Interesting charging device

[eaglesight333]

Hyrbid Wind and Solar Charger from Kinesis Finally Available : TreeHugger

Hyrbid Wind and Solar Charger from Kinesis Finally Available

by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 07.29.09

Science & Technology
Buzz up!

Images via Kinesis
Back in January we saw this cool charger from Kinesis at the Consumer Electronics Show. It's finally online and available for purchase. Click through for some details, and watch a video about how it works.

It seems like a handy item to take on camping trips, or to have at home for gadget charging. What we'd love to see is a harness so you can put this on your bike for charging on the go, like what you can do with the Hymini. We'd also like to see it be a bit more affordable. Priced at a somewhat prohibitive $99, the charger is available online for purchase.
While we requested a sample device to test out, we haven't been sent one so can't vouch for how well it charges or how hardy it is. If you get one, let us know how you like it!

[icarus]

I couldn' find any specs on it,, but I bet the solar panel puts out less than 1 watt,, and the "wind" generator would be lucky to put out 1 watt or so. For $100 there are lots of ways I would rather spend my energy $$

Icarus

[acdii]

Makes me wonder after looking at that picture, why they cant design a ram air tunnel system to drive a generator on the Hybrids. When cruising at 45+ you would think there would be enough wind energy to drive one for keeping a charge up on the batteries. With Fords new drive being able to run on pure EV up to 47MPH, something like this might be able to sustain the run down time a bit more. Just a thought running through my work stained brain.

[hill]

Originally Posted by icarus

I couldn' find any specs on it,, but I bet the solar panel puts out less than 1 watt,, and the "wind" generator would be lucky to put out 1 watt or so. For $100 there are lots of ways I would rather spend my energy $$

Icarus

Especially because you could buy a full size panel that gets appx $5/watt

.

[timberwolf]

Originally Posted by acdii

Makes me wonder after looking at that picture, why they cant design a ram air tunnel system to drive a generator on the Hybrids. When cruising at 45+ you would think there would be enough wind energy to drive one for keeping a charge up on the batteries. With Fords new drive being able to run on pure EV up to 47MPH, something like this might be able to sustain the run down time a bit more. Just a thought running through my work stained brain.

If you stuck a wind turbine into a Prius, I think the car would no longer have that nice low drag coefficient?

[icarus]

Originally Posted by hill

Especially because you could buy a full size panel that gets appx $5/watt

.

Truth be told, Name brand panels can be had for as low as $2.28/watt by the each, lower if you buy by the pallet. I've bought some re-branded Evergreens for under $2/watt.

Some of that price drop is due to recession, some due to increase production capacity.

Icarus

[Tamyu]

I really REALLY want a decent home sized wind generator. Everyone seems to be talking about solar, but I could probably power my house 75% of the year with a good wind turbine.

We live on the first floor of a tall building that was designed to deflect wind to decrease wind swaying. (Typhoons are a regular event around here.) The "deflection" directs the wind straight down the side of the building, and into a corner of our backyard. The "corner" is long, thin, and walled so the wind is concentrated. It blows through the first available escape, which just happens to be across our deck area.
When there is a mild breeze, it`s hair messing wind. When it is a normally windy day, it is impossible to be out there with your hair blowing hard enough to hurt, etc. When it is truly windy or stormy it will LITERALLY rip your clothes off your body. In storms, the wind creates a visible "tunnel". You can actually SEE the wind.

Everytime there is a slight wind, I long for a wind generator. If we can`t use the deck as what it was intended, there is no reason not to set up a grid of wind turbines!

[icarus]

Almost without exception, most people who get into small scale (Homeowners size) wind, leave with a bad taste in their mouths,,, for a variety of reasons.

Most people overestimate the amount of wind they actually get on a yearly basis. The reality is that the "window" for small scale wind is quite small. Under 12-15 mph AVERAGE and the amount of energy available is so close to zero as to be considered so. Above ~20 mph most small scale wind machines suffer from serious control/damage issues.

Small scale wind is very much effected by turbulence particularly from ground situations. Wind turbines must be placed at least 10 meters and preferably 20 meters above the nearest obstruction to get in as clean air as possible. (The turbulence is what tears turbines apart!)

Most wind maps show wind numbers ~20 meters above the ground making it seem like there is more wind than there is on an annual basis.

Wind turbines mounted on buildings create all kinds of special problems, particularly inducing vibration into the building that can't be cured. Also, a turbine on a building is subject to lots of turbulence, as suggested above.

Finally, while there are lots of new style vertical axis turbines out there, there are none that have proved to be much more than toys.

If you wish to read the comments of many who have lived with the headache and heartache of buying/installing/maintaining and eventually taking down small scale wind I suggest the following un biased link: Wind Power Generation - Solar Electric Power Discussion Forum by Northern Arizona Wind & Sun

Having said all of that, there are, rare exceptions. People who REALLY have enough wind, people who REALLY understand all that is involved, and people who REALY do their homework such that they don't by a $600 wind turbine only to discover it won't do anywhere near what it was advertised to do.

Good luck,

Icarus

[Tamyu]

Originally Posted by icarus

Almost without exception, most people who get into small scale (Homeowners size) wind, leave with a bad taste in their mouths,,, for a variety of reasons.

We have looked into it - but it seems like there are toys, and then there are incredibly expensive (and large!) generators. Nothing anywhere in between.

We have actually gone through the paces and checked our wind levels over 2 years (After 3 years of living here, we found that it wasn`t just "windy years", so honestly looked into it.) Except for July and August, we have an incredible amount of wind - enough that it seems it would be viable (I don`t have the data sheet here, I think my husband has it on the laptop). If I am recalling correctly, we average between 18 and 30(! October! Spiking from typhoons) mph winds depending on the season. I don`t know the regular averages for this area, as it literally is at the base of the building... I can walk away and there be no wind at all, but standing in the yard is like being in front of a fan on high.
The thing is, we use very little electricity to begin with so end up wondering exactly how long it would take to make back any investment made in a system that could actually utilize the wind.

Basically, we`ve done our homework... Which is why we DON`T have anything out there at this point. My "want" is more wanting there to BE a viable option, as we certainly have the wind itself... Unfortunately, right now, there isn`t. But every time I go out and have to double over to keep my shirt from blowing off, I WISH that there was more attention paid to wind generation and more innovation in small scale generators.

And part of it is frustration in pretty much being able to do nothing with the yard. We had planned on setting up a deck set, enjoying meals out there, etc, but the level of wind has basically made it impossible. My son doesn`t like to play out there as the wind is so strong it is uncomfortable. We planted trees, but the high level of wind bent and eventually killed them...
So basically we have a wind ravaged space that is used for very little. We can`t even sit things out there as they actually blow away! We put two large trash bins out there to collect cans and plastic bottles for recycling in - and once the summer ended they actually blew away when full... And we spent a week going around to the neighbors apologizing and cleaning the strewn cans and bottles out of their yards.

But I`d forgive all that if it were generating power for our house.

[fuzzy1]

Originally Posted by acdii

Makes me wonder after looking at that picture, why they cant design a ram air tunnel system to drive a generator on the Hybrids. When cruising at 45+ you would think there would be enough wind energy to drive one for keeping a charge up on the batteries. With Fords new drive being able to run on pure EV up to 47MPH, something like this might be able to sustain the run down time a bit more. Just a thought running through my work stained brain.

This would be a Perpetual Motion Machine. If it works, expect a Nobel Prize. But don't quit your day job.