New Things in Science & Technology Thread

[Deadstring67]

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T-box - Device that Harnesses Wind from Passing Trains to Produce Electricity

Qian Jiang from China and Alessandro Leonetti Luparini from Italy are the two industrial designers that decided to take advantage of the wind produced by the speeding trains.

They managed to design a device called T-box that harnesses the wind from passing trains to generate power. The device is mounted between the sleepers on a track - it can be installed along railways or subway lines.

According to the designers on one kilometer of track (0.62 miles) it would be possible to mount about 150 T-boxes and when the train will pass over them, the turbine inside each device will produce electricity.

It is worth mentioning that much of the device would be below ground level. If installed on a busy route, these T-boxes will be able to produce a decent amount of energy.

However, there will be certain problems linked with keeping each device clean and safe. This is because of the dust and debris that are deposited when the train speeds along.





















Nevertheless, the invention really has a huge potential and it would be interesting to note that the T-box design was the Lite-On winning project in 2010. It was also presented in Xuexue Institute in Taipei last summer.

Source:
http://www.infoniac.com/environment/...ectricity.html
T-box Concept

Video:

[Deadstring67]

Wind Tunnel that Produces Power from Passing Subway Trains



In order to tackle the vehicular traffic problem, cities around the world are building underground subway systems that would cut the number of vehicles on the roads.

But in addition to reducing the amount of cars on city streets, Korean designers Sinhyung Cho, Hong Sun Hye and Ryu Chan Hyeon thought about creating a conceptual underground system that would generate renewable energy.

The team designed an underground tunnel for big cities. The futuristic tunnel is able to produce clean energy by making use of the wind power that is generated by passing subway trains

Designers called their project simply the Wind Tunnel. The power obtained from the system can be then used to electrify a number of facilities located on the ground.





Source:
http://www.infoniac.com/environment/...ay-trains.html
Wind Tunnel that Produces Power from Passing Subway Trains by jobsense

[ichiriki]

Wow. What a very informative thread.

Thanks TS!

[Theko]

A more important question, how much for one windmill?

[Deadstring67]

A more important question, how much for one windmill?

The $40,000 ballpark price for the Bergey Windpower Co.'s 10-kilowatt generator, including a power inverter and installation, is a big enough bite to discourage anyone, especially those who may not know how long they plan to live in the same place. [ Note: Mr. Sansome received a rebate of ~ $20,000 from the California Energy Commission. ]

Sansome has figured that his windmill will pay for itself in six to eight years. The life of the gadget is estimated to be 25 to 30 years, which equals a lot of free energy over a long period of time.

Southern California Edison representative Laura Rudison estimated more conservatively the span of time before the average homeowner would break even.

"When you really run the numbers, it may be 12 or 15 years," she said. [ if you ignore the CEC rebate ]

Rudison is the project manager for Edison's Net Metering Program, which does business with customers who generate their own electricity.

Because neither the wind nor the sun provide continuous sources of power, most of those who generate power from them also rely on Edison to provide power at night or on a calm day.

By using an electric meter that runs both backward and forward, the Net Metering Program allows small, private generators to barter the power they use for the power they generate on a one-to-one basis.

Source:
Wind power, how much does a windmill cost?, page 1

or this

How much do wind turbines cost?
Wind turbines come in many shapes and sizes, but here is a general guideline on how much they cost:

Total costs for installing a commercial-scale wind turbine will vary significantly depending on the cost of financing, when the turbine purchase agreement was executed, construction contracts, the type of machine, the location of the project, and other factors. Cost components for wind projects include wind resource assessment and site analysis expenses; the price and freight of the turbine and tower; construction expenses; permitting and interconnection studies; utility system upgrades, transformers, protection, and metering equipment; insurance; operations, warranty, maintenance, and repair; legal and consultation fees. Others factors that will impact your project economics include your financing costs, the size of your project, and taxes.

