I was asked by the Calthorpe project to come up with a project that combined hands on building and science with renewable energy, into something useful and interesting to visitors.
We finally decided on a wind powered mobile phone charger; the wind charges a battery and then this power is available to the garden’s visitors to charge their phone or make an emergency phone call.
I’m developing the design and the electronics now, so we can build the whole thing on site with their young people. This will involve making the blades, mounting the motor, erecting the mounting, connecting the electrics and the battery. I’m hoping we can make a lot from old bike parts. This section of the project will be delivered in 4 half day segments in July.
After we’ve done the Calthorpe install, I’ll be looking for other locations for more wind chargers!
Check the wiki for more information about the design as it progresses…
The solar irrigation system has now been installed and calibrated. The water is running in the poly tunnel - rain water pumped with solar energy!
Published on December 2, 2009
in news.
I’ve been trying to make sense of all the different options for measuring current in a circuit. I’ve started a page on the wiki here.
I did a full test of the solar irrigation project yesterday. Everything worked well apart from the voltage sensing. This was easily fixed with a different sized resistor. Now we’re just waiting for the plumbing to be fixed and we can install!
Published on September 13, 2009
in news.
At Glastonbury, the bike cinema got damaged. We’re not sure how it happened, but I found the battery isolation switch in the ‘open’ position. The battery acts as a voltage regulator, and when out of the circuit there is nothing to stop dangerous voltages (> 16V) destroying the LCD, sound, DVD or microcontroller inside.
We accepted half responsibility each, and I’ve repaired the damage and also designed and installed an over voltage crowbar circuit (with fuse) before any of the electronics.
The system is now fully operational and even more robust than it was before.
I visited climate camp a few weeks ago, and it was a great inspiration. Met a lot of people and checked out quite a few bike powered setups. It was a great opportunity for me to ask “what would make this work better”, or “do you have any problems that could be solved with electronics”. Some of the suggestions were:
- visual feedback of power in/out
- some idea about how long you’ve got left on your battery
- cheaper/self build charge controller
I met Patrick from Bicyology, who was very keen to collaborate and help build an open/DIY bike charge controller.
I’ve started a new page on the wiki, and it seems an ideal step on the way to the fully fledged open charge controller.
Published on April 30, 2009
in news.
please contribute your ideas to the wiki!
Some ideas I have are
- data logger
- generic charge controller
The idea behind open renewables is to build a collection of open source/open hardware renewables projects. They’ll either be linked or hosted here.
Our first projects are:
The minimal bike charge controller - for your little sound system or other low power setup. This will get you up and running for about £40 (plus battery, inverter and generator). The first version of the hardware is being tested in Mexico! Check back for updates!
The Hackney city farm bike powered single person cinema. This project is nearing completion, installation date in a few weeks.
Both projects are under active development.
