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Conventional wisdom dictates that in electric generation we must have either fuel for simple machinery or undependable systems requiring either fragile components, e.g., solar panels or unreliable systems dependent on electronics, i.e., wind turbines. As is often the case, conventional wisdom is wrong. We can generate electricity by combining the use of two nineteenth century inventions, the compressed air windmill and fireless locomotive running on compressed air.
The compressed air windmill is just that. Simple wind power compresses air to run machinery without the need for electricity. A stationary steam engine using the technology developed for locomotives then generates electricity. I don't believe that anyone has done this, but there's no reason why it can't be done rather easily. A fireless stationary wouldn't be too difficult to build. The principles were developed more than a century ago for locomotives. Most fireless locomotives used steam, but many were developed for compressed air. Locomotive boilers have been used to pump mines; the technology already exists to use them in stationary roles. The following links provide a brief introduction.
...undependable systems requiring either fragile components, e.g., solar panels or unreliable systems dependent on electronics, i.e., wind turbines.
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...A stationary steam engine using the technology developed for locomotives then generates electricity. I don't believe that anyone has done this, but there's no reason why it can't be done rather easily...
That stationary engine solely generates rotational motion. You'd need to connect the output to a generator, that generator would either need to be maintained at constant rotational speed to ensure frequency and voltage requirements, or have some form of electronics to ensure the output is maintained while the output shaft is loaded/unloaded as any electrical drains are used (for example consider the differences in voltages caused by a magneto vs. a GM "alternator").
Ultimately it's a more complex solution than a small windmill generation system, or alternatively you could try it without any of those governors, and experience first hand what higher or lower frequencies and voltages can cause on modern electronics.
Got to agree with Gungnir on this one. No matter what power source you're using you need a constant output at a prescribed voltage/amperage, or you end up either with too little power to do your work, or with slag.
Any system that requires mechanical/rotational speed as a component of the generation will need to be controlled within specific parameters to produce at he proscribed levels.
A gas, propane or diesel generator uses a governor on the fuel feed to step up the speed to maintain when there is a draw.
Coal, natural gas or nuclear that generate steam use steam pressure and volume to address increased need. This would be the same with compressed air. More draw, more pressure and volume are needed to maintain output.
Those are on demand systems.
Solar and wind are not on demand systems. They only function when their power source is available, the sun or wind. So they have to store the generated power in batteries, so peak need is usually different than peak generation period, for instance night instead of daylight hours.
If you're using a static source such as a waterwheel, that will work 24/7, but doesn't compensate for draw, but it does work well for charging batteries once you gear it to specific rotation to get a steady production of power that can be stored. The mass of the wheel and weight of the water are constant, and the flow of the stream of water usually is, but that means it will produce a set amount of power and if the draw is greater than what's produced, you brown-out because you simply don't have as much power as you require. Thus the need for batteries, but that is a finite store of energy that the wheel could replace over time, but not on demand for immediate need.
Water turbines are different in that you have a stored supply of potential, (a pool of water) that the flow can be increased to meet demand.
Once the mechanical mechanism has some form of power coming in, the output must be regulated, hence the need for electronics or you could use gearing but that requires a feedback loop of some sort to maintain speed through flow of steam or water, and isn't as accurate as electronic regulation so you could still get peaks of power that leave your electric appliances as smoking piles of goo.
I look through the old patents that have been filed for power generation, and it isn't hard to generate power, you just move a conductor through a magnetic field. The trick is producing usable amounts of power and controlling it to do the necessary work.
That stationary engine solely generates rotational motion. You'd need to connect the output to a generator, that generator would either need to be maintained at constant rotational speed to ensure frequency and voltage requirements, or have some form of electronics to ensure the output is maintained while the output shaft is loaded/unloaded as any electrical drains are used (for example consider the differences in voltages caused by a magneto vs. a GM "alternator").
Yes, of course. It would be at constant speed. It's no different from a steam engine except it uses compressed air. Steam engines are commonly tested using compressed air.
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Ultimately it's a more complex solution than a small windmill generation system, or alternatively you could try it without any of those governors, and experience first hand what higher or lower frequencies and voltages can cause on modern electronics.
The windmill has nothing to do with generating electricity. It only furnishes the compressed air that's used instead of steam.
Without getting into all the physics, there's's a lot of work required to compress air. It sounds like a highly inefficient machine.
Actually, pretty simple device for medium pressure applications, just a one way valve operated by a piston attached to a rotary gear on the shaft.
Basically the same as a water pump, but instead of sucking up water, you compress the air. Push instead of pull.
Once installed, you don't have a lot of costs associated with them outside of routine maintenance, so yeah, they would work pretty well.
You can get fairly good pressure if you have enough wind going by, they don't work well if you have low velocity winds.
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