The costs for a commercial scale wind turbine in 2007 ranged from $1.2 million to $2.6 million, per MW of nameplate capacity installed.

Most of the commercial-scale turbines installed today are 2 MW in size and cost roughly $3.5 Million installed. Wind turbines have significant economies of scale. Smaller farm or residential scale turbines cost less overall, but are more expensive per kilowatt of energy producing capacity. Wind turbines under 100 kilowatts cost roughly $3,000 to $5,000 per kilowatt of capacity. That means a 10 kilowatt machine (the size needed to power an average home) might cost $35,000-$50,000.

How much do wind turbines cost? | Windustry

[Theko]

The $40,000 ballpark price for the Bergey Windpower Co.'s 10-kilowatt generator, including a power inverter and installation, is a big enough bite to discourage anyone, especially those who may not know how long they plan to live in the same place. [ Note: Mr. Sansome received a rebate of ~ $20,000 from the California Energy Commission. ]

Sansome has figured that his windmill will pay for itself in six to eight years. The life of the gadget is estimated to be 25 to 30 years, which equals a lot of free energy over a long period of time.

Southern California Edison representative Laura Rudison estimated more conservatively the span of time before the average homeowner would break even.

"When you really run the numbers, it may be 12 or 15 years," she said. [ if you ignore the CEC rebate ]

Rudison is the project manager for Edison's Net Metering Program, which does business with customers who generate their own electricity.

Because neither the wind nor the sun provide continuous sources of power, most of those who generate power from them also rely on Edison to provide power at night or on a calm day.

By using an electric meter that runs both backward and forward, the Net Metering Program allows small, private generators to barter the power they use for the power they generate on a one-to-one basis.

Source:
Wind power, how much does a windmill cost?, page 1

or this

How much do wind turbines cost?
Wind turbines come in many shapes and sizes, but here is a general guideline on how much they cost:

Total costs for installing a commercial-scale wind turbine will vary significantly depending on the cost of financing, when the turbine purchase agreement was executed, construction contracts, the type of machine, the location of the project, and other factors. Cost components for wind projects include wind resource assessment and site analysis expenses; the price and freight of the turbine and tower; construction expenses; permitting and interconnection studies; utility system upgrades, transformers, protection, and metering equipment; insurance; operations, warranty, maintenance, and repair; legal and consultation fees. Others factors that will impact your project economics include your financing costs, the size of your project, and taxes.

The costs for a commercial scale wind turbine in 2007 ranged from $1.2 million to $2.6 million, per MW of nameplate capacity installed.

Most of the commercial-scale turbines installed today are 2 MW in size and cost roughly $3.5 Million installed. Wind turbines have significant economies of scale. Smaller farm or residential scale turbines cost less overall, but are more expensive per kilowatt of energy producing capacity. Wind turbines under 100 kilowatts cost roughly $3,000 to $5,000 per kilowatt of capacity. That means a 10 kilowatt machine (the size needed to power an average home) might cost $35,000-$50,000.

How much do wind turbines cost? | Windustry

Nice, seems feasible enough. Thank you sir.

[rans23]

thank you for posting, tagpila kaha ang pinaka barato nga set ani in PHP nya kanang available sa cebu. mo power naba kaha og bomba sa tubig.

[stealthghost]

Kani kita ko sa China, some street lights are like this. I don't know if it's working effectively though.. morning man ko nag lakaw2x ato.

[phattchoi]

thank you for posting, tagpila kaha ang pinaka barato nga set ani in PHP nya kanang available sa cebu. mo power naba kaha og bomba sa tubig.

bro pwede raman dili kurinte ang mu power sa bomba sa tubig. pwede man wind convert to mechanical deritso.

[Deadstring67]

Kani kita ko sa China, some street lights are like this. I don't know if it's working effectively though.. morning man ko nag lakaw2x ato.

nahan jd ko ana oh. nag plano name sa ako amigo ana. mag himo pa me proto type.
bsta maka dagan na og aircon... ok na kaau.