Alternative Energy Sources for Powering Electrically Activated Artworks (AESPEAA) A Comprehensive Overview by Ed Bennett School of the Art

Institute of Chicago 11-17-09

Alternative means power derived from primary sources that are not fossil or nuclear in origin. Power is consumed in the useful production of light, heat, motion, etc., and for use in electronic devices. The main emphasis here is on electrical energy. Electricity is produced for either direct consumption or for accumulation and storage. 1. Primary sources 1. human/animal 1. treadmill 2. crank 3. pedal 4. energy harvesting 5. biofuels 2. solar 1. photo-voltaic 2. thermal 3. wind 4. water 1. turbines 2. tidal 2. converters, controllers, and supervisors 1. source regulator 1. windmill blade pitch 2. solar panel supervision 2. voltage and current transformation and regulation 1. charge controller for storage batteries 2. output inverter (This is the end if there's no storage) 3. storage media 1. batteries 2. weights 4. converters to 120V if necessary 5. loads 1. lighting 2. electronic

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1 Primary sources 1.1 human/animal

1.1.1 treadmill

1.1.2 crank
http://www.amazon.com/Eton-FR400-Crank-Generator-Orange/dp/B000JINNX4 Eton FR400 Hand Crank Radio and Power Generator (Orange)

Product Features Hand crank power generator is ideal for emergencies Provides you with an emergency siren, water resistant radio, LED lights, and a cell phone charger so you can contact help Can receive power from four different sources: built-in rechargeable Ni-MH battery that takes charge from the dynamo crank and an AC adapter; 3 "AA" batteries; the A/C adapter alone or the dynamo crank alone Gives you access to NOAA weather channels and TV-VHF channels so you can check the weather or hear important news updates Dimensions: 8.6 x 4.5 x 2.0 inches (WxHxD); weighs 1.5 pounds

http://www.zetatalk.com/energy/tengy05n.htm The unit is light weight (2.5 lb), portable, low cost ($10-$20) and can be used to recharge single cell batteries at from 1-3.5 amps. It can be made from a cordless electric drill in a primitive environment. The simplest way of how to make a hand crank DC generator using a standard 12, 14.4 or 18 Volt Cordless drill from Harbor Freight Tools. With no modification hook an alligator clip jumper to the two charging terminals (on the bottom that the battery plugs into). See picture below. Note that when a 14.4

Volt drill is laid down pointing to the left then the upper terminal is most likely to be the plus and the lower terminal the minus for these units.

1.1.3 pedal
http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/bicyclepower.html A typical bike generator can produce 100 watts. If you pedal for an hour a day, 30 days a month, that's (30 x 100=) 3000 watt-hours, or 3 kWh. Since the average cost of U.S. electricity is 12/kWh, that one month of pedaling saves you $0.36 http://www.pedalpowergenerator.com/index.html

1.1.4 energy harvesting low power

http://www.energyharvesting.net/ Common Sources of Energy Harvesting Mechanical Energy from sources such as vibration, mechanical stress and strain Thermal Energy waste energy from furnaces, heaters, and friction sources Light Energy captured from sunlight or room light via photo sensors, photo diodes, or solar panels Electromagnetic Energy from inductors, coils and transformers Natural Energy from the environment such as wind, water flow, ocean currents, and solar Human Body a combination of mechanical and thermal energy naturally generated from bioorganisms or through actions such as walking and sitting Other Energy from chemical and biological sources It is important to note, that all these energy sources are virtually unlimited and essentially free, if they can be captured at or near the system location.

Components of an Energy Harvesting System

An energy harvesting system generally requires an energy source such as vibration, heat, light or air flow and three other key electronic components, including: An Energy conversion device such as a piezoelectric element that can translate the energy into electrical form An energy harvesting module that captures, stores and manages power for the device An End application such as a ZigBee-enable wireless sensor network or control and monitoring devices. http://www.aldinc.com/ald_energyharvesting.htm

Energy Harvesting Modules ALD's family of energy harvesting modules are designed for low power, intermittent duty, and long storage time applications. These modules capture residual energy as a byproduct of a natural environmental phenomenon or industrial process, storing and conditioning the energy for use at a later time.

