  we accept  that petroleum supplies  will run out and we  cannot go backwards and use coal instead  then we need  to  cut our dependence  on the industry  that is so reliant  on this source of energy.  This requires a complete  paradigm shift  away from a consumer, disposable society and towards  a conserver society.
Man is a tool making animal. His entire culture is based on this ability to make tools and benefit from the results of using those  tools.


~~  END  ~~

TOOL KIT FOR OFF-GRID

The  question was asked  on another forum. What kind of tool kit  would  people  take  for living off grid. The more I thought about this the  more it became apparent  the  answer is – “ it depends”  or else  bring one of everything.

However. it is apparent to everyone that  living off grid  involves  being  very handy and  inclined  towards DIY.

Most  off-grid  homes are remote from  urban centers where you  easily find repair shops or  places where you can order repair / replacements parts.

I do  not know how many off-gridders  still keep their  regular jobs  that has a nice big regular paycheck.  Those that no longer have  that financial cushion  must often make do instead of simply buying  a new  replacement  when something breaks or going out to buy something  if they feel they need it. .
Having tools  around  becomes a necessity.  But which tools?  If you  are still working on  building  a home  and  fitting it  with  plumbing,  heating, and alternative  power the  range of needed tools  becomes  very  wide.  You may need  big saws for cutting down trees to build a log cabin.  You will need  small saws and axes for finer  details and finally  screwdrivers  wrenches   and  such  for installing the equipment. If  you are  repairing or maintaining machinery  you need mechanics tools like socket sets and wrenches. You may also need specialized tools  like torque wrenches and  compression testers, nd snap ring pliers. Some cars requires tools that are specific to a particular  model or series  of engines.  I forget how many times I had to fabricate  some specific tool called for  in the service manual by a manufacturers  part number. You can usually  find  something equivalent sold by the auto supply stores from a third party manufacturer but they are usually expensive. 
One  big issue is whether or not to include power tools or  fall back on  hand tools only.
Much depends on whether or not the off grid  site can  provide the necessary power.  If  you have a substantial generator  you  would be able to  power  electrical and even air tools. But without  substantial power  you would have to rely strictly on hand operated tools.
.   . 
In pioneer communities the blacksmith was among  the  essential skilled trades.  Maybe  this will become true again. Visit any  farm museum and see for yourself  how many tools  were made of wood. A blacksmith  can forge axes and knives to cut the wood.

The original question remains: what tools would put in your tool kit for off-grid living?

~~  END  ~~

METHANE DIGESTERS OR ENERGY INDEPENDENCE FOR RURAL RESIDENTS

There is a technology well known and used in other parts of the world that is largely ignored by North American residents.
Methane  gas is  chemically   the same as  natural gas  but is derived from natural biological sources instead of  drilled  for in deep wells.
Decomposing  natural material  produce this flammable gas. One of the best sources of this methane gas is  manure  and specifically chicken manure.
To maximize production of this gas, requires a closed container  kept at the optimum temperature and  a system for capturing the gas and directing it to  the point of use. 

This is not some unproven  theory.  A Google search produced 286,000 results in 0.21 seconds   Results  include  You tube videos of  home made  generators made from empty drums  but also  leads to  Government funded pilot projects  supervised by state Universities. There are also   reports and photos  of  installations   that not only provide fuel for on-site generators but  document how  methane is compressed  and stored as fuel for vehicles.

An example from the first 10 results included this website

John Fry was a  farmer  who did pioneering work in documenting his own farm experiments back in the fifties. He wrote a white paper  which to this day is considered  a prime  resource on how to set up your own  methane  digester. 

Go here for a PDF copy

The Mid western  states projects  focused on large  dairy  herd operations and farm food factory  operations.  The documented results  proved this can be a win-win situation.   The large and smelly manure piles posed a disposal problem for the dairy farm operators, it  was  an objectionable source of smelly air pollution and  used up valuable resources in time and money to store and transport  what was considered a nuisance waste product.

Here is one example:


There is so much  data available it would be difficult to get through the list in a day.
With 286,000 hits  I doubt it will be  possible.
Actually reading the reports would take weeks.
Research is not called for,  but rather a practical application of what has already been proven and  demonstrated. The wealth of data should also help convince government agencies of project viability. What is needed  is willing participants.

Although the storage  facility ( manure pile) is  still present  it now becomes a source of fuel gas  that is used to drive generators  for electrical energy and  when compressed became fuel suited for the farm vehicles in portable containers.  By creating their own electrical energy and  vehicle fuel,  considerable savings in operating costs were achieved.  
The large documented  pilot projects do provide  information to calculate a return on investment ( ROI)  but this may not  be accurate when scaling back  the size of the operation suited for individual  homes.

