Solar electricity production

[drivesafe]

Hi folks, I’m interested in electricity production, made from solar voltaic, wind and thermal, both solar thermal and geothermal and I’m also interested in producing reasonable amounts of purified water for domestic use, so to start the section off, any discussions and project ideas for any of the above is welcome.

[muddymech]

great idea for a forum, i like to follow developments of this sort of thing and when i can asfford it start buying into alternate energy.
pity the gov pulled the plug on the rebates as i nearly got solar hot water heating this year, i reckon thats the biggest quickest and cheapest option to start with.
i was considering the heat transfers pipes as i can not get my head round a heat pump being efficent when the pump has a 2000w motor and a heater eleemnt is not far off that.
one idea for heating hot water that i have not seen for long time is to run it though wood chipping or i guess a compost plenty of hear there.
ian

[JDNSW]

For what it is worth, my home has been running on solar power for the past fourteen years, together with solar hot water.

Consequently I have an ongoing interest in the subject.

John

[isuzurover]

For what it is worth, my home has been running on solar power for the past fourteen years, together with solar hot water.

Consequently I have an ongoing interest in the subject.

John

Care to elaborate on your system John? I recall you aren't connected to the grid.

Btw - related to our previous discussion about hydrogen... AFAIK - hydrogen produced from algae would be regarded as a fuel by your definition, rather than an energy storage system.

On that note - diesel and other fuels derived from algae photo-bio-reactors may start to appear soon. There are groups claiming to have the costs down to US$120/barrel for pbr-derived oil. Several mining conpanies are seriously interested apparently.

[jik22]

For what it is worth, my home has been running on solar power for the past fourteen years, together with solar hot water.

Consequently I have an ongoing interest in the subject.

John

I'd be interested in a write up of your solar hot water system? I've been thinking about this more and more, and am keen to get some real info to see how close to the marketing hype from the companies selling the stuff the reality really is!

[drivesafe]

For what it is worth, my home has been running on solar power for the past fourteen years, together with solar hot water.

Well don’t be bashful, tell us all about it.

This is exactly why I asked Inc for this section to be started.

[drivesafe]

one idea for heating hot water that i have not seen for long time is to run it though wood chipping or i guess a compost plenty of hear there.
ian

Never heard of it before, got any more info on it?

[muddymech]

sorry no, i remember watching it as a kid on a programme caller "tomorrows world" from what i remember it was a simple case of running a pipe though decomposing wood chippings, then out came hot water.

guess it would have to be a run of pipe work to allow it to heat the water before use, not sure what temperatues came out, but might be enough to give the main water heater an easier time, especally in winter.

[dobbo]

sorry no, i remember watching it as a kid on a programme caller "tomorrows world" from what i remember it was a simple case of running a pipe though decomposing wood chippings, then out came hot water.

guess it would have to be a run of pipe work to allow it to heat the water before use, not sure what temperatues came out, but might be enough to give the main water heater an easier time, especally in winter.


Thats similar to the way the earth ships store their heat. Interesting, just imagine, a busted pipe would result in making your cup of tea in black water

[JDNSW]

Well don’t be bashful, tell us all about it.

This is exactly why I asked Inc for this section to be started.

When we started building the house in 1994 we investigated the relative costs of getting the power on and getting a stand alone power system. In the end, the costs came out around the same, so we went with the stand alone system.

While living in a caravan and building the house, we used a 12v 300VA Sine Wave inverter, with a pair of 12 v batteries and three 60w panels. This was supplemented by a 2.5kva petrol generator. This system was also used in the house as an additional supply, with the batteries replaced by a set of 400AH cells, and an extra panel added.

The house power system is in fact two identical systems, for redundancy - either can run the house at a pinch, but generally the load is shared, with the two major loads, refrigerator and freezer, being one on each.

Each system is based on a 24v bank of 760 AH cells, charged by a tracker with eight 75w panels via a BP controller or a 40A charger. Each system has a Selectronics 2kva (6kva for 30 seconds) sine wave inverter.

The battery chargers were originally powered by the 2.5kva petrol generator, later replaced by a 6.5kva petrol generator, and now usually by a 5kva Lister diesel generator.

A fairly recent addition has been a 200w nominal wind generator on one system. I intend to get another of these.

Problems:- Two of the 60w panels have failed (out of warranty), one apparently due to lightning, the other apparently a manufacturing fault. One 75 w panel was replaced under warranty.

