Eish!!

Monday, February 4, 2008

DIY wind power generation

As the title of the web page says "Wind is free" Living in close to the tip of Africa, means that along with the beauty comes the a fair amount of wind. The ever present power outages and the wish to become a South African and world citizen, made me look into the possibility of utilising the wind to supplement my electricity usage from national power grid.
My research brought me to windpower.org.za. The page is an conglomeration Peter's research, experiences, designs, and the source material, gathered on his ongoing quest to build his own wind turbine. His model is currently running, powering a battery bank which in turn powers a light source. And as a result this page is a wealth of useful information.

He says that that it has currently cost him R3500-00 for his current setup. This includes the cost of experimentaion. When compared to the quotes I have received from the only two distributors I could find in Cape Town (or South Africa for that matter) of over R30 000-00 it looks like a worthwhile project on which to embark. However, me being severely challenged when it comes to DIY, it will remain a pipe dream. The site as a pretty active forum which is used to exchange ideas, and their seems to be a healthy community of enthusiasts hell bent on utilising the free power source. All strength to them.

For those of you DIY challenged, here are the alternatives :

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Window-washers threatened with jail

Illegal immigrants trying to clean car windows at traffic lights could face up to 3 months in jail, as the local government begins enforcing new laws enabling police to bring charges against window washers, confiscate their equipment and prosecute.

Some civic groups are grateful for the rules and subsequent action by city officials as the window-washers were "becoming more aggressive, especially to women alone in their cars."

Good news? This news was found @ Reuters and emanated from Florence, Italy.

Seems the Italians to have problems with traffic light (robot) nuisances.

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