Quote:
Originally Posted by Norval
Living on a boat I have often thought of using the tide for generation of power.
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Tide doesn't really have much power in the open water; you need have a tide generator anchored to land in an area where tide is fairly extreme (the Bay of Fundy in NS, Canada is experimenting with tide power). Portugual just launched their prototype
wave power generator, though I haven't heard about how it's doing.
I think it's important to really understand the system that you decide to build/buy. You can buy a great $12000 wind generator and power storage system, but there's no gurantee that you'll have a handy repairman around a few years down the road. For now, keep it simple. The fundamentals of power generation aren't too tough to grasp, but it takes time to learn. My plan is to study renewable energy next year (if everything stays 'normal'), but for now I've been experimenting with building wind turbines out of trash; that is, for zero dollars. Pretty poor results so far, but I haven't found much good trash (anyone throwing out an old treadmill?). The point is that I'm successfully generating power from junk salvaged on the city streets.
If you've got some money to spare on a nice new system, I have to recommend geothermal energy as a prime source. It's not so good at generating electricity on a small scale, but it'll heat/cool your home and it runs when there's no wind and no sun. I'm a fan of wind power as an electricity source, because you can do it on the cheap with only a few tools and some quality magnets. Links to resources below:
As for 'free' energy (overunity), there is some compelling evidence and research out there... but it also seems to suggest that success in generating free energy relies heavily on precise engineering. It's certainly not a backyard project. But keep your fingers crossed; we might see something of the sort in WalMart soon enough.
http://www.alton-moore.net/wind_turbines.html
http://www.thekevdog.com/projects/wind_generator/
http://www.fieldlines.com/
http://www.velacreations.com/chispito.html
http://www.energyconservationinfo.or...nstruction.htm
http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind_tips.html
http://members.rennlist.org/warren/wind.html
http://www.thebackshed.com/windmill/default.asp
http://www3.telus.net/faheydumas/Win...HowItWorks.pdf
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/axialflux/
http://www.recycle.net/exchange/index.html
http://www.quietrevolution.co.uk/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvHRZ...eature=related
http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/
Hope this helps. I'd love to link up with other people experimenting with free energy!