Methane  production is something that can be scaled  to suit the location and source of  manure.  The system can be as simple as a couple of  oil drums  to contain the manure and capture the gases. See this You tube video for an example:

A good animation training  clip is shown here:
When you view  these video clips  thee are many other choices  available  for viewing. Some  come from  other parts of the world and may not have English language translations. Several clips show engine running  that have been modified to use methane instead of gasoline. Conversion kits are available  starting at a couple of hundred Dollars.
These gas mixer boxes and injection valves are not hard to duplicate  so  once  a sample is available  more can  be home made.

Another  source of  gas is shown here:

With as few as a dozen chickens  enough methane gas could be produced to power a small generator  for an hour or two run time to store enough electrical power  in batteries  to last  a modest off grid  home for  one day. 
Larger flocks or  herds of cows and pigs  could provide more raw material in the form of manure.
The white paper by John Fry does provide  data  on how many tons of manure is needed to create so many cubic meters of gas. This  permits doing approximate calculations when scaling  a project up or down  for a given operation.

In Europe  approximately 25,000  registered  farm operations exist that generate  methane gas yet  the  concept is virtually unknown   by the general public  here in north America.
A corollary  project is  the mechanical work needed to convert a regular gasoline fuelled engine. It is not  very  difficult but does requires basic mechanics skills. In the absence of  knowledgeable  people who are comfortable working on small motors  a class could be set up. Having basic mechanics skills is a transferable skill that is usable  in other applications.  It is also  essential  for  better self reliance

This lack of information about  methane digesters illustrates  how  influential  advertising by the petroleum industry and the electric power utilities  can be.  When  you mention off-grid  people automatically think  solar or maybe wind.   Again this is largely due to   the national advertising  campaigns aimed at southern or mid western American   residents  in the sun belt and  wind  swept prairies. 

Although  it is known by experts in the field  it is not widely discussed that  solar panels are not very effective  in higher latitudes nor in areas having significant or prolonged cloud cover during  winter months.  The present solution for  dealing with power outages in these areas is to run a generator fuelled by diesel or gasoline.  The cost of  solar panels is high enough  that  only very affluent  home owners can even consider  using solar to  supplement or replace  BC Hydro power. In areas  of  frequent outages  and  delayed repairs   due to distance and access by storm blocked roads  it is  imperative to find viable alternatives.
For rural residents  having flocks of chickens  a methane digester may be  one such viable  alternative.

The project  has to be  done in stages.
Before starting  a project it  would be good to have an information seminar  to familiarize people with  what  is involved and how they can participate and what they are likely to learn. More importantly it will illustrate how they can be empowered to be more self reliant and less dependent  on the government.


 The initial demonstration should be small scale to minimize cost and time to construct.
This will also  be  useful in demonstrating that  it is not a big  money, big business  project.  It will demonstrate  that this is something  local residents  can take ownership of while offering them some self reliance  in providing electric power.

Once the concept has been proven  and  people  feel more confident  about how  they can  become involved.  
There are several technical options available. If the amount of manure is limited  only so much methane gas can be  produced.  This in turn limits how long a generator can  be run for. 
An education program on energy conservation would be  beneficial  for everyone concerned.   BC Hydro is already doing some  public education  campaigns   to inform  people  on how to reduce their consumption of electrical energy  but  all too often this  misses the mark  because it is aimed at urban residents or else it is not  seen as relevant to rural living.

Any informational seminars has to take into consideration what local conditions are like.
There was one campaign by BC HYDRO to get rid of the spare freezer  in the garage or basement. 
To northern residents  accustomed to  hunting moose or deer for  food  such a freezer may be used  only part of the year so the campaign is not seen as relevant.
A better  point  would be to show how  a freezer  needs to have  dwindling  meat  quantity replaced by bottles of water to keep it from cycling as frequently and  finally when the meat is completely used up the freezer should be  turned off until needed again.

Everyone has accepted the convenience of remote controls  but fewer people  are aware of just how much power is used in standby mode  by these  remotely operated devices when  supposedly turned off.  A simple power meter  measurement  can illustrate how much this adds up to  on the Hydro bill. Few rural residents are even aware that such meters are now available  at affordable prices ( $20)

A seminar can be held  where  various appliances  can be measured  to show exactly how  much energy is used. This may convince residents  to change their habits and  use energy smart products instead. Regardless of how they derive their electrical power this will be  beneficial to all.



