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It seems like a no-brainer that as the cost of electricity rises in CR, people will start to take better advantage of the sunlight and wind to supplement their energy usage. That being said, what are the pitfalls of importing solar and wind energy systems? Since ICE has a monopoly on electrical power, does the government frown on competition? Or is there a mechanism in place that would allow a small timer to set up an array & sell back power to the CR grid? Am I dreaming? Fred
Don’t forget hydro power. Costa Rica seems to have more waterfalls, streams and rivers than sunlight and wind. There is an old abandoned hydro power set up on my property which I am told was used by the farmer before electricity was brought by cable to the site. It may not be economical to use now, but I think one day will be.
Which brings up a whole other set of questions. It’s my understanding that the vast majority of the electrical power in CR is generated by hydro (Lake Arenal etc), some geothermal and wind; there’s a new hydro project coming on line in the near future that will make CR a net energy exporter of primarily ‘green’ produced juice. So, if we’re not paying for fuel-fired electricity, why the huge jump in rates? Infrastructure improvements? A cash grab? Other? Fred
I have three fast moving streams on my property. In fact my main concern right now is how to tame them in the rainy season. So, are there any simple ways to harvest their power to make it into electricity?
The traditional hydro model requires damming up the stream to achieve adequate ‘depth’ to give you enough ‘head pressure’ to spin the generator turbine. This can be problematic in an area that gets periodic deluges like CR. As the history of Lake Arenal shows, dams can wash away easily in the rains of CR. In a free flowing stream situation, a paddle wheel arrangement, in the stream, can be chain or belt driven to a generator above, can accomplish the same thing however inefficiently. The key to any of these schemes is that the power generating device must charge a bank of batteries at 12 or 24v DC, only to be ‘inverted’ to useful 110 vAC power. Another scheme is to use your off-grid generated power to charge an electric plug-in vehicle, like a golf cart. Endless possibilities in the land of blazing sun, stiff fresh breezes and abundant streams! Fred
On my property there is a stream with two 10 meter high waterfalls. The stream empties into the Rio Grande which borders the property.
The previous owner built a water feed system just above the first waterfall with a one cylinder pump which just sits in the stream. The pump piston is powered by the force of the stream. The pump pushes the water via pipe uphill to a cement trough which runs along a ridge of the gulch. At the end of the trough, there is a small concrete structure, a box like pool, which collects the water which is used to gravity feed a generator. The piston pump still works and when it does kick in, it makes a loud bang sound.
I am very excited about fixing up that system and also installing solar panels. There is a U.S. based company which successfully manufactures panels which do not require the expensive material traditional solar panels require. First Solar is the name and I believe this company is going to be prominent very soon. (I grabbed some stock a while ago and it has grown 654% in 20 months!)
Edited on May 16, 2008 11:23
I’ve seen a few videos on youtube.com about microhydro , Do a search and you will see the videos.
The way that I understand it is that if you have a nice running stream with a drop in elevation, the more the better, you can install a 3-6″ pipe running up the hill and entering the stream to “catch” the water to be delivered down the hill to your microhydro generator.
You bottle the 3-6″ pipe down to about 1/2 or 3/4″ and direct this “jet” of water at Pelton Wheel that “catches” the thrust of water and spins a generator.
The water that has spent it’s energy is then collected and just simply diverted back the stream.
The generator produces DC that is stored in batteries and then converted to AC, if you like, with a inverter.
I know that this is the simple version but though that it would do.
the more elevation differential between the collections end and the microhydro end means more energy since it is gravity that you are “capturing” .
Of course a larger diameter pipe in addition to the drop in elevation also means more energy.
Do a search for pelton wheel or micro hydro and you will get plenty of info to read and also some formulas to see how much energy your particular stream will generate once you plug in the head pressure and flow rate of the stream.We’ve had solar water heaters on three houses since 1980 and I wouldn’t build another house without one. It’s the simplest, surest way to take advantage of the sun’s energy. And in Costa Rica, with no danger of frost, systems are simpler and more efficient than in the U.S.