http://www.mide.com/products/volture/v20w.php Raw Vibration Energy Harvesters Packaged piezoelectrics with pre-routed mounting holes & connector Frequency Band Power Prices PRODUCT Size Enclosure* Buy Range* Width* Electronics* Click for Details (inches) Included 1 10+ Online (Hz) (Hz) Included 80-175 3 2.00 x 1.50 x 0.03 NO NO $79 Quote 60-140 3 2.00 x 1.50 x 0.02 NO NO $79 Quote 80-205 3 2.74 x 0.67 x 0.032 NO NO $65 Quote 45-155 3 3.6 x 0.67 x 0.032 NO NO $65 Quote 120 - 360 2 1.4 x 0.24 x 0.025 NO NO $49 Quote 26-110 2 2.5 x 0.24 x 0.025 NO NO $49 Quote

Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester

What is a Raw Volture Vibration Energy Harvester? Mide currently offers six energy harvesting products. Both the PEH20W and PEH25W include power conditioning electronics as well as an anodized enclosure with integrated clamp. When you order a raw energy harvester, the V20W, V25W, V21B, or V21BL, you will just receive the packaged piezo energy harvester with pre-routed mounting holes and connector. You will NOT receive the power conditioning electronics or anodized case with integrated clamp. This product is good for "testing" the technology and seeing how it will fit into your application. What are Energy Harvesting Electronics? Energy Harvesting Electronics covert raw piezo AC output to either unregulated or regulated DC. Optional capacitive storage available. Active power conditioning available (EHE002).

Volture Pulse Power Board

Pulse Power Board - EHE002
Active power conditioning electronics maximize power transfer with heavy loads, such as rechargeable batteries. Your Pulse Power Board: + Optimizes mechanical loading for maximum power transfer + Isolates heavy electrical loads from the piezo, improving efficiency + Provides regulated 3.5V output pulses (other voltages available on request) The EHE-002 Pulse Power Electronics are designed to maximize total piezo harvester output and mechanical-to-electrical conversion efficiency with medium to heavy loads (below 10K-ohms). The circuitry ensures efficient power transfer by isolating the load from the piezoelectric element, providing it an optimal reference load. A high-efficiency switching converter then produces a pulsed, voltageregulated output. This circuit is ideal for charging batteries or supercapacitors, or directly powering small, intermittently-operating sensors. Reverse voltage up to 30VDC is blocked, allowing the Pulse Power Board to be used in parallel with batteries, solar or other power sources. Nominal output is 3.5V - please contact us for custom voltages. This circuit requires a minimum open-circuit voltage (approx. 9VDC) from the piezo in order to produce an output. http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/imomus/2006/08/71582 "In lab tests," claims the company, "the Volture has produced more than 20 mW (20,000 W) in the presence of a significant vibration. In the presence of a very weak vibration such as that of a microwave oven during operation (.24 gs, 120 Hz), the Volture has been able to harvest 43 W." That's not much, which is perhaps why the company stresses that this James Bond-like gadget is sold mostly for evaluation purposes. Meanwhile, over at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering, they almost laid an "energy-

scavenging floor" under the feet of the ten guinea pig students who live in the campus Smart House. The idea was to use piezoelectric transducers to "harvest wasted energy in the foot strike of a human being." Unfortunately, the piezo sources cost too much and yielded too little power, so the scavenging floor idea was, alas, swept under the carpet.

1.2.1 photo-voltaic
http://www.solarfreaks.com/ everything about building controller circuits http://www.scienceshareware.com/bike_generator-events-shows.htm

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=C6930 This small Solar Powered Walklight Kit is much brighter than the common solar walklight and it features three brilliant white LEDS that produce over 10,000 mcd (millicandelas) luminous intensity each. These white LEDS glow brilliantly when it gets dark for up to 10 hours each night from the charge stored in the powerful 3.6V 750mAh NiMH battery (hours of glowing may be reduced in areas of the country with less daily sunshine).

