Going Green

Phase 1 - Wind Turbines

Tuesday, 18 August 2009 09:26

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines on Campus roof For the last 4 months Stephanie's cousin Theo and I have been researching ways to use renewable energy on the Campus. Early on we decided that wind energy was going to be a good place to start because we have lots of wind at the Campus and it is much more cost effective than photovoltaic panels. We began researching and learning as much as we could so that in August we could install the first part of our renewable energy system.

We decided to go with Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) because they are more efficient and take up less space on the roof. We headed down to Costa Rica in August 4th and began construction right away. We wanted to be able to build as much of the turbines as we could from local materials so we spent some time at the hardware store making our lists and somewhat inventing as we went. We purchased 2 generators here in the states to bring down and so far they have been perfect for our application. We ended up building 2 identical 6 ft. VAWT's and mounted them to the roof the Training Center building. They sit about 35 ft. off the ground and have great access to the wind that comes blowing down from the mountain above.

Our setup is going to be a closed system for the time being and will power 3 rack mounted servers that control the network at the Campus. We also have 4 200ah 6volt batteries in series and parallel providing backup power when there isn't enough wind to run the system by itself. We've also tied into the main building power to suppliment the system if there isn't enough wind, especially during those calmer months. Unfortunately we weren't able to quite finish setting everything up and ran into a small electrical problem that fried out inverter. In the meantime we've left the turbines on the roof to record important data about what they are capable of producing so we can evaluate their effectiveness in the overall setup. Theo and I will be returnin in December after the rainy season to modify the turbines slightly and finish hooking up the electrical system.

In future phases of the project we hope to incorporate solar panels to compliment the system during those calmer times and possibly install a grid-tie inverter allowing us to power the rest of the building from what is being produced and selling back to the utility company an extra that we don't use.

For more pictures of the project and to see the video click on "Ministry Pics"

If you are interested in donating towards the development of this project please let me know. - Brian

A New Era

Saturday, 09 May 2009 07:18

As you can well imagine, this new page on our website has something to do with being a little more conscious of our environment and doing our part to be good stewards of what God has given us.

A Short History:

In all honesty this is nothing new for us. Ever since God blessed us with the Multiplication Center in August of 2003 we have been working to do our part in being a good steward of what He has given us. From humble beginnings we have been involved in recycling from day one. With a number of groups coming fairly frequently to several families living on the campus we have produced our fair share of wast. Fortunately we have been blessed by a nearby nursing home that is involved in the recycling process. Unlike the US, Costa Rica does not have city wide recycling which makes it a bit more of a challenge to properly dispose of recyclables. However, this nearby nursing home has helped us greatly in accepting our recycled goods and then sorting them to be processed. In addition to recycling we have been working to reduce the amount of electricity we use at the campus. With almost 6 acres of property and multiple buildings it is a constant challenge to make sure that lights are turned off and that we aren't being wasteful. As we have been remodeling and developing the campus over the years we have done several improvements to our electrical system to help us in saving electricity. Throughout the campus we have invested in photocells that turn on lights at dusk and off at dawn so that lights aren't accidentally left on too long. For the pool we built a solar water heater on a nearby roof to help heat the pool so we wouldn't have to use gas or electric. (It's still a bit chilly at times but it definitely helps) And in our newest Training Center building we have added SmartHome technology so that lights can be turned off with timers and remotely turned off from any where in the world if we so choose.

The Problem:

Although we have made vast improvements to the campus and thought through ways to save, the local electric company (Govt. owned), continues to raise prices at an alarming rate. In addition our electric is billed in a 3 tiered fashion, the first 200 kWh at one rate, the next 100 kWh at another and everything after 301 kWh at an even higher rate. This problematic for an organization like ours because as you can guess we are always above 301 kWh per month.

As the ministry continues to grow and expand we will be using more electricity. In the next phase of construction we are hoping to build some long term housing for our residential missionary training program and for those missionaries that return from the field on furlough.

Our Desired Solution:

Being situated in the mountains at an elevation of 4,750 feet we have a considerable amount of wind that comes whipping through the campus. In fact, long before we acquired the property, previous owners had planted rows of trees throughout the property to shield them from the heavy winds. On average it seems that we have pretty steady winds for about 9 months of the year, the remaining 3 months are during the summer when we have intense sunny summer days.

Our desire is to harness these two renewable energy sources to produce electricity, reducing our carbon footprint and ultimately lower our expenses as a ministry. (We are currently spending more than $600 a month in electricity)

More to come on the specifics in future posts. If you are at all interested in helping in this process, or have any expertise in this area of wind or solar energy please feel free to contact me.