I looked into photovoltaic applications in Costa Rica and found them prohibitively expensive; however, a member of this forum, greciabound, sez he’s putting in a solar-powered pool pump and maybe some other applications. Maybe this’ll get him to join the discussion and elaborate.
There is no provision in Costa Rica for connecting to the grid and selling power back to ICE.
Yes, I have researched solar powered Direct Current (DC) system for a swimming pool pump, since the water circulation pump is one of the largest electricity consumers. This design does not require an inverter that changes DC power from the array into AC power for a standard pool pump. Inverters can be expensive at +/- 25% of system cost, so we save money by going with direct current.
I am still in the planning stages, and I found that for a 17,000 gallon per day DC pump, with 1.8 KWH solar array, filter housing and installation can be less than $6000. It includes installation, but not sure yet that this includes the PVC piping to interconnect everything. To get a better picture of size and capacity, the application was for a pool 1.25 meters deep, 3 meters wide, and 9 meters long, about 33 cubic meters of water total. Instead of paying $3000 for a similar AC pump system, if I pay $6000 for a DC solar system, and save $50 every month on electrical, the payoff period is (6000-3000) divided by 50 = 60 months, or 5 years.
Have you used the solar water heaters in the US or in Costa? I also think that it is a waste of sunshine not to use its benefits,,,,,and in CR there is so much sunshine i don’t understand why it is not used more often
Denise, we had a solar water heater in Lansing, Michigan from 1980 until we sold the house in ’02. Last I knew, it was still there and working just fine. Lansing is the second-worst locale for solar applications in the U.S. with fewer hours of sunshine per year than anywhere except Boston. Despite that, even in February with its short days and little sunlight, we’d often come home to sixty gallons of water heated from the incoming 54 degrees F to around 100 degrees.
In North Carolina, the solar heater provided virtually all our hot water just as it does here in Grecia.
It’s amazing to me that every U.S. state and local building code provides for minimum insulation standards in walls and ceilings (to save energy) but none provides for solar water heating. Where’s the logic?
From what I have heard the increase is only for residences and businesses consuming over XXX KWH. It wont hurt average Jose.
I would certainly imagine that the increase will help bankroll a big colone hydro project.
Anyone have the exact coordinates for the new lake. Time to buy another farm !I use solar and wind power for cellular telephone repeaters and wireless Internet access points and have done quite a bit of research on all types of alternative energy. This is what I have found:
– Solar power is still prohibitively expensive. I use it on my cell and wireless Internet repeaters because these are located on hill tops where it would be very expensive to run a/c power lines. Solar panels only generate electricity during daylight hours and generate little or no electricity when it is cloudy.
– Wind power is viable only in a few select locations. A typical small wind turbine requires a minimum wind speed of 12 mph in order to generate any electricity.
– Micro hydro is by far the cheapest source of electricity and it generates electricity 24 hours a day. It requires a creek, stream or river approximately 150 meters higher in elevation than the generator.
Nearly everybody living in Costa Rica should have a solar hot water heater. I’ve seen people who got their hot water from a coiled garden hose on the roof. A batch solar hot water heater is cheap and easy to construct. It consists of a water tank in an insulated box with plexiglass top and side. The radiate energy from the sun passes through the plexiglass and heats the water in the tank and the insulated box prevents the convective heat from escaping. The only limitation is that you may not get much hot water until late morning or early afternoon but it can be tied in with a conventional tank or tankless hot water heater and save quite a bit of electricity.
At 150 meters, your head pressure at the nozzle would be close to 200 psi. You’re no longer talking microhydro here. Sounds like micro-Arenal! Fred
Oops! Sorry I meant 150 ft. This is for a micro-hydro fed by 2″ dia. pipe from a small creek and used to supply electricity for an entire house (15-20 kw). The actual formula is:
P = 9.8 x Q x H x e, where P = power in kw, Q = Flow rate in m3/s, H = head in meters and e = efficiency, which is around 50-70%.
The larger the pipe the less head you need but the cost increases. Don’t forget the water has to go somewhere after passing through the generator.
Edited on May 26, 2008 13:07
Edited on May 26, 2008 13:09
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