One Selectronics inverter failed spectacularly shortly after installation ( I suspect a loose nut or something in it initiated a short) and was repaired/replaced under warranty.

Both tracker electronics modules have failed - and the manufacturer is defunct, and parts are unavailable; and they removed all the ID information from the ICs, and no circuits are available.

Two of the big cells were replaced under warranty, and another eleven have failed in recent years - fortunately, I managed to get hold of a part life set of twelve. But with the batteries fourteen years old, and an expected life of about ten years, I am looking at having to get at least twelve new cells in the reasonably near future!

Apart from the problems mentioned, the electronics have given no trouble. Routine problems are frequently due to bad intercell connections, or more recently, failing cells.

Apart from the power system, hot water is provided by a pair of solar collectors on the verandah roof. These have a frost valve to prevent freezing rather than operating a closed loop. They feed into a gravity tank in the roof, which is boosted by the kitchen wood fired stove, which also provides hot water for the floor heating system. This has proved to be totally successful, just that you have to light up the fire to get hot water during overcast, even if the weather is warm.

This what you were looking for?

John

[Tank]

Never heard of it before, got any more info on it?
Is it possible to stick an alternator (car 65/85amps) on top of a pole with fan blades and run wiring to a battery and harness the wind to charge said battery, if so, hows about a blueprint on how to wire it up, and of course would it work, Regards Frank.

[isuzurover]

kitchen wood fired stove, which also provides hot water for the floor heating system.

Any more info on this John? I am thinking of building an underfloor heating system myself - to capture some more heat from the (open) fire.

[drivesafe]

Is it possible to stick an alternator (car 65/85amps) on top of a pole with fan blades and run wiring to a battery and harness the wind to charge said battery

Unfortunately it’s not so straightforward.

Because the fan blades will never rotate anywhere near the speed of a motor, the alternator needs to be rewired and even then they are never very effective.

The only real way to get an alternator set up to work is to use the same principals that the large windmills use and that is to have a very large diameter blade set up connected to a step-up gear box and then connect this to your alternator.

I think cost would start to become a problem when trying this sort of a set up.

[JDNSW]

Is it possible to stick an alternator (car 65/85amps) on top of a pole with fan blades and run wiring to a battery and harness the wind to charge said battery, if so, hows about a blueprint on how to wire it up, and of course would it work, Regards Frank.

It is possible, but as Drivesafe comments, it is not that simple. A car alternator is not a good point to start from, although there have been moderately successful attempts. The first problem is speed - the minimum useful speed for an automotive alternator is around 1000rpm, and for various reasons it is not feasible to run a windmill this fast with sufficient blade area to provide the kilowatt or more of power needed. So gearing is needed = complication, cost and loss of efficiency. Secondly, the automotive alternator uses battery excitation = loss of efficiency plus complication to switch it off when the wind drops and back on when the wind restarts. All modern small wind generators use permanent magnets. This has the advantage of efficiency plus simpler control - for example, overspeeding can be controlled by shunting the output into a dummy load.

A major design problem is the need to start generating at winds as low as perhaps ten kilometres per hour, but escape damage at wind speeds in excess of 100km/h. This means you need a large blade area, start generating at low rpm, and have foolproof mechanisms to prevent overspeeding and to feather the blades out of wind as speed increases.

John

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Great forum addition lads. :)

I've just subscribed to the whole forum :)

[drivesafe]

When we started building the house in 1994 we investigated the relative costs of getting the power on and getting a stand alone power system. In the end, the costs came out around the same, so we went with the stand alone system.

While living in a caravan and building the house, we used a 12v 300VA Sine Wave inverter, with a pair of 12 v batteries and three 60w panels. This was supplemented by a 2.5kva petrol generator. This system was also used in the house as an additional supply, with the batteries replaced by a set of 400AH cells, and an extra panel added.

The house power system is in fact two identical systems, for redundancy - either can run the house at a pinch, but generally the load is shared, with the two major loads, refrigerator and freezer, being one on each.

Each system is based on a 24v bank of 760 AH cells, charged by a tracker with eight 75w panels via a BP controller or a 40A charger. Each system has a Selectronics 2kva (6kva for 30 seconds) sine wave inverter.

The battery chargers were originally powered by the 2.5kva petrol generator, later replaced by a 6.5kva petrol generator, and now usually by a 5kva Lister diesel generator.

A fairly recent addition has been a 200w nominal wind generator on one system. I intend to get another of these.

