Adding Solar.

westend wrote:
If you read closer you will find that the wind turbine linked to will supply 900W at wind speeds of close to 100 MPH. At low wind speeds it will supply a fraction of that, probably under 100W at 12+ V. It is not a serious generator but a bauble for naive wind aficionados. Yes, you can use any amount of charge controllers in parallel.

A better solution for charging would be to add solar modules and batteries to match your use. Many with only small solar systems have their batteries fully charged by noon.

The expense of an MPPT charge controller doesn't have to be endured by those using nominal 12V modules. If you migrate to 24V nominal panels, then MPPT becomes a necessity.

The first step in proper solar system design is to assess your total power needs. Add up all the devices and their power needs. Add in some fudge factor for design purposes.

Good luck with the solar.

First, I'd bypass small wind setups unless you envision becoming a user and experimenter. I am one so know the path. The real deal is that anything with less than a 10' prop span and not at least 15' in a tower is not going to produce much power. Even with that, you need sustained wind. I've been at this awhile and am still striving to find a good DC generator for my application (am on my third or fourth generator).

More tilting modules will get you some good charging power. For a lot of lights (use LED's exclusively) you will probably need more batteries. 6V golf cart batteries are about the cheapest storage solution ($$/AH).

Since this year's BM thing is about mirrors, you may want to experiment with mirrors and lenses. A good fresnel lens will spread a lot of light.

Good luck with your festival rig. Let us know what the outcome is.