Here's A Quick Look At Homemade Energy Devices

Everyday we are slammed with higher costs for living. Fuel goes up. That drives the utility costs up. The ultimate consumer winds up holding the bag for all of it. We just don't have any place to pass the costs on.

You wonder what are some of the homemade energy devices that you could build to at least strike a small blow toward the juggernaut of industry that is threatening to crush us.

Some categories of homemade energy fall into the production of electrical current.

Solar

Sunlight is abundant and free. It falls without fail most days of the year. Why not at least use a little of it for you own power needs.

Solar electrical generating systems are available in many different sizes. The basic components are solar panels to convert sunlight into electrical current, a charge controller to regulate that current, a bank of storage batteries to store the current, and an inverter to create the 120 volts to power your life. This type of project is a major expense to install a workable system and is not beyond the do it yourself category. There are many companies that advertise on the internet that provide information about size and equipment prices. Some searching for solar power will turn up a wealth of information.

Solar Hot Water Heaters lend themselves easily to the build it yourself category. The major components of a solar hot water system are the collector box, heat exchanger, and storage tank. These may be adapted from existing hardware such as copper tubing, old refrigerators coils, or air conditioner coils. Discarded aluminum frame windows make glass covers for the collector box at a low price. Info for solar hot water systems is readily found with an internet search.

Solar heating systems are the third type of solar energy for the homeowner. Although usually included during the construction of the dwelling, retrofitting a home for solar heat is not impossible. Solar heat can be either passive or active.

Generating systems range from a homemade gas powered generator using a car alternator and batteries, to wind and hydroelectric generating systems.

A simple gas generator for emergency power is possible using a discarded lawnmower engine and a car alternator with a built in regulator to charge some storage batteries. Adding an inverter will allow some small electrical appliances to be powered in a power outage.

Wind power generating systems can be installed by the homeowner in areas where the zoning laws don't conflict and wind current is available on a regular basis. Building your own system involves special electronics and woodworking skills but is not beyond the well equipped do it yourself craftsman.

Micro hydroelectric power generation is feasible if you live near a fast running stream with a constant flow of water. Again, charging a bank of batteries and using an inverter to power the home is standard procedure.

All of these different systems can be researched on the internet. The information is available both in free and more complete book form.

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