High Capacity Alternative To 9 Volt Battery
There are now many portable devices which are powered by 9 Volt batteries such as mini CCTV cameras. While it is good that it is not necessary to use a 12V adapter and run cables to the device, the capacity of 9 Volt batteries is …

Grid Tie Inverters
For a brief summary of power inverters and their use in a renewable energy system please read our Introduction to Inverters. If you have a small scale renewable energy set up - for example, just a micro wind turbine or a few PV solar panels, then you …

Make Your Own Air Conditioner
20% of all electricity in the USA is used by air conditioning units. The power consumption of air conditioners renders them incompatible with all but the largest domestic renewable energy systems, and so people living off-grid typically have to do without. In this article we …

Solar Powered Poultry Lighting
If we received 1p every time someone emailed us about solar powered poultry lighting we would have earned 23p during September (2006). Therefore we have compiled the information in the following article to assist those people, and anyone else who requires timer controlled lighting where …

Enamelled Magnet Wire
The two key components of any alternator or generator are Magnets and magnet wire. Suitable magnets are now very easy to find and their prices have tumbled in recent years: See our article on buying Neodymium magnets here for some useful resources. However the wire used to …

Examining a Stepper Motor
In our article Stepper Motor Basics we explain how a stepper motor can be used to generate electricityand how to use a multimeter to identify the wires which emerge from a stepper motor so that the AC voltage output can be rectified to DC voltage …

Investing in Renewable Energy Companies
There are an every increasing number of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange relating to renewable energy. Here are a selection of these companies in no particular order (details last checked and updated February 2010): D1 Oils (DOO.L) Developing jatropha plantations in the developing world and …

Neodymium Magnets
Neodymium Magnets (aka Neo, NdFeB, or rare earth magnets) are the strongest magnets in the world. They are made of a mixture of neodymium, iron, and boron. High levels of iron in neo magnets leave them vulnerable to rust and so they are usually plated …

Buying Neodymium Magnets
Neodymium (or Neo, NIB, NdFeB or rare earth) magnets are an essential part of most DIY alternative energy generators - e.g. wind turbines, wave power generators etc - since they have ten times the power of conventional magnets and can be glued into place with …

How to Live Off Grid by Nick Rosen
In How to Live Off-Grid, Nick Rosen investigates the possibilities and difficulties of living an off-grid lifestyle with no mains water and no mains power. It is not a typical How To guide to off-gridding although the book is packed with useful information. Instead the …

It's Not Easy Being Green
A new series began on BBC2 on Tuesday 28th March 2006 at 8:00pm called It's Not Easy Being Green in which inventor and engineer Lieutenant-Colonal Dick Strawbridge and his family decide to leave their life in the West Midlands and move to a self-sufficient 300 …

Renewable Obligation Certificates
Renewable Obligation Certificates (or ROCs) store details of how electricity was generated, who generated it, and who eventually used it. Since April 2002 all UK licensed electricity suppliers have been obliged to obtain a proportion of the electricity they sell from a selection of eligible …

Osmotic Power Plant Opened
A new renewable power plant has just opened (Tuesday 24th Nov 2009) in Tofte on the Oslo Fjord, Norway. Built by utility company Statkraft this is the first Osmotic Power plant in the world - designed to generate electricity through the process of Osmosis (by …

Control Mains Powered Devices with Low Voltage
In our article Switch Mains Powered Appliances Safely we looked at how a low voltage system could be used to switch mains electricity safely via a wireless transmitter meaning no need to call in an electrician. Unfortunately as this ended up being quite expensive and …

Jobs in Renewable Energy
As renewable energy becomes more popular with large scale investment from Government and Industry, more and more employment opportunities are opening up daily. At the same time, dedicated RE job agencies are starting up giving those with the necessary experience, interest, and qualifications *, a …

Immersion Heaters to help Renewable Energy
Unlike modern coal and gas power stations, renewable energy generation cannot be turned on with a switch. If the wind is not blowing, wind turbines make no electricity, and if it is nighttime or cloudy solar panels do not. Similarly there are times when demand …