open renewables

Bicycle phone charger

matthew — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:07:38 +0000

I’ve put this together quickly as something that will hopefully be useful for occupybristoluk (twitter web)

It’s based on the mobile phone wind charger I’ve been working on recently, with an added frame for a bike and a 24v scooter motor.

gas and electricity monitor

matthew — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:55:18 +0000

Gas and electricity monitoring with a battery powered, wireless monitor, uploading to pachube via a nanode! Read more about it here: http://openrenewables.org.uk/wiki/index.php/Gas_and_electricity_monitor

wind powered mobile phone charger for the Calthorpe project

matthew — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:56:53 +0000

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…

HCF Bike Cinema updated

matthew — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 06:21:55 +0000

The bike cinema kept getting broken because it was being used for a purpose that it wasn’t designed for. After talking with Chris and Gustavo we came up with a set of upgrades that would ensure the bike cinema keeps working!

battery isolate switch for storage,
toughen the insides to make sure it survives regular transport,
audio output jack,
battery charging socket,
easy to change DVD hatch.

Solar irrigation system installed and calibrated

matthew — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:54:57 +0000

The solar irrigation system has now been installed and calibrated. The water is running in the poly tunnel - rain water pumped with solar energy!

river simple’s open source hydrogen car

matthew — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:02:28 +0000

I was just reading about river simple’s hydrogen car - a really excellent concept. Not only is it a breakthrough in technology (50% efficient at recovering energy lost through braking), it’s a breakthrough in car ownership.

Their motto is ’sustainable mobility’, and this is achieved by leasing the cars rather than selling them. This puts the focus on long life and low running costs, both positive things when it comes to sustainability.

Finally, the whole car is an open source/open hardware project! So people are free to build and modify their own versions - much like our own projects here at openrenewables.org.uk

DIY solar rainbow maker

matthew — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:30:46 +0000

Check out the latest update to the wiki: a DIY solar rainbow maker! For £10 you can get everything you need to build a cool solar powered rainbow maker. It works by collecting energy from the sun and using it to turn around a lead glass crystal. When you the sun shines you get cool rainbows moving round the room!

Unltd funding!

matthew — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:34:59 +0000

I’m excited, pleased and proud to announce that I’ve been awarded money from UnLtd!

The money will go to pay for the development of the modular bike charge controller and the open charge controller project, which will make it easier for us DIY green hackers to create renewable energy systems.

Current sensing

matthew — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:00:23 +0000

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.

full system test of solar irrigation project

matthew — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:37:47 +0000

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!