From John Clough
A technique sometimes overlooked in considering microgeneration for domestic use (21 January, p 36) is using a wind turbine linked by mechanical drive to a pump or churning device to heat water by internal friction. This does away with the need for electrical generation equipment and controls.
The method is not only very simple, but also allows easy storage of energy as hot water, the form in which a large proportion of household energy is used. It can readily be supplemented when necessary, and any excess energy can easily be dumped, literally down the drain.
From Jean M. O. Fischer
It is interesting to read that microgeneration might finally take off. In 1978 my late uncle, Jean Fischer, designed and built a “plus-energy” house in Denmark. It was well insulated, allowing solar panels and a small windmill to produce not only all the energy for the house but also enough to run an electric car doing 10,000 kilometres per year, and a surplus, which he sold to the power grid.
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He calculated that if the government removed value added tax on such houses and if the equipment such as solar panels were mass-produced, they would be as cheap to build as ordinary houses. But this was not the first or last time a government failed to take advantage of available technologies to tackle the energy crisis.
London, UK
Ipswich, Suffolk, UK
