Wind Turbine mounted on Air Conditioner

Zakarume
Zakarume Solar Expert Posts: 143 ✭✭
in Wind Power Generation #1
Was watching this on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwE3UlSmTh8. Could this possibly work?
1460 Watts Solar @24v. 675 AH Battery Bank using 12 6v Trojan T-105. 1 Midnite Classic 150. 1500 Watt 24v Samlex Pure Sine Inverter
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #2
    Short answer, you may recover something like 30% of the fan's original power (pure guess).

    However, the fan is moving hot air from the area. Placing the turbine on top may cause hot air to circulate back into the condenser. Driving up compressor/AC power usage, and possibly reducing air flow through the condenser too

    Note that they do not talk about how much energy is capture/returned via the grid tied system.

    Not to say that this is a 100% bad idea--But without a careful study/set of power consumption measurements--It is possible that you may "break even" or even, in the end, increase your A/C energy costs.

    The fact that there is heat transferred to the air though the condenser (i.e., energy added to/expanding volume of air)--Is why I don't say that this is a scam. There are some instances where radiator airflow has actually recovered usable energy: [h=3]Meredith effect[/h] The above is about the P51 WWII fighter with a water cooled engine... Numbers looking around the web ran from 200 lbs of drag and 200-600 lbs of thrust (speed/condition dependent--And also subject to many debates online about if it did what was claimed or not).

    I would not spend any money just yet on such a product. My guess is that you may recover $0.10 to $0.40 per day from the Grid Tied system (if it worked very well)--So what did the hardware cost, and did your A/C power usage go up/down/or stay the same...

    Anyway, a guess at the order of magnitude of what it could do.

    In the end, there is rarely "free energy" out there... The large power plants and co-generation systems can recover significant amounts of power from the energy primary conversion process. Could you get 30% of the condenser fan energy "recovered" (not any recovery from compressor and central circulation fan operation--which is probably much more energy compared to condenser fan)? I really doubt it--But I have been proved wrong before.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • KenZ71
    KenZ71 Solar Expert Posts: 58 ✭✭
    #3
    It is an interesting concept.

    I've thought about water heating via AC waste heat but then say if it were that productive Lenox / Trane and every other AC maker would be doing this.
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  • Zakarume
    Zakarume Solar Expert Posts: 143 ✭✭
    #4
    The guy in videos keeps saying you can produce power with no problems. Personally i think he is trying to scam people into buying only his products.
    1460 Watts Solar @24v. 675 AH Battery Bank using 12 6v Trojan T-105. 1 Midnite Classic 150. 1500 Watt 24v Samlex Pure Sine Inverter
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  • inetdog
    inetdog Solar Expert Posts: 3,123 ✭✭✭✭
    #5
    You are not capturing energy from waste heat from the AC condenser. You are capturing perhaps-wasted mechanical energy from the moving air. To the extent that there is more air flow than needed through the coil, the same energy reduction could be achieved more reliably by using a sensor controlled VFD to drive the fan motor.
    If you add the rain tight cap he is talking about, you run the serious risk of reducing the air flow to the point that it increases the condenser coil temperature. That has the same effect reducing the thermodynamic cycle efficiency that you would get as the outside ambient air temperature increases.
    SMA SB 3000, old BP panels.
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