Wind power generation for off-gridding

Wind generators have diversified in design from the traditional fan with a vertical axis "baked bean tin with fins" type. Whether that would be more bat friendly, I wouldn't know.

Hi tadhatter. Being completely off grid these days, I too looked at this. It seemed the perfect answer for when the sun wasn’t shining. However the practical difficulties as mentioned in this thread soon became apparent. It has to be fairly high to catch any available wind, - when it’s blowing and then it has to blow at a certain speed, they are fairly large, attached the A frame of the van they can be noisy and the one thing that put me off was that they are not all that efficient. For a sailboat I can see that they are a good addition as they are all about wind.  So I have increased my solar array to 300w and changed my 2 x LA batteries for a Lithium. Baking a cake in a bread maker on Solar? Was it successful? What batteries do you have? I take my hat off to you for giving it a go but in the end you are on Battery and if the battery is a Lead Acid, then asking it for a heavy draw will damage it. Although the thought of a wind turbine is very attractive I think that you would be far better off increasing your solar array and, with Lithium batteries having a life of 20 yrs or so (properly installed) you could look at that as an alternative. If you are serious about off grid, I think you’ll find it a good investment.

20 years? Heaven knows what this aspect of the leisure industry we enjoy will look like in ten years let alone 20! Will those caravans as we know them today pulled by cars even be around ? May be the whole concept of caravanning will have changed significantly. Who knows?

Micky, There is no doubt what you say will come true in some way or another- technology is moving so fast that new discoveries are shaping the future virtually daily. In 20yrs  I don’t think I’ll be caravanning but my interest will remain in where technology is taking this hobby and I know I’ll be envious of the younger generation as they use the new technologies which we never had.  Who would have thought even 20 yrs ago we would have had what we have today. Generators very quickly going out of fashion and linking  up to the car because of flat batteries - all quite rare now. 

But I haven't the foggiest so I can make no assumptions about what will be true. All I know is that things will most likely change and that change, as far as caravanning and the 'club' is concerned, may be significantly different to what we know now!

Just a thought, not a vision or a prediction, but how about a club with a network of sites on which are placed self contained, pre stocked 'pods'. Members use their little electric cars to visit areas of the country much as we do today staying in these pods. May be caravan parks and sites should start preparing for the like and trial such an idea. It may be the future and it may just be around that next corner, who knows?

I’m on site now using the present day technologies and there’s no wind!! That’s why Solar is my choice- there is always light and every day too. Interesting thoughts Micky- indeed, what will the future hold??