Detailed Description Handy Solar Charger Kit comes complete with a nickle metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeable battery for 9V applications. The battery is the same size as a standard 9V battery and is rated 7.2V @ 150mAh. We use these batteries to power most of our 9V operated kits and they power most 9V radios, amplifiers, small LED flashers, etc. The Solar Charger uses two powerful yet compact solar panels which have their output converted by a special DC to DC converter to the voltage needed to recharge the battery. One day in the direct sunlight here in Arizona fully recharges the battery.

http://www.voltaicsystems.com/ The Voltaic solar bags are solar chargers designed to charge virtually all handheld electronics.

Grasshopper 510 1944 North Damen Ave Chicago, IL 60647 773-292-0510

1.2.2 thermal
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2191439392955021959#docid=7855053520463952175 Solar Powered Rotary Steam Engine 01:21 - 3 years ago Solar powered engine turns over 15,000 rpms at 1/2 horsepower propelled by steam provided by a two axis sun tracking concentrator. It can be used to generate electricity, refrigeration, space heat, and hot water.No wonder why the worlds leading solar equipment producer British Petroleum (BP) is pushing photovoltaics (PVs). The cost of electic solar panels is so high it solidifies their established sales of big oil and is stunting the growth for more inovative and effective solutions by trying to portray solar as a poor alternative

http://www.geomagnet.net/geohex.html

GeoHex is a 37 segment modular parabolic reflector casted from lightweight and durable fiberglass. Each segment is casted with the predetermined parabolic geometry set at a 36 focal point from the vertex. The assembled dish has a maximum width of 11' with a whopping ~ 7000 watts of thermal power (based on 1000w/m2). Great for solar developers and hobbyist. Build your own frame and tracking turret to meet your needs and budget. The segments are shippable anywhere world-wide. Coat the segments with your favorite reflective material; Aluminized Mylar, 3M chrome vinyl, or Silver Nitrate solution.

3 wind

http://hackaday.com/2008/09/28/diy-vertical-axis-wind-turbine/

This vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) uses five 3 PVC pipes cut in half for blades rotating on three kids bicycle wheels to spin an Ametek 38 volt motor or a wind blue alternator. The whole thing spins in a frame that is a 12 feet high and 2 foot square box that is able to sit on his deck. In total it cost him about $125 plus time, a bit more if you use the wind blue alternator.

http://www.otherpower.com/woodmill.html

So there it is, all finished up! I took it for a test drive in the model A Ford. I didn't want to break it, so I

never took it over 25 miles per hour, but it seems to perform well (considering). In a 25 mph wind it produces about 60 watts (5 amps into a 12 volt battery), so I think I can give it an optimistic rating of 100 watts...not bad for a 1 day project made entirely of wood. Obviously, it's not made to hold up over the long term, it was merely a fun little test, but I think the alternator provides some interesting data. I feel pretty sure now that with little work one could definitely build a very useful alternator completely from scratch. By simply increasing the diameter some one could get a LOT more output from a very similar machine. Of course, using better bearings would be wise, but I like the use of wood, because it is a material which is widely available, and easily worked with the simplest of tools. Thanks for dropping in and letting me show off this silly windmill!

2.1.2 solar panel supervision the same issues apply to wind generators, but the hardware is different.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mppt http://www.solarfreaks.com/download/file.php?id=148 http://www.solarfreaks.com/easymax-documentation-t2.html A maximum power point tracker (or MPPT) is a high efficiency DC to DC converter which functions as an optimal electrical load for a photovoltaic (PV) cell, most commonly for a solar panel or array, and converts the power to a voltage or current level which is more suitable to whatever load the system is designed to drive. PV cells have a single operating point where the values of the current (I) and Voltage (V) of the cell result in a maximum power output. These values correspond to a particular resistance, which is equal to V/I as specified by Ohm's Law. A PV cell has an exponential relationship between current and voltage, and the maximum power point (MPP) occurs at the knee of the curve, where the resistance is equal to the negative of the differential resistance (V/I = -dV/dI). Maximum power point trackers utilize some type of control circuit or logic to search for this point and thus to allow the converter circuit to extract the maximum power available from a cell.

What an MPPT controller does is "look" for that exact point, then does the voltage/current conversion to change it to exactly what the battery needs. In real life, that peak moves around continuously with changes in light conditions and weather.