Problems:- Two of the 60w panels have failed (out of warranty), one apparently due to lightning, the other apparently a manufacturing fault. One 75 w panel was replaced under warranty.

One Selectronics inverter failed spectacularly shortly after installation ( I suspect a loose nut or something in it initiated a short) and was repaired/replaced under warranty.

Both tracker electronics modules have failed - and the manufacturer is defunct, and parts are unavailable; and they removed all the ID information from the ICs, and no circuits are available.

Two of the big cells were replaced under warranty, and another eleven have failed in recent years - fortunately, I managed to get hold of a part life set of twelve. But with the batteries fourteen years old, and an expected life of about ten years, I am looking at having to get at least twelve new cells in the reasonably near future!

Apart from the problems mentioned, the electronics have given no trouble. Routine problems are frequently due to bad intercell connections, or more recently, failing cells.

Apart from the power system, hot water is provided by a pair of solar collectors on the verandah roof. These have a frost valve to prevent freezing rather than operating a closed loop. They feed into a gravity tank in the roof, which is boosted by the kitchen wood fired stove, which also provides hot water for the floor heating system. This has proved to be totally successful, just that you have to light up the fire to get hot water during overcast, even if the weather is warm.

This what you were looking for?

John

Thanks John, a top report.

If you could get your hands on it, what would you like to get that is either not available or is too expensive at this time?

[JDNSW]

Any more info on this John? I am thinking of building an underfloor heating system myself - to capture some more heat from the (open) fire.

The kitchen stove has a purpose designed water boiler which surrounds all sides of the firebox (except for the firedoor opening, about half the front, and the top and bottom). This is plumbed via a small circulating pump and a branch to the hot water system to a double manifold about two feet above the floor in the middle of the house. From this manifold there are six double spirals of pipe (a special low density poly pipe sold for the purpose) within the slab. The pipes were laid out on top of the reinforcing and wired to the mesh about every metre. The slab had to be thicker than normal by the diameter of the pipe (20mm), and the system was filled with water to stop it lifting when the slab was poured.

There is a small header tank with a ball valve to provide pressure relief and ensure the system is kept filled. (This is essential to prevent the possibility of explosion.) Each separate circuit is provided with a control valve which allows regulation of heat to different areas of the house. The circulating pump is controlled by two thermostats plus a switch - one thermostat keeps the pump off until the water returning from the hot water system reaches the set temperature, and the other switches the pump on regardless when the water rising from the stove approaches boiling point.

I would doubt that you would get enough heat from an open fire, although I suppose it depends on how big the fire is.

Hope that helps,

John

[Bundalene]

Hi, I am also very interested to where this thread will lead. Thanks Drivesafe for initiating it and to John for the great report.

Re the wind generators and alternators, I have heard of the inverter drive out of a Fisher and Paykel washing machine being used in conjunction with wind generators - one of those future projects.

I am also surprised at the high falure rate of the solar cells and controllers.

Erich.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

A friend in Coonbarrabran had a HW system that worked solely from water heated from their stove. They had a header tank above the stove and used natural circulation to heat the water.

Obviously no cooking no hot water, but it did seem to suit them.

[JDNSW]

A friend in Coonbarrabran had a HW system that worked solely from water heated from their stove. They had a header tank above the stove and used natural circulation to heat the water.

Obviously no cooking no hot water, but it did seem to suit them.

This used to be very widespread, in fact, before the availability of town gas and later electricity, it was the only way of providing hot water, sometimes with a dedicated boiler, often in cold climates also providing house heating via hot water radiators. It remained usual out of town until the spread of grid electricity in the 1950s - 1960s and is still not uncommon, although new installations are fairly rare.

John

[DirtyDawg]

I came upon a home last month that had 10 solar panels on the roof and it generated enough electricity for about 25% of his homes use, the interesting part was it was hooked up to his SECWA smart meter and when they were at work the surplus power was bought back by the energy commission at .10c per K/watt. it was strange to see the meter going backwards in figures. Cost him $20k all up including installation, I was there because the installers left 6 tiles of his roof and the rain flooded it:mad:

[JDNSW]

...........

If you could get your hands on it, what would you like to get that is either not available or is too expensive at this time?

Bit difficult to say, but I would guess the main thing I would like to get is longer lasting batteries and more battery capacity to tide me over longer overcast periods. More panels would help too.

Interesting comment however - I analysed whether to spend more money on panels - and ended up buying a new refrigerator; this will improve the situation more for the $ with the increase in efficiency in the last fourteen years since I bought a four star fridge. The new one, to be picked up tomorrow, is a six star one that uses less than half the power.