FUEL ALTERNATIVES

Methane derived from methane is not the only alternative source of fuel, but it is the easiest to manufacture at home.
Waste vegetable oil (WVO) meaning cooking oil from deep fryers is also feasible but will requires some effort to make it usable. To begin with it must be filtered to remove solid particle contaminants that could clog injectors and cause scoring to fuel pumps.
Vegetable oil is much thicker than diesel fuel and rapidly gels or thickens as it gets cold.  
Some amount of pre-heating the vegetable oil is often needed in cooler climates. This is an added step that adds to the effort of using waste vegetable oil
If you have access to a source of free waste vegetable oil this may still be a viable and worth while effort where you use swat equity instead of cash to obtain fuel.

Biomass including corn has been composted and reduced by fermentation to produce ethanol. Ethanol can be used as a fuel or blended into gasoline and diesel to reduce the amount petroleum needed for a given amount of engine fuel.
The process of fermenting biomass into a usable fuel is more involved and time consuming. There is also the added complication of needing a permit from the government to produce alcohol.  To be legal this alcohol must be denatured or made unfit for drinking by humans.

Hydrogen has been touted as a wonder fuel because it burns clean leaving no residue except pure water. Electrolysis has been the primary method of generating hydrogen.
Unfortunately it requires more energy to split a water molecule into its component oxygen and hydrogen atoms than the energy recovered by using the hydrogen as fuel.
Until some new advance comes along this is not yet a fuel suitable for DIY off grid creation.

Burning wood has been a mainstay of energy for off grid homes.  Unfortunately it requires a lot of effort to fetch and cut into usable pieces to fit   stoves and except for heat is very difficult to convert to other forms of energy. Steam engines seem like a good choice for converting wood heat into other forms of energy until you examine how inefficient it is.
Recent advances in technology have promised to change that.  A Sterling engine converts heat directly into motion. Some progress has been made  in combining a Stirling engine with a wood burning  stove  with a Stirling engine  Unfortunately  these are not yet  generally available to the public.

Water power is a possibility  but is often  a nightmare of bureaucracy and red tape because  water use  on existing waterways  has for  centuries  been  subject to laws and regulations.

I leave wind and solar to the last partially because both are variable and unpredictable.
Some locations have a steady supply of one or the other but most locations will experience periods of calms and even the sunniest location has darkness at night.

Water power will often vary with the season. Climate often produce cloudy conditions lasting weeks at a time.
It should be obvious that no one single source of energy is going to be the solution for every situation.  There must always be back-ups and alternative.  It should also be clear that some means of energy storage is necessary. Energy storage will be the topic of a separate blog.

~~  END  ~~

COPING WITH THE COLD WHEN OFF-GRID

Cold weather is bad at any time  but when off grid it can  really  become a problem. Heating the  living space with a wood stove  may not be the solution needed when coping with frozen pipes,  non starting vehicles  and non-functional water pumps.
Last winter, when  our pipes from the water well froze  I attempted  to use a propane  heater to warm up the place  where the pipes were located. The propane torch started off fine but within minutes the flame dwindled to nearly nothing. The temperatures were  -35F below so I brought the  torch indoors to see why it did not work.   Nothing seemed  wrong.  The tank apparently had  some gas left in it. Tried again  with same results. Finally changed tanks  and it  did work.

A post  mortem   gave me the answer. It was so cold that the liquid in the propane tank would not vaporize.  Lesson learned  propane will not  vaporize at extremely low temperature. Butane and Gasoline will continue to vaporize at -35 below.
An emergency generator  should be fuelled by gasoline, not diesel  in order for it to start  in extremely cold weather.  A diesel  relies  entirely on heat to ignite the fuel /air mixture. In extremely cold weather  most diesels require glow plugs  to assist  starting but  how to power the glow plugs when no power is available from a flat battery.

If you are going to depend on any kind of solar charger  be sure it is the kind that will work with  UV and  deliver some kind of charge even under  cloudy skies.

The  Canadian Coast Guard  has a design specification for their ice breakers  that could be adapted  for use  in off grid situations.
The design criteria  calls for  the ability  to let  a breaker  be abandoned in the ice for a year  or more. A two or three  man crew  should be able to  air lift by helicopter  and  using only a butane torch and muscle power be able to get the ship restarted and all systems  up and running  in only a few hours.  Sound crazy?  Here is how.

