Generate your own power...

[#1]

In light of the recent 10% ish price increases for Gas, Electricity and probably Water.
How would you cost effectively generate your own power, excluding Expensive Solar Panels ?
Time to dam the stream and install a water wheel, and re-cycle all the animal Waste Gases !
We already have a Wood Burning Stove, very useful with all the trees around.

[#2]

I guess you could connect the water main to a dynamo - if you're not on a meter?

[#3]

Solar energy for hot water.
Heat source pumps for hot air (or cooling in the summer) - for every 1Kw energy used, you get 2.4-2.8kw of heat back.

[#4]

The trouble is that any DIY energy system pretty much requires that you own your own home and possibly some land surrounding it.
For those of us in rented properties we're the ones financing the energy companies because we're trapped.
The rich who don't really need the money are then the ones who always look to make savings 
So ofrom my POV, nothing. We will do nothing to create our own energy as we can't. We've no roof, no land, no stream, no nothing really.

[#5]

How about burning the power company bosses, chuck in a few MP's, and Bob's your uncle, instant hot air, and cleaning up the environment whilst your at it!

[#6]

Quote from: Thunderclap

I guess you could connect the water main to a dynamo

I remember reading of such a case in the paper.
Someone had a device connected to the bath tap. Somehow it came to the water suppliers attention, can't remember how.
I think they were sternly told it wasn't allowed. Can't recall whether any fine or such like was imposed.

[#7]

Would it be possible to use the bike to generate electricity to feed back into the grid?
Something similar to how solar panels do it.
Then you get income and fit at the same time! 

[#8]

You might find your food bill increases significantly due to all the extra calories needed to power the exercise bike / generator.

[#9]

If you run a generator powered by a diesel motor are allowed to use Red Diesel for this purpose (no tax). If you also capture the heat from the generator motor  and reuse it the energy costs come close to Public  Utility supplied energy.  If you live in a remote hamlet this may be a more cost effective method of powering your homes when the costs/power are shared.

[#10]

Quote from: AlaricAdair

If you run a generator powered by a diesel motor are allowed to use Red Diesel for this purpose (no tax).

We've a 12kva lister generating set, it's about 15 years old and runs on agricultural diesel, it's not cost effective to run it continually.
Have been considering an Anaerobic digestion system, we have the space and access to the required "residues", but cannot 'feed-in' to the grid, something to do with current infrastructure, the capital outlay for home consumption is just not viable.

[#11]

Quote from: Howard

Would it be possible to use the bike to generate electricity to feed back into the grid? Something similar to how solar panels do it. Then you get income and fit at the same time!

If you have used a gym bike you would know how little power you can generate and maintain. A couple of years ago there was a TV program with a house powered by bikes. The family in the house did not know this and there was close to a hundred bikes, The purpose of the program was to show how much physical effort it take to generate the power a typical house use.

[#12]

Rubbish........ no not your post but why could a small town or village not generate sufficient energy by using a system where domestic household rubbish was incinerated with the heat used to drive a turbine ?
The money needed to run such a system would be covered by charging for disposal of the waste and charges for the energy produced.
Surely this system must have been tried by someone somewhere ?

[#13]

@gleneagles
you have some nice concepts there but in my experience such projects are tripped up by the gold plated regulations the bureaucrats come up with
have a look here https://www.gov.uk/waste-legislation-and-regulations
your waste is not your own every agency in the land can have a say.
My favourite is "waste hierarchy" and thats what kills your idea stone dead! Waste to Energy is the last thing you can do after everything else. Its almost banned! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_hierarchy
I have had waste to energy projects with incineration, Anaerobic digestion, gasification, Pyrolysis and more and if using proscribed waste they are very difficult to get past the myriad of bureaucrats in the government agencies 

[#14]

we did this before the current regulations were put in place http://www.innovateus.net/science/what-teesside-efw-plant 

[#15]

Quote from: journeys

We've a 12kva lister generating set, it's about 15 years old and runs on agricultural diesel, it's not cost effective to run it continually.

So how many KWh per gallon/litre then?