John

[JDNSW]

I came upon a home last month that had 10 solar panels on the roof and it generated enough electricity for about 25% of his homes use, the interesting part was it was hooked up to his SECWA smart meter and when they were at work the surplus power was bought back by the energy commission at .10c per K/watt. it was strange to see the meter going backwards in figures. Cost him $20k all up including installation, I was there because the installers left 6 tiles of his roof and the rain flooded it:mad:

There is at least one of these setups round here. In my view, this is the model that we should be pursuing rather than new power stations, whether private or government. The main thing stopping it is that the power people are only paying $0.10 at present. If the price was set at the instantaneous wholesale price (technically possible with a "smart" meter), which would be much more equitable, the average price paid would be a lot higher and would cause a larger take up. Since a lot of the power is generated where it is needed (think power for airconditioning in hot sunny weather) it reduces the need to upgrade distribution systems.

John

[JDNSW]

Further to the wind generator question. The one I have is from Jaycar, at $499 (as low as $399 for 4+). At these prices it gets difficult to justify building one. Although if you want to, they sell spare blades for $25 each

John

[Tank]

John, did you see that wind generator on a camper trailer near our campsite at Cooma, it seemed to shut down when it wasn't needed, I think it was used in conjunction with an auto rotating solar panel, not a bad setup, does your wind generator shut down when not charging, Regards Frank.

[isuzurover]

The kitchen stove has a purpose designed water boiler which surrounds all sides of the firebox (except for the firedoor opening, about half the front, and the top and bottom). This is plumbed via a small circulating pump and a branch to the hot water system to a double manifold about two feet above the floor in the middle of the house. From this manifold there are six double spirals of pipe (a special low density poly pipe sold for the purpose) within the slab. The pipes were laid out on top of the reinforcing and wired to the mesh about every metre. The slab had to be thicker than normal by the diameter of the pipe (20mm), and the system was filled with water to stop it lifting when the slab was poured.

There is a small header tank with a ball valve to provide pressure relief and ensure the system is kept filled. (This is essential to prevent the possibility of explosion.) Each separate circuit is provided with a control valve which allows regulation of heat to different areas of the house. The circulating pump is controlled by two thermostats plus a switch - one thermostat keeps the pump off until the water returning from the hot water system reaches the set temperature, and the other switches the pump on regardless when the water rising from the stove approaches boiling point.

I would doubt that you would get enough heat from an open fire, although I suppose it depends on how big the fire is.

Hope that helps,

John

Thanks for the info John. Is this a commercial system or did you design/build it yourself? Do you have the specs/manufacturer info for the pump?

Jarrah burns VERY hot, but I will have to do some calcs to see how much usable heat I could get out.

[JDNSW]

Thanks for the info John. Is this a commercial system or did you design/build it yourself? Do you have the specs/manufacturer info for the pump?

Jarrah burns VERY hot, but I will have to do some calcs to see how much usable heat I could get out.

Pump is a Grundfos UPS 25-60 130. The system was designed to meet my specifications by Outlook Alternatives in Wangaratta, Vic. They supplied the manifolds and the hot water system and solar collector.

John

[JDNSW]

John, did you see that wind generator on a camper trailer near our campsite at Cooma, it seemed to shut down when it wasn't needed, I think it was used in conjunction with an auto rotating solar panel, not a bad setup, does your wind generator shut down when not charging, Regards Frank.

I don't remember seeing that one, but I am familiar with the type - I actually owned one when I first lived here. If it is the type I am thinking of, they don't actually shut down when the battery is fully charged. Like mine, when the battery is fully charged, the output is transferred to a dummy load, which is sufficiently low resistance to effectively apply a brake to the armature. In addition, excessive wind speed will cause the blades to turn out of wind.

John

[LandyAndy]

Hey Ben
Can get you wood that burns HEAPS hotter than jarrah!!!! You will be sharpening the saw HEAPS more,emptying the ash more and would only need to fill the Landy 1/2 full to get the tyres rubbing!!!!
Will see if we can get you some on our next trip to mix with the jarrah.50/50 is a good mix.Wandoo or Whitegum is the wood.
Will PM you,need more wood!!!!
Andrew

[Ben]

John, did you see that wind generator on a camper trailer near our campsite at Cooma, it seemed to shut down when it wasn't needed, I think it was used in conjunction with an auto rotating solar panel

This was the one at Cooma. Pretty sure it was adjacent to Redback's complex.
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/alternate-energies/10520d1220359272-solar-electricity-production-poloflats-altenergy.jpg

[Tank]

Ben, thanks mate, that's the one, when are you coming down for a trip into the bush, need to blow out some cobwebs, Regards Frank.

