Power generation/transfer

[Jaxx]

I'm looking for good designs for power generation for a rural community in Africa. I've seen see-saw designs and a bicycle design.

 

Using the bicycle to inductively transfer power between the back wheel (primary coil), and two secondary coils on either side of it. Then to convert this into DC and supply lights etc. Therefore you would use people to actually peddle to the meddle to energise lights.

 

Any other designs/ideas? Comments about this idea i mentioned above?

 

- Jaxx

[cjohnso0]

Does this need to be man/woman powered? Or would say a gas powered generator work?

 

Solar Cells - I always think of Africa as sunny and hot (unless in the rainforest I suppose...)

[Jaxx]

When u say "gas" you are talking about fuel/petroleum etc right? Sorry i am from South Africa, but i'm aware that ppl from the states use the words gasoline (gas). So, if my understanding is correct, then i'd say that that option is to expensive. The petrol (fuel) price is way to expensive over here to be sustainable for poor communities as many of them cannot even have proper access to water.

 

Man powered is the option I am looking for yes. Solar power generation is still a relatively expensive option commercially, many industries here are changing to solar power as an additional source and we'll be commisioning a solar power station by 2011, i've heard.

 

But yes, man powered is what i'm looking for...

[YT2095]

IIRC, the best an average man can generate for a short period of time (using the bicycle type geny) is ~100W continuous output power.

[CaptainPanic]

Nowadays 100W might actually be able to power quite a bit of machinery.

 

I think that if you're looking at powering a computer (something like the local village computer, giving everybody internet access) it could be worth pedaling a bit. I can't imagine anyone pedaling away on a bike-powered system in order to supply lights for the rest of the family.

 

The following is not meant to be rude, but might be seen as such. But anyone living in Africa is generally quite a bit cheaper than most members of this forum. People might earn as little as 1 euro/day. This means that they can run a human powered system for quite some hours before it actually would become interesting to build something else. Sadly the situation is such that some people are cheaper than something as simple as gasoline, while others just burn away gasoline for fun.

 

the only design I can imagine that might compete to cheap human (or animal) power is wind. Windpower can be built very low tech, and I think it deserves some attention.

 

Just trying to put things into perspective... not trying to offend anyone.

[marchse]

Man power or human power is the innovative idea... but how far it is going to get into progress.. The initiative should be a very effective one.

 

 

Power Plant Development

[AlphaSheeppig]

the only design I can imagine that might compete to cheap human (or animal) power is wind. Windpower can be built very low tech, and I think it deserves some attention.

anyone.

Personally, I think wind is the future. At the moment practically all of Africa's power comes from coal. I know several people who are working on wind power as an alternative power source, but the biggest problem is that the winds inland are very slow, so the turbines have to be designed very efficiently to extract a decent energy from the air, which is not easy or cheap to do. I have seen a test turbine with a 2m diameter, which produces about 1kW... That's really not that much. It pretty much powers the tea room in that building. But in the Cape, there are much better winds, and wind power has been implemented and works beautifully there.

 

It is also true that the sun here is extremely bright, so solar power works very well. The problem is that no one here really manufactures quality panels, so you have to import everything. It works out pretty expensive.

 

I just wish someone with finances would see it as a business opportunity.

[forufes]

whatever device you use, include flywheels in them, they're good for storing mechanical energy for long periods, usually used when the input is of high density and short time(paddling man) and the required output is of low density and for long periods(generator).

 

i'm also all for solar energy, they got a lot of sun in africa.

[ewmon]

a rural community in [south] Africa

What environmental conditions are we talking about here? Desert? Steppe? Grassland? Cropland? Woodland? Montane?

 

to ... supply lights etc.

This is very important. Please expand on the actual end-user needs, estimated amounts of power, time of day used, stationary or mobile, etc.

 

[no] proper access to water

Does this mean no navigable waterways, or no water whatsoever? Does this mean barren, swamp, or mountain? Is water for subsistence (irrigation and/or potable) a concern? What access do they have to water for subsistence?

[Newbies_Kid]

Windmill - Cheap and easy to build. At least can use to charge your phone.

Bio gas - changing poops into useful gas for power generation.

[marchse]

yeah as you said, wind power and bio gas have now become the boom in power generation.

 

Power Plant Development

[ewmon]

I wish we knew more about the particular circumstances to address. For example, if someone wanted to raise water from a river for irrigation purposes, hydraulic rams and other water raising devices would suffice. The OP mentions powering lights, but for what purpose? If we knew more, we could help more.

[PaulS1950]

I wonder how well a Sterling engine would work using the sun for heat during the day with the ground as a sink and using the ground as a heat source and the cool night air at night. It wouldn't make much electricity or pump much water but it should be faily reliable.

[AlphaSheeppig]

I can't speak for the original poster but having lived in Southern Africa all my life, I can speak from experience.

What environmental conditions are we talking about here? Desert? Steppe? Grassland? Cropland? Woodland? Montane?

Most likely semi-desert grassland with small hills. (350 to 500 mm of rainfall a year)

 

This is very important. Please expand on the actual end-user needs, estimated amounts of power, time of day used, stationary or mobile, etc.

I'd guess 2 lights and maybe a heater and stove. Maybe an average of 500W concentrated over a 5 or 6 hour period in the evening. General electricity to live off...

 

Does this mean no navigable waterways, or no water whatsoever? Does this mean barren, swamp, or mountain? Is water for subsistence (irrigation and/or potable) a concern? What access do they have to water for subsistence?

Rivers around most of the country are very scarce... "Rivers" are spaced an average about 10 to 20 km apart (which is a very well educated guess) and do not flow very fast (in fact, a lot of them are stagnant except for when it rains), and are on average about 2 m wide and 1 m deep in the 3 month rainy season, and about 1 m wide and 0.3 m deep for the rest of the year. I'd have to drive 100 km to get to a river that exceeds those dimensions. Most of the water is polluted and carries a very high risk for diseases like cholera, bilharzia, etc, but people ignore this and live off it anyway. Most subsistence farming takes place near these streams. Water for irrigation is usually raised using buckets.