More WECS’s

Definition of a WECS per the Culver Zoning Ordinance – 2010-007:

Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) – Equipment that converts and then stores or transfers energy from the wind into usable forms of energy and includes any base, blade, foundation, generator, nacelle, rotor, wind tower, transformer, turbine, vane, wind farm collection system, wire, or other component used in the system.

Below are some WECS’s that are not traditional wind farm turbines that could fall under a WECS ban.

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Down with DST

Well, here we are suffering through DST (Daylight Savings Time) again.  While “Falling Back” isn’t a traumatic as “Springing Forward”,  I still prefer leaving things alone.  I used to think Indiana was progressive for not participating.  That was confirmed when I lived under DST for a few years in Georgia that pretty much confirmed my feelings, so I was pretty vocally against the change when it happened.

I ran across an article by an economist, Allison Schrager, titled:  “The US needs to retire daylight savings and just have two time zones—one hour apart”  I learned a few things including how little of the world observes DST.  The cool map above is from her site.  The Wikipedia link to Daylight Savings Time above shows a map that indicates large portions of the globe that did observe DST no longer do so.

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Bath Fan & Speaker In One

Homewerks Worldwide has developed a bathroom exhaust fan with bluetooth music streaming capability.  The fan will move 90 cfm at a noise level of only 1.5 sones.

I didn’t realize music in the bathroom was such a thing!  Previously I told you about the Kohler Moxie Showerhead (here) that streams music along with the water.  (See what I did there?)  Before that I told you about the Amerec’s Ipod Shower Docking Station (here).  I guess no one sings acapella in the shower these days.

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Culver: Nice Scientists Not Welcome

At the October Plan Commission meeting, the discussion on WECS’s continued.  (Previously discussed here.)  The Commission could not come to enough of a consensus to formulate a new Ordinance but they did take a series of votes that defined several of the issues.  It would appear that proponents of banning WECS’s are achieving most of their goals.  If they proceed along their current path, Culver residents would not be allowed to have a WECS that produces more than .5 kilowatts in the lake district, park district, and R1 residential district as well as within 1/4 mile of any of those districts.

I would still contend that the proponents of the ban are too focused on their distaste for the aesthetics of current wind turbine technology and fail to consider the advantages that could come from advances in the field.

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