[JamesB]

For those interested in solar grid connected systems - I have been doing a bit of research into this lately. The federal government has just recently increased the rebate for grid connected solar systems from $4 per watt to $8 per watt up to 1000 watts. There are a couple of stipulations that go with that , look up EPA solar homes project. Added bonus for Queenslanders is that the state government has legistated a price of 44c per kilowatt hour returned to the grid, you buy in electricity at 16 odd cents per kilowatt hour. The price for a 1kw system seems to range between $8500 to $13000. Might be close to becoming economicaly viable for small households.

[dobbo]

For those interested in solar grid connected systems - I have been doing a bit of research into this lately. The federal government has just recently increased the rebate for grid connected solar systems from $4 per watt to $8 per watt up to 1000 watts. There are a couple of stipulations that go with that , look up EPA solar homes project. Added bonus for Queenslanders is that the state government has legistated a price of 44c per kilowatt hour returned to the grid, you buy in electricity at 16 odd cents per kilowatt hour. The price for a 1kw system seems to range between $8500 to $13000. Might be close to becoming economicaly viable for small households.


you are forgetting about all the hidden costs associated with photovoltiac setups.

Maximum lifespan of panels = 25yrs, but they do degrade over time, the best way would be to replace them after 15yrs with new ones

Battery banks are the same degrading over time and they are not cheap, they make D2 batteries look dirt cheap

Controllers again not a cheap excercise, they only have a couple of years worth of warrantee

Inverters same situation, unless you go to the expense of buying low voltage appliances, no plasma screens in that shop, nor air conditioners.

Having your house rewired to run 12v, and having a gen set for backup, is not an option for me, I have mates who live like this.

The 28c/kw profit would be swallowed up by your ongoing running costs, then no doubt there would be a tax associated with the profit. You could not make money from this sham.




You not only have to have the technology and sit back and rake in the dosh, you have to change your lifestyle to make this work out in your favour.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

you are forgetting about all the hidden costs associated with photovoltiac setups.

Maximum lifespan of panels = 25yrs, but they do degrade over time, the best way would be to replace them after 15yrs with new ones

Battery banks are the same degrading over time and they are not cheap, they make D2 batteries look dirt cheap

Controllers again not a cheap excercise, they only have a couple of years worth of warrantee

Inverters same situation, unless you go to the expense of buying low voltage appliances, no plasma screens in that shop, nor air conditioners.

Having your house rewired to run 12v, and having a gen set for backup, is not an option for me, I have mates who live like this.

The 28c/kw profit would be swallowed up by your ongoing running costs, then no doubt there would be a tax associated with the profit. You could not make money from this sham.




You not only have to have the technology and sit back and rake in the dosh, you have to change your lifestyle to make this work out in your favour.

You are missing the point. JamesB is talking about grid connected systems. Basically your house is just connected to the grid. You use whatever power you like just like a normal house.

However, you also happen to have a number of solar cells on the roof, and have an inverter that pushes power back into the grid, and this is metered. So, you've got no batteries, no fear of cloudy days, no worries about the lights going out at 10pm etc etc.

[JDNSW]

you are forgetting about all the hidden costs associated with photovoltiac setups.

Maximum lifespan of panels = 25yrs, but they do degrade over time, the best way would be to replace them after 15yrs with new ones

My panels are 14 years old, and have shown no measurable decrease in output. Two out of a total of twenty panels have failed out of warranty. Theere would seem to be no justification for suggesting a 15 year replacement time period.

Battery banks are the same degrading over time and they are not cheap, they make D2 batteries look dirt cheap

Batteries are the real killer - I have 24 cellsand last time I looked the price was around $500 each.

Controllers again not a cheap excercise, they only have a couple of years worth of warrantee

Despite only a couple of years warranty, mine have given no trouble in fourteen years, and I do not expect them to. Also, compared to the rest of the system, they are cheap (a replacement for mine would be $230 for one brand, as an example. If I ran on 12 instead of 24v, a suitable one would be less than $100.

Inverters same situation, unless you go to the expense of buying low voltage appliances, no plasma screens in that shop, nor air conditioners.

