blades and moon

[focalintent]

blades and moon, originally uploaded by Focal Intent.

While we were in Hawai'i we came across a disused windmill farm. 30 or so windmills, all over 30 years. The farm had been shut down a few years ago, too expensive to maintain. A newer farm of windmills a little further down the road produces 4 times as much power with half the windmills now.

6 more shots here.

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I've got a steady breeze from the Lake.

[senseless.livejournal.com]

Probably 80% of the time on most days there is a good bit of air coming up against the back of house. I oversized my eaves for extra shade in the summer but it also reaches out and grabs a good bit of air for some extra circulation up there.

If I ever win the lottery and get the lot next door and build a second mostly underground house I'll start with a landscaped amphitheater essentially facing the lake with smooth walls to funnel the wind into a tunnel essentially to drive fans then have the air exit out the attic of the house with a simple baffle to have it bypass the attic in the winter when I'd want heat to collect up there.

I was actually thinking of doing the whole thing under ground with a landscaped roof smaller than this but attached sort of like a guest house, connect it to this house with a tunnel and just extend the back driveway to the exposed part of the house facing the lake. I could then use the air to first circulate through the bunker then I have room for a 3 by 4 foot shaft from the bunker to the attic in a highly classified location which would keep my attic well cooled for free and save on the Air Conditioing bill since the living area below it woulnd't have to battle a 140 degree august attic.

The air would also be good to constantly circulate through the bunker to prevent any musty odors and with a few simple baffles, thermo switches and a car battery, it could basically be air conditioned by the wind through the hot months and then the air would just be diverted outside in an inconspicuous area and you could still collect some electricity and your turbines would be underground safe from debris in a storm and uv light and the under ground bunker would stay above 68 degrees in the winters here which is survivable without heat if you dress properly.

Just a thought I've had forever while working on the house...