alt.energy.renewable

On Mar 7, 4:38 pm, "Ray King" wrote:
> The loss in the alternator causes heat to be developed in the diesel. The
> diesel engine is only 30% efficient. If you are driving 30 watts that is un
> necessary in the load that produces about 100 extra watts in the diesel
> engine minimum.

Combustion causes heat to be developed in the diesel far exceeding any
heat caused by the alternator. The current in the armature causes
negligible (e.g. 2W) load on the diesel. It's the batteries that are
the load. The smaller the load, the less heat the diesel generates ...
i.e. the less work it has to do. With no battery (i.e. charging ) load
(e.g. when the batteries are fully charged), the load due to the
alternator is just 2W. The efficiency of the engine has nothing to do
with anything.

/T