Wind or Sun???

[tkendall]

Originally Posted by davidz71

I didn't realize anyone was running one on their trailer while driving! I've seen video of one mounted on the front of a boat where everyone is away from the blades but I don't see how you could mount one on a trailer and still make it under an overpass even with 21" blades.

You will find that wind generators mounted on boats (sail boats) are for keeping the batteries charged. Most of those boats don't go much over 7 knots for the most part. Most of the work is done by the wind, not by the boat going forward. You won't find them on a power boat, these have alternators that keep the batteries charged, like in your car.

[bdlWidget]

The extra drag created by the wind generator on the vehicle would increase the fuel consumption beyond any energy that you would capture from the generator. It is likely that a generator operated by fuel would be much more efficient than a wind generator strapped to a moving vehicle powered by fuel. There are more energy transformations, and hence losses, in the fuel-wind-generator-batteries conversion than in the fuel-generator-batteries conversion. This assumes that the ambient wind encountered while traveling averages to zero because of shifting winds and changes in vehicle direction. If you are travelling into steady wind continuosly, e.g. while driving across Wyoming, then you might come out ahead with a wind generator mounted to the vehicle.