If I have the right blades on an alternator is wind alone strong enough to make it charge?

Question

I am hoping to harness the wind in order to charge a couple deep cycle batteries and then hook up an inverter to convert it back to 110 volt and be able to use it in my home. Can anyone give me any advise or any ideas on how to do this as cheaply as I can? I am total electric here and I just got hit with a monthly bill of 384.00 just for this month alone. I want to find a cheaper sorce of power.

Answer 1

There are a number of wind-power web sites. Yes, it is possible to produce useful amounts of electricity with an alternator, but it's unlikely you'd get enough for hot water, space heating, air conditioning or refrigeration. Consider that marine deep-discharge batteries might store 60 to 100 A/hr each at 12 volts, which is about 1000 W/hr, times the inverter efficiency (perhaps 80%), so you'd have about 800 W/hr on a full charge. That would run 100 W lamp for 8 hr (or a 1200 W heater for only a few minutes before damaging the battery by drawing 100 A). Batteries cost ~$100 each and last perhaps 5 years, if cycled carefully.
It is practical if you're far from a power line and are determined to use low power, but otherwise a losing proposition. BTW, there are some stores specializing in 12V DC appliances, so you could run without the inverter.

Answer 2

Your heart is in the right place but the math won't work. A windplant and its installation/batteries/inverter in your situation would pay back in....never. It might be wiser to look at ways of reducing your usage, or waste.

Answer 3

I assume you are talking about a car altinator. in theory it could work, but you would have to gear it to spin the right speed