Alternative Energy

[Fayaz]

I am involved in a project, located in a developing country ( SE Asia). The project is to produce alternative energy to provide electricity and run air-conditioning system for a 2000 sq. ft. house. Total budget is $2000.00 to purchase equipemnt.I have thought of cow dung to produce methane but I have no idea, how it works, equipment design and or performance. Any HELP? IDEAS?

 

[fredb]

Hello Fayaz

re: Biomass

see:

http://www.teriin.org/renew/tech/biogas/bene.htm

 

[stevenw]

for your budget - look at wind power, electric generator.

 

Fayaz, Look on the 'Designs for the World Project' website to see of any of those designs might apply to your situation.

http://WWW.DEFOWORLD.COM

http://defoworld.com/dfwp_001.htm

-strgrplgrm@aol.com

 

[stevenw]

for you budget look at evaporative cooling

 

[ChasBean1]

Look at fredb's link. Pretty interesting stuff. Two one-ton AC units (or a one ton unit and an ~8,000 to 10,000 BTU/Hr)and a small generator could probably be bought for less than $1,200 USD. Used stuff, that is.

Now you have $800 left over to build a dung burner to produce about a 75/25% methane/CO2 mix that will hopefully be potent enough to drive the generator to power the ACs. Then there's labor of a daily dung/water mixture addition...

My guess is that this would be such an interesting project for a rural community in S.E. Asia that the neighbors (and all their ancestors living with them) wouldn't mind getting involved. $800 USD I bet will buy you enough labor to build a cadillac of a dung burner. Question is, will the generator run on 75% methane and how big will the biogas plant have to be to run the generator? And will the generator fire off this mixture?

If all works out and you can actually fire the generator, you might as well tie in a couple of sockets for the house ($1.49 ea., USD, plus associated wiring and boxes, maybe $20) and buy a couple of lamps ($8.99 ea., USD, K-Mart blue light).

If you do really well, you might consider a used gas stove for the kitchen! By the way, who has a 2,000 square foot house over there?? I'm a big fat lazy American and I only have 1,800 square feet... ;-(