Thinking out loud

Hi all ,
I have been looking into making my tank self sufficient ,
My 450 l tank roughly costs abt €60 per month to run
It might be possible to run it from solar panels my brother is an electrician
Who has gone to study solar and wind energy so I'm now waiting on prices
& if it wud work ,
Just wondering has anyone tried this or has anyone any info abt it
Thanks debrick

I did quite a bit of work in the early 80s on solar power and wind power system development (had a company researching that stuff and more).

Off-the-shelf kit can be pricey, but if the economics in the long-run work out well then it may be worth the investment if you have the facilities to harbour such systems.

Now, depending on what is eating up your electricity, there are a number of options and you may need to look at a hybrid system whereby some is powered from the mains plug and some powered by an alternative technology system.

I would not image that many filter systems would be expensive to run. I have over 40 tanks and it does not cost anywhere near 60 a month to power all of them.
If you have high-power lighting then that will require a system that generates electricity; if it is heaters that is costing the earth to run then that could be either a system that generates electricity or use a heat-capture exchange system.

If you go for heat-capture/exchange, then you might as well tie that in with general house heating as well to make it worth while.

Heat-exchangers buried under-ground are good, but need a bit more than a hammer and nails.
Solar heat capture panels on the roof controlled by an electronic control pump might be an easier option and could be built as a DIY system.

Wind-power.....that can be done using a DIY system, but you would need the pro help of the electrician as even a small wind-powered generator can kill.

The simplest model that we built was a washing machine motor with an oil-barrel cut in half (vertical) and the sides welded together back-to-back to act the wind-capture part.
Yes, it was in the days of experimentation and early development, but it worked.

ian

JohnH wrote:

That might be an option to consider here in the West Midlands - it's never not windy! (Not even on a calm day).

John

Go for it.

There's no shortage of washing machine motors.

The Savonius style vertical axis is easy and cheap to build, it may lack some efficiency....but building 5 of them is not going to cost much.

Hi guys ,
Just got some more info , apparently there is a solar panel which u cud run to a power pack / battery cells ,
This sounds gud to me , I dont think I'd get away with puttin up a wind mill in the middle of saggart , not sure of the size of the panel
or cost , more information to follow
Debrick

Have moved this from the Introduce yourself Section and posted it into the D.I.Y Section i thought it would better suit in here,

If you would like it in somewhere else that you think would suit it better please let me know.

Thanks

Sean

€60 per month, that sounds like a lot (or is it?)

60 quid a months sounds a lot i also have a 450litre with all the trimmings but i would shudder if i taught it was cost me that much. I know its easily worked out but to be honest i have been ducking doing it .

Hi all,
I'm not sure if it cost €60 , but it's close enough , my bro will
come with his gadgets to figure out exactly what it costs to run
My tank has 2 heaters 300 w, 2 external filters , 1 internal filter , 4 floresent lights , 1 strip of led lights red,
2 airstone pumps , 1 led light blue , I will put up a pic when I figure out how to from my iPhone