The key is to have a small  one cylinder  engine  that you can  pull start  by hand, even in the coldest  conditions. The hand held butane torch will ignite even  at very low temperatures. The small engine  intake manifold  is entirely metal so a blow torch can be applied directly to heat up the manifold  as a way to preheat the air  going into the  combustion chamber.  Be careful when applying  this method to  consumer engines because they use many plastic parts  instead of solid metal.

This small engine  drives a compressor to pump up the compressed air bottle  used for starting  a generator motor.  Cold diesels  will require glow plugs or  some kind  of starting fluid. ( actually vaporized fluid)  Ether is considered  too harsh for  use on a diesel so use propane or butane. With the generator started, you can now  get lights  and  drive  the bigger compressor to recharge the main engine air start bottles.  The  big electrical  generator  will also facilitate  using electric  glow plugs   for getting  cold diesels going  as well as driving big heaters for the interior of the ship.



So how does this relate to being off grid?  The ice breaker is off grid when frozen in the arctic ice.  Consider a homestead in the frozen winter after a week or so of  cloudy, snowy weather.  The battery bank  will eventually become so depleted it will not even light up an LED light never mind  power any fans for moving  warm air from the wood stove to other rooms in the house. There will not be enough power for  driving heat trace cables to thaw out frozen pipes or run the well pump.

Snow blowers  have electric start  engines for cranking in cold  weather. These  electric starters are 120V AC  based on the assumption  the house is grid connected.
I have looked  but failed to find any 12V DC starter equipped small generators  in the 2kw  size. All of them are intended  for  camping use  in warmer  climates. 
It is only when you get into bigger sizes do you get an optional electric start from a 12V battery.  For technical reasons so large a generator may not be a good bet for an emergency generator.
Bear in mind that a lead acid battery  needs regular and periodic maintenance  and use to remain usable. Sitting unused  in cold weather is  sure to  ruin a battery.

There are portable power packs available in the automotive stores  specifically intended to  boost cars  with flat batteries.  These  packs  are perfect for  starting  small generators   which  in turn are good for  recharging  the depleted battery. I have  personally started  big  V6 and V8 engines four times with such a portable power pack that was fully charged.  A solar  charger can maintain such a pack at peak charge  after being  charged up by other means.  With enough time, a solar panel could even recharge such a pack from complete discharge.

For off-grid emergency restart after  the wind or solar powered  battery bank got depleted  by a prolonged winter storm a very small gasoline fuelled  generator  is  the solution.  It will not be large enough to power your whole house hold but it will get you going again.

~~  END  ~~

Friday, January 21, 2011

Free Fuel Justification

I was asked why I was advocating Biogas or methane as a renewable fuel source. I have  been thinking about this  method of  creating fuel for so long I lost  sight of the fact  that to many people  this is not  an obvious  source of energy and  it certainly is not  a viable option for people living in a near urban  location. However it is a viable option for homestead farms and other homes out in the country. This is especially true for those making a concerted attempt to live off grid.
Something I took for granted was the fact I was thinking of a system intended for a residence where energy conservation was being practiced.

Detractors of alternative energy schemes often use the argument   that none of these schemes will equal fossil fuels in quantity of energy provided at present rates of use.
This is true, but let’s stops for a moment to ask if the present rate of consumption per capita is justified or sensible.
Energy conservation is not about doing more with less. It is about doing the same with less
Everyone recognizes that fuel cost will escalate no matter what.  At some point a substantial portion of the population will not be able to afford fuel in the required amount. At that point they will have to cut back and their quality of life style will degrade. 
People who choose to live off grid have the option of switching to alternatives sooner. Many rural homes are heated with wood.  Unfortunately, replacement and renewal will take longer due to how fast a tree grows.
In other parts of the world biogas is already used and has been for decades.  Biogas is the natural result of decomposition. We find it in swamps land fill sites and on farms with manure piles. 
Land fill sites spend an enormous amount of money to capture and safely vent the biogas to prevent an out of control fire. Smart operators have used this biogas to fuel generators and thus making them energy independent. Some of the larger land fill sites generate enough electrical energy to enable them to sell back surplus power to the utility grid.
Although using animal manure and waste plant material has been known and used elsewhere this technique is largely unknown in North America.  As long as people eat meat and dairy products we will have farm operations to raise these animals for food. There is a continuing supply of animal manure not to mention sewage waste from ourselves. If we considered manure as a resource for biogas it would be considered a renewable resource.  The advocates for oil will argue that this will never supply as much energy as what we now get from oil.  That is also true but oil is really only necessary for mobile vehicles. Nearly all stationary power users can use natural gas or biogas.  Almost all new house construction now uses natural gas for heating. Many of the power generating stations use natural gas instead of coal because it burns cleaner than coal.  In locations where natural is not yet piped in, propane is often used as a substitute.    

