background preloader

The microhydro plant

The microhydro plant
My little paradise has a stream that provides enough water flow and head to run a small turbine, to provide electricity to my home. While writing this, the microhydro plant is being implemented, and here are some photos of the process. Since I usually like to start at the end, the first thing I built is the controller: It is an implementation of Jan Portegijs' "Humming Bird", with some changes and adaptations. The largest cost of the plant, by far, is in the piping for the rather long penstock. When the purchase was made and the truck arrived, we unloaded the pipes at different places, to get them as close to the installation area as possible. A smaller number of pipes were stored closer to the turbine site. Only for the last part of the run, where the pressure exceeds 2 bar, I will use blue class 4 PVC pipe. To change from the low slope run of the white pipe to the much steeper run of the blue one, a change of direction is required. The flat area is where the forebay will be built. News! Related:  Environmental Design and Sustainability

The Hermit Houses Emergency Party Button The Emergency Party Button began as a novelty idea that has become the focus of every event that goes on in our home. A big red button is, by human nature, an object of compulsion. If you see it, you are overcome with the desire to push it. But what happens when you do? Details The Emergency Party Button consists of 3 major components: The actual button itself, the controlling computer, and all the controlled devices. At the heart of the button is a Basic Stamp II (well, technically, a Basic Stamp Homework Board, since it wasn't going to any good use anyways). Once the X10 transceiver receives the wireless signal from the party button, it then forwards it out towards a computer that is always listening for the signal. Once the party has started, at any time the party button may be pressed again. Devices Blacklights There are 2 blacklights: On on top of the entertainment center and one on top of the curtains. Living Room Lights Poker Light Why do I call this a poker light? Hallway Light Laser

This 1,400-Foot Desert Citadel Would Be A Self-Sustaining City Of Tomorrow It may look like Immortan Joe's Citadel from Mad Max: Fury Road, but this abstract desert obelisk isn't a citadel of the post-apocalypse. It's a self-contained city—also called an arcology—that French firms Nicholas Laisné Associés and OXO Architects propose to build in the Saharan desert. Although it's just a concept right now, La Ville Tour Des Sables (translated: "The Sand Tower Town") would stand over 1,400 feet, if completed. Designed to resemble an outcropping of stone—or, at least, Bjarke Ingels' idea of what an outcropping of stone might look like—the arcology would contain everything needed for a self-sustaining city, including living quarters, agricultural units, factories, and more. According to OXO's official description of the project, the Sand Tower Town would have a total floor space of around 192 acres. Another big aspect of the design involves making maximum use of the desert's resources. [via io9] [Images: via OXO Architects]

& Overclock Your Reading Speed This is a guest post from Kim Roach of The Optimized Life. In today’s Information Age, reading is now a prerequisite for success in life. In fact, many presidents, including Kennedy, have required their staff to take speed reading lessons. Brian Tracy, a best-selling author, points out that just 1 hour per day of reading will make you an international expert in your chosen field within 7 years. If you’re looking to increase your learning rate while decreasing your effort, speed reading is a method you should consider studying. By simply learning how to process information at a more rapid rate, you’re not only going to be able to move through books more quickly, but you will also be able to comprehend and process more of what you have read. The Brain’s Power Speed reading actually began as part of military training to identify enemy war planes. What many people don’t realize is that the mind becomes bored when it’s not constantly stimulated. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Online Curve Fitting and Surface Fitting at ZunZun.com Creating a soil moisture sensors using nails and Intel Galileo | BytesThink Believe or not, I worked in a project with hardware and software created in 8 weeks only. I am talking about Intel Galileo ! The first intel board compatible with Arduino API plus some new and cool features. Before to talk about how to create a very affordable moisture sensor system, let me explain what is Intel Galileo. About the Intel Galileo Board – Hardware Intel Galileo is a board with new processor called Quark SoC X1000, x86 based, 32 bits, single-core/single thread processor full compliance with ACPI and support RTC. The board contains also contains: The schematics are available. About the Intel Galileo Board – Software Intel Galileo uses Linux as OS and you can boot from flash SD card. Only Arduino API experience ? Considering we are running linux, when you install the IDE all the crosscompilers are installed also (toolchain). When Intel Galileo will be releases and how much will cost ? The official date is Nov, 29/2013. Intel Galileo has an ethernet connector and a pci-e bus.

Eun-Gyeong Gwon & Eun-Jae Lee This one’s kinda hard to swallow so take a deep breath, open your minds, and pretend it’s 2100. I CONTACT is essentially a mouse fitted to your eyeball. The lens is inserted like any other normal contact lens except it’s laced with sensors to track eye movement, relaying that position to a receiver connected to your computer. Theoretically that should give you full control over a mouse cursor. The idea was originally created for people with disabilities but anyone could use it. Designers: Eun-Gyeong Gwon & Eun-Jae Lee LEED 101: A Syllabus Supplement for Green Building Coursework - BuildingGreen This syllabus supplement provides professors and students with content on LEED from BuildingGreen, LEEDuser, and other relevant resources. Transamerica Pyramid, San Franciso, California Courtesy architect William Pereira Intended for design professionals, BuildingGreen provides an independent “living textbook” that integrates perfectly with green building courses while exposing students to the most cutting-edge sustainability strategies and real-world green building case studies. Here we offer an Intro to LEED curriculum especially formulated for institutions that have access to the following articles through a campus-wide BuildingGreen subscription. Don’t have a subscription yet? Learning Objectives Week 1—What Is LEED? Intro to LEED U.S. LEED Rating System Selection Guidance Guide to the LEED Certification Process Green Building Certification Institute LEED Frequently Asked Questions Guide to LEED Professional Credentials Week 2—Development of LEED LEED Rating System Lurches Ahead First U.S.

Turn Your Home Router Into a Super-Powered Router with DD-WRT Wireless is everywhere and routers are the force that makes it happen, so why not supercharge yours to take proper advantage of it? DD-WRT will let you boost your router’s range, add features, and more. DD-WRT has a ton of features—more than we can cover in this guide, which is focused on helping you get your router upgraded. What Is DD-WRT? Here’s our router. DD-WRT is an open-source alternative firmware for routers. Router Support Turning your home router into an almost professional-level tool is a great project that has one major caveat: support. For our purposes, the important spec to consider is NVROM, or ROM. Preparation The most important thing in any project is research. DISCLAIMER: Changing your router’s firmware can result in unintentional consequences, such as “bricking.” As mentioned above, start with the Supported Devices page to see if you’ve got a DD-WRT-friendly router. The friendly forum gave us some useful info for our particular model. The Process

2 | Watch This Man Build An Amazing Cardboard Bicycle That You Can Actually Ride Bicycles have long been touted as some of the most elegant and efficient machines ever created. So when you hear about a man who can make them out of cardboard you expect it to be an art project (maybe along the lines of Bartek Elsner’s sculptures) than transportation. But you would be wrong--and blown away. As you can see in this video by Giora Kariv, Israeli bike-lover Izhar Gafni has designed and built a fully functional bike out of just recycled cardboard. See for yourself: Joy is evident in Gafni’s work, which is a pretty exceptional feat of design and assembly. “I really love bicycles, and when I worked in the United States I inquired in California to see if anyone has already thought of the concept of a cardboard bicycle. As you can see in the video, he found that strength and durability, and he built a functional, water-resistant bike from recycled materials for a paltry $9.

Related: