Wind-sun combo at work in Homer

By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - Steve Eayrs and Lanny Simpson stand before the 15-foot Airbreeze Wind Turbine set up as a demonstration at REMAX of Homer on Pioneer Avenue.

Even as snow piled up outside in what may well go down as the blizzard of ‘10, the water heating in a tank by REMAX of Homer on Pioneer Avenue provided proof that you don’t always need a sunny day in order to generate solar heat.
Steve Eayrs and Lanny Simpson have rigged up a demonstration that shows how partnering wind and solar systems might work to create 10 hours of back-up power. The combination is a 15-foot Airbreeze Wind Turbine attached to a two-inch galvanized pipe, and a three-panel solar system mounted on top of a utility trailer. Inside the trailer a square of tiled flooring with radiant heat piping shows how that works with the Buderus boiler, interfaced with batteries accepting charges from both the turbine and the solar panels. The system gives a “show and tell” for how the pieces fit together, complete with a chart on the outside of the trailer.
“This is a good combination for keeping a battery bank charged. The two systems compliment each other well,” Simpson said. “This is a demonstration system, but shows the potential.” The 15-foot turbine, for example, isn’t the recommended height beyond serving in the demonstration, he added.

HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - Steve Eayrs with radiant heat flooring demonstration.

It won’t generate enough power to keep the lights on at the two-story realty building, but it will create the power necessary to give 10 hours of backup power in case there is an outage.
The idea of placing the demo project on Pioneer Avenue by REMAX is to let the public see it in action. Previously, it was up at the Yurt Village, which this summer gained a lot of foot traffic and a curious public. Many questions and a steep learning curve goes along with entering the new age of alternative energies, Simpson said. He spends a lot of time explaining how wind and sun work to people who want to try to integrate a system into their energy usage. And he has  forms available for government grant applications and names of energy auditors.
Just because Homer gets a lot of wind doesn’t mean all the wind is the right kind, Simpson explains. In downtown Homer, for example, where the demo is set up, the wind is “chaotic,” meaning it is turbulent. Nevertheless, the Air Breeze collects wind and contributes its energy to the battery bank.
“If the wind turbine is lower to the ground, it will not respond as well to the chaotic wind. You need a smooth, consistent wind and the higher up you go, the better it will respond,” Simpson said.

HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - Steve Eayrs stands before a chart that shows how to harness the sun’s energy.

The parameters for optimal wind generation is 20 feet above tree line and 300 feet from the nearest trees.
But before people even go that far, there are a number of other factors that need to be in place first, Eayrs said. Through his company, Eayrs Plumbing and Heating, he installs new, more energy-efficient boiler systems in homes. Before home owners or businesses can invest in a whole new system, they need to have the right boiler system in place. He also has since 2008 installed the solar systems; homeowners are capitalizing on rebates, grants and tax credits as they incorporate solar panels to help them generate hot water and other such alternatives.
“Yet, it won’t do them any good to invest in new solar hot water panels if they have an older boiler that uses as much energy as they would have saved by installing a system,” Eayrs said.
The investment may need to be done in stages, with the boiler going in first, then additional equipment added a year later.
A steady snowfall and high winds on Friday created a bit of a test for the system parked on Pioneer Avenue. The heavy wet snow slid off the solar panels and inside, the thermostat on the water heater registered at 79 degrees. The trailer itself was comfortably warm. “Even on cloudy days, solar hot water panels are working,” Simpson explained.
Another factor that is important before making an investment is to do a wind study. By now, a lot more is known on which areas of town generate the most and best kind of wind. Every year, more homeowners have incorporated alternatives into their energy grid and the information is shared widely.
“Studies show where the wind is thought to be the best, such as in Alaska along the (Aleutian) Chain and mountains – here, on the bluff, you would have enough to buck the tide on data” that suggests Homer isn’t ranked well for wind, Simpson advises. “But be willing to do a wind study of your own.”
A special date logger tied to an anemometer record wind data, a device placed high where a turbine would likely go. “We recommend that wind data is collected for an entire year,” Simpson said.
General information is available through the National Energy Research Lab,  with some local information.  Color coded maps and a host of other details are available at http:// www. netl. doe. gov/ onsite_research/index.html
Wind and sun working together in a joined system seems to be a good match, Simpson and Eayrs are finding. On certain cloudy days, the heated water in the trailer is measuring at 120 degrees.

Subscribe via RSS

Subscribe via email