Homes located in areas where they keep livestock can set themselves up to produce biogas (methane) from the manure produced by the livestock.  This activity neatly dovetails with another growing trend.  People are increasingly becoming concerned with food  animal factories.  There is concern about the growth hormones used to speed up fattening the animals for slaughter and the use of  antibiotics needed to  keep these animals alive until they are slaughtered and  activist groups are  also concerned  about the inhumane treatment  found in most of these  factories. 
A parallel  movement  to eat only locally produced  foods  is also  motivating   the  continuance  of local farm raised  food instead of  meat produced in a factory  half a continent  away.  The movement is prevalent enough  a descriptive word  is coined. Locavores refer to people  who only buy and eat food produced locally.


Here is an example of a large scale  methane digester intended to produce  natural gas in  industrial  quantities.
This digester is expected to come  on stream sometime in 2011.

Although this is a  large scale  installation,   the process is scalable  for a small  installation suited to a single family dwelling.
My enthusiasm for this derives from the fact  the feed stock is renewable  and  at present  poses a disposable waste challenge. The solid remnant can still be used as fertilizer for farm fields but without the odour. 





Unless we make sure  we use the most effective means of converting wood into heat energy  we  may use up the available supply faster than it can be replace. Such is the case in some parts of the world where the whole landscape has been denuded of trees by centuries of fuel gathering.  The Bible speaks of giant cedars from Lebanon used to build Solomon’s temple. Yet today Lebanon is practically treeless.  Many portions of Europe are now so devoid of forest that cutting a tree for firewood is forbidden. 

Free Fuel

Now there is a phrase  that should get your attention.  While the fuel may be free  there will be a cost involved in harvesting  the fuel.
For example, you may be allowed to go and harvest  slash and slab cuts from a logging or sawmill operation but  you will expend fuel for the vehicle to fetch  the wood and  the chainsaw   used to cut up the  scrap wood into usable firewood.
If you live in an area  where logging is not a big activity; another  method  of  getting free fuel is called a methane digester.
This is a system whereby you capture the naturally generated  methane produced from  manure and  composted biologic materials.  In its simplest  version it’s a drum or tank with manure in it and  a closed top  so the  evolving gas is collected   for later use.
This basic system has been in use in Asia  among other places for many decades. Mostly it was used  for cooking gas. However, the concept has never  caught on in Morth America.
Any sort  of  livestock operation will generate  a quantity of manure. If the  livestock is sheltered  part or full time in any kind of building, the manure will pile up and  has to be dealt with. Why not turn this  waste into an asset? 
If you only have a dozen chickens  you will only get a small quantity of  bird poop but this is still enough to start with.  It will provide enough  methane to run a small genset  for an hour or so each day. Surplus eggs can be sold or bartered if you do not consume all the eggs laid by your flock.  If you have a ready market for  selling eggs  it’s a good reason to increase your flock.  Adding a cow and pig(s)  to the livestock herd will provide you with meat  and more feed stock for fuel.
Although  you may not have an unlimited  amount of power available, it should be sufficient  to power your essential needs.  At the very least it will reduce how much  conventional ‘fossil’ fuel you need to buy.
Methane  produced  from  digesters is called  ‘bio fuel’.  Several companies  sell conversion kits  for  regular  piston engines  generator sets. Some  conversion kits allow you to switch back and forth  between  two fuels  other  kits make the change over  permanent so you have to choose  beforehand which fuel you intend to use.  

In  geographic locations where  its  cloudy for long periods of time  solar may not be sufficient. After all  even the biggest  battery bank will become  depleted  eventually.
A back up generator becomes a necessity  to supplement  a solar  or wind generator installation.

There is also the  green aspect  to consider. Methane  is  chemically the same as  natural gas. However  biogas  contains a percentage or trace of other gases mostly Carbon dioxide. . Methane has been designated as a greenhouse gas because it  contributes to global warming.  What could be better than consuming this biogas  and thus reducing the need to burn fossil fuel which is considered a worse source of air pollution?
Check out these links

This Jenbacher engine is an example of what we should be doing  for domestic power.

CAUTION!  This  you Tube  site is addictive. There are so many  informative video clips you could spend hours  exploring  them while learning how we are literally throwing awa  feed stock for FREE FUEL.
 

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Postscript
this a wood gasification stove