@batalto

I am surprised that there is not more electricity generation utilising the power of the UK's rivers. Even fairly slow moving rivers, using old style water wheels, if connected to a generator via a suitable gearbox, could possibly provide a usable amount of power.

I agree @derek-m but the Environment Agency sets limits on both the quantity of water and the amount of energy which may be extracted from the main (named) rivers in the UK.

In the case of @knukes local pub, they're actually more likely to be granted a licence to extract heat from the adjacent river by way of placing a GSHP coil on the river-bed. (That information has got to be worth a few free pints!)

In my area, the main river already supports two commercial hydro-generation plants about 7 miles apart. So no further hydro-electric extraction can be permitted on the water-course itself.

Nevertheless, I am talking to local Councillors about the cost of repairs to numerous hillside underground channels/pipes which take surface water to that river. My suggestion is that the ongoing cost of repairs & maintenance could be mitigated if each pipe had a micro-generation location built into it whenever a hole needed to be excavated to gain access. It's the classic situation of turning the problem into an energy-related solution.

@transparent

Harnessing the force of gravity can be highly useful, provided you don't have to pump the water up in the first place.

I thought I’d give an update on where we now are with this. 

Planning took an age, partly as it was a huge learning curve for the officials at the council, but they were very supportive. It then had to go to the local committee and then the full council planning committee. Thankfully it made it through these and we got planning permission in late summer. 

During this time the DNO gave us permission to export the full 6kw. We also got a quote for 3-phase but £66k was way beyond our budget. 

I also looked into a number of inverter and battery providers who claim they are compatible with wind on their websites (MyEnergi and GivEnergy for example) but they have no technical specs available and went very quiet when asking compatibility questions. Theoretically they might be but nobody ever appears to have tried their inverters with a turbine and they don’t have programmable power curves. In the end, I discovered that Sunsynk inverters are compatible and importantly tested with the SD6 so we are going with that and Sunsynk batteries too. This gives us more flexibility than with the now dated ABB inverter. 

Our installer has completed the groundworks, so now we are just waiting for the turbine and tower to be delivered, and for all of the electrics installed. Hopefully in December this project will finally be complete. 

Good to hear that this is going forwards.

Posted by: @knukes

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we are going with that and Sunsynk batteries too

At the risk of going off-topic, DIY-ing the batteries might be a good way to save some pennies. A 14.4kWh Mason battery box is slightly over £2k from Fogstar, and about 1/4 lower when bought from Alibaba. See https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/forums/energy-storage/seplos-mason-diy-kit-ancillaries-advice/  for advice on what to get when working with a Sunsynk inverter.

@chickenbig Thanks for the tip, but I’m happy to go with the Sunsynk batteries as I know they will work with the inverter and give us flexibility. We are close to the finish line on this now, it has taken a huge amount of effort and learning, so just want to get on with it and get it all working.

Posted by: @chickenbig

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Good to hear that this is going forwards.

Posted by: @knukes

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we are going with that and Sunsynk batteries too

At the risk of going off-topic, DIY-ing the batteries might be a good way to save some pennies. A 14.4kWh Mason battery box is slightly over £2k from Fogstar, and about 1/4 lower when bought from Alibaba. See https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/forums/energy-storage/seplos-mason-diy-kit-ancillaries-advice/  for advice on what to get when working with a Sunsynk inverter.

 

I have a 14.3kw Seplos battery from Fogstar and a Sunsynk inverter, i have no issues with communication etc between them. The battery worked out at around £2400 at the time - i originally set out to build my own from scratch, but the seplos upright case came onto the market, so i bought one from Fogstar (i had already bought the cells from them)

assembling the battery was actually quite easy, despite the poor instructions (which i understand have now been updated) - if you havent already gone ahead with ordering/purchasing the batteries, it might be worth checking them out, you could save a few bob (and as someone born in Reddish, Stockport i know about saving a few bob!!) 

i also understand that Ben at Fogstar has a Sunsynk inverter and Seplos batteries .... 

i am not looking to install a wind turbine, but i have found this thread very interesting, even though the technical stuff really does go over my head. Hope the project goes well and when i pick the MiL up for Christmas from Offerton and drive through Glossop, picking up the snake pass, will i see the wind turbine as i drive past?

@misterb Thank you. As the installers are all on board with the batteries, I’m going to stick with the Sunsynk ones. Due to the layout of our house and garage and the complexities of where consumer units etc are located, it is a difficult enough project as it is without bringing in more changes at this late stage. Everybody is on board and happy with the plan and it has taken a while to get to this point!

If you take a diversion into the hills you might see it but not from Glossop Road (assuming that is the way you’d go). 

HI,

Am new on here. Am about to have on-grid PV installed and have just recently thought about a vertical wind turbine to top up the batteries in periods of no sushine/winter. I am hoping to make use of the considerable Venturi effect betwee my and next door's house (I can't keep potted plants near the gap, as the wind either rips them out or shreds them!) I plan to mount the turbine on my house wall (planning regs permitting)

Has anyone had experience with vertical turbines and/or could recommend models that don't require a gale to get them spinning and are reliable!?

Much appreciated.

Hi @blott and welcome.

About 15 years ago there were a number of small domestic wind turbines being sold in UK which could be mounted to buildings.
These included the one from Scottish company, Windsave, which was sold through B&Q for a while.

There's a report on a trial of such turbines in the Warwick area, although the sample size isn't large enough to provide reliable statistics.

There are three main issues to consider before exploring your proposal further:

1: In open-field conditions, above the level of 'ground effect', a horizontal-axis turbine will produce almost twice as much output as a vertical axis model.
That's why they were favoured by Hugh Piggott for the community at Scoraig.
In average UK weather conditions you might expect to generate around 10%-15% of the max output specification of the PMG (permanent Magnet Generator).

2: The smaller and lighter the turbine, the more prone it is to fluctuations in wind direction and speed.
This significantly reduces the output available from turbines mounted on buildings, because there are eddy currents, and dull-zones depending on wind-direction.
A light (horizontal) turbine can spend a lot of time simply spinning around the pole, as the tail vane tries to settle.

3: The attachments to mount a turbine pole on a building are more substantial than you might suppose.
Windsave spent a considerable amount of time surveying sites for potential customers, and then rejecting them.
The sideways forces are huge, as is the effect of vibration.
Structural damage became a widely-reported problem, which provoked insurers to withdraw cover.

Good morning and thanks for your detailed insight. I had hoped to fix a vertical turbine to my house wall facing the next door semi-detached, but I fall foul of the 5M planning rule to their boundary. I'd thought this would be an ideal location, between the two buildings, as the Venturi effect is quite strong, the prevailing wind being from South-ish, but I'd like to first find a reliable, efficient vertical turbine first, before I go through the rigmarole of planning burocracy. I only expect to be able to top up my batteries during overcast periods, and not to power my cooker😁.

I have a Rutland 913 12v horizontal axis generator on my boat, except it is down again for repair! bearings do not seem to last and now it seems the windings have a short. I suppose I have had 6 years out of it but compared to solar it has not been cost effective. And yes it spends a lot of time spinning around its pole!