I am always looking for dynohubs as they are great for making wind generators. I have posted one for sale on energybook.co.uk if anyone is interested. Here is the link http://www.wxtrade.com/detail.asp?id=40723 Does anyone else know where to get more o...

After making the V10 I realized that off the shelf, cheap dc Motor requires alot of RPM, I do not want to gear something made of so light material that it does not have the mass to sustain the rotation, so I decided to design and build one that has more RPM yet has the same Blade area and that is wh... By: faroun

A wind turbine must have a clear shot at the wind to perform efficiently. Turbulence, which both reduces performance and “works” the turbine harder than smooth air, is highest close to the ground and diminishes with height. Also, wind speed increases with height above the ground. As a general rule of thumb, you should install a wind turbine on a tower such that it is at least 30 ft above any obstacles within 300 ft. Smaller turbines typically go on shorter towers than larger turbines. A 250 watt turbine is often, for example, installed on a 30-50 ft tower, while a 10 kW turbine will usually need a tower of 80-120 ft. We do not recommend mounting wind turbines to small buildings that people live in because of the inherent problems of turbulence, noise, and vibration.

The least expensive tower type is the guyed-lattice tower, such as those commonly used for ham radio antennas. Smaller guyed towers are sometimes constructed with tubular sections or pipe. Self-supporting towers, either lattice or tubular in construction, take up less room and are more attractive but they are also more expensive. Telephone poles can be used for smaller wind turbines. Towers, particularly guyed towers, can be hinged at their base and suitably equipped to allow them to be tilted up or down using a winch or vehicle. This allows all work to be done at ground level. The purchaser can easily erect some towers and turbines, while others are best left to trained professionals. Anti-fall devices, consisting of a wire with a latching runner, are available and are highly recommended for any tower that will be climbed. Aluminium towers should be avoided because they are prone to developing cracks. Wind turbine manufacturers usually offer towers and purchasing one from them is the best way to ensure proper compatibility.

Of course energy generated from the wind is a good source of environmentally safe energy it has been for thousands of years. Unreliable well it depends how you define unreliable. Maybe the technology is, like all technology - but the wind? Well if you place the turbines in a windy area the wind, I would suggest, is more reliable than say oil, coal or nuclear over the longer term. No reliance on other nations to supply the fuel, no fuel transport problems and no long-term safety considerations.

No, all in all wind is pretty reliable and safe. The problem is that there is not enough of it, where we need it. In addition the technology, land and transportation of the energy from remote locations can cost a lot in the short term. In the long-term, what do we want a planet fit to live on or a good dose of Climate Change?

I have developed an alternative to ebay. Well maybe that is an exaggeration as ebay is a great site that I use it everyday to buy and sell and fund the promotion of my own auction site. Maybe now is the time for new sites to rise on the shirttails of ebay. Niche sites that are robust, trustworthy and most of all focused on the needs of a particular group of people.

Why is this possible now? Well auction software is evolving everyday to become low cost, easy to install and above all a pleasant experience for buyers and sellers. We use rainworx - software that just wasn’t around a few years ago. A problem that I learnt at cost.

Back in the dot com boom days I created with a few friends a company inside one of the then Big Six consultancies called waterexchange. A UK based company facilitating the buying and selling of tangible and intangible assets associated with the water industry. We spent literally millions of pounds developing bespoke software with a company called Moai to facilitate trades in abstraction licenses and the materials and tools used in the water industry. So much money in fact that the company was essentially insolvent - couple this with a conflict of interest with our host’ company it was time to move call it day. Although the website waterexchangeuk.com still exists.

It we started now we could exploit the functionality of rainworx and get things off the ground for a few thousand dollars. Indeed that is what I have done with energybook (www.EnergyBook.co.uk) a site focused on green energy and sustainable living. It’s free to use for a start and can host auctions and classifieds as well as trade sales and reverse auctions. So will my new site be a success and a rival to ebay?.. Well you will need to be the judge.

But what I can say is that software is no longer the barrier and the success of the site will hinge on advertising and promotion. And so back to my first contention for if there are to be any successful rivals to ebay it will be in the niche area where users and promotions can be concentrated into a story of success. Beware ebay the niche players are growing and ready to take a slice of the action.

Please pop along  - www.EnergyBook.co.uk