My inverters have given no trouble out of warranty (one failed after the first day). They are now less than half the price they were fourteen years ago, and probably better as well. I would not even consider using low voltage appliances, (although my house has 12v distributed it is used only for the UHF), as they are very expensive and there is very little choice - for the same money overall you can spend the money you save on appliances on a bigger solar system to cope with the inefficiency of the inverter. But you can forget airconditioning for any realistic solar photovoltaic system, same with a coolroom.


Having your house rewired to run 12v, and having a gen set for backup, is not an option for me, I have mates who live like this.

The 28c/kw profit would be swallowed up by your ongoing running costs, then no doubt there would be a tax associated with the profit. You could not make money from this sham.

I'll go along with this, but bear in mind that the price of grid power can be expected to increase fairly dramatically with carbon emission trading, so the economics are only going to get better.


You not only have to have the technology and sit back and rake in the dosh, you have to change your lifestyle to make this work out in your favour.

Agreed. Also, you need to be reasonably technically knowledgeable, particularly if you are out of town, otherwise you will end up spending a fortune on paying experts to fix things like loose connections or the panels being shaded by trees, or other simple problems - particularly batteries need a fair bit of attention.



And I agree with Captain Rightfoot - if you are talking about a grid connected system, it does away with the batteries, the biggest bugbear, and there are almost no maintenance problems, and no restrictions on power use. And even the possibility of avoiding blackouts, at least while the sun is out. As I said earlier, I see this as a more viable way of generating solar power than large solar power stations.

John

[Disco_owner]

The Wind/Solar power generator set belongs to Fraser130 in here , a very impressive set up indeed , I spent a considerable amount of time talking to him about his set up.

[JamesB]

Cool solar / wind setup Fraser130 has there , would be able to sit still for a long time before experienceing flat batteries.
The way I see it so far in my reasearch is that if you were to choose your solar system provider/installer carefully, based on price, your out of pocket expence would be in the hundreds of dollars on a 1kw grid connect system (6 panels and an inverter hooked to the grid). That is taking into account the government rebate of $8 per watt and the RECs credits generated by the install ( which are worth money too ). Surely with QLD goverments sweetner of 44c per KwH pumped back into the grid at any point in time it would not be long before your out of pocket expence would be offset by the saving.
( I am baseing this on my own households daily energy usage, no AC etc. )

[BAILEY]

John Christies generator:)

[Tank]

John Christies generator:)
Am I missing something here, is there supposed to be a Link or pic or what, Regards Frank.

[BAILEY]

sorry old mate forgot to leave a website, (www.lutec.com.au):)

[Blknight.aus]

thats a joke right......

my favorite bit would have to be the technical details page for it...

[isuzurover]

thats a joke right......

my favorite bit would have to be the technical details page for it...

Clearly... The "how it works" part is comical too. Complete gibberish.

All the free energy guys are either frauds or seriously deluded. Or they start out as B and turn into A.

I can thoroughly reccommend a book called "voodoo science"

[mcrover]

Clearly... The "how it works" part is comical too. Complete gibberish.

All the free energy guys are either frauds or seriously deluded. Or they start out as B and turn into A.

I can thoroughly reccommend a book called "voodoo science"

I thought it was just me, but again, I'd be happy to be actually prooven to be wrong and have these sort of systems tested properly and the results posted.

As far as I know at this point in time is that the only free energy is between say some solar panels or the like after you have recouped installation costs and when they need maintenance.

So really there is no such thing as "Free" energy.

But I didnt read all of that as it was driving me nuts trying to get my head around his own version of the english language so there may be something I have missed.

[isuzurover]

I thought it was just me, but again, I'd be happy to be actually prooven to be wrong and have these sort of systems tested properly and the results posted.

As far as I know at this point in time is that the only free energy is between say some solar panels or the like after you have recouped installation costs and when they need maintenance.

So really there is no such thing as "Free" energy.

But I didnt read all of that as it was driving me nuts trying to get my head around his own version of the english language so there may be something I have missed.

Free energy, has nothing to do with cost/$, it means that you get more energy out than you put in - which is of course, completely impossible. Various people have claimed to have invented verious types of free energy systems:
water powered cars/engines
the device in the link above - and several other similar battery/magnet/electical devices
Flywheels systems and the like

All energy generation mechanisms in existence, are usually no more than 50% efficient. e.g. a coal power station only manages to turn 40% of the chemical energy in coal into electrical energy, and the best solar panels turn about 30% of the solar energy which strikes them into electrical energy.