For Ada resident and inventor Jeff Baird, necessity gave birth to an electromagnetic generator that he says uses magnetic energy to create electricity without fossil fuels, wind or solar power.
Years ago, a self-induced financial hardship and an angry wife motivated him to find a solution to their power problems.
“When I started this project, I didn’t know much about electricity,” explains Baird. “My first few machines looked like Frankenstein. I have been electrocuted a few times and burned a lot of stuff up working on this.”
Baird’s machine has come a long way from the first model.
“The first generator would burn four 100-watt light bulbs, then recharge itself after 10 hours,” says Baird. “The next (version) would run for a few days. The current model will run continuously and support a steady 3,000 watts.”
The simplicity of the generator surprised Baird.
“We are using electromagnets to pull a piston plate moving a generator that stores the electricity,” explains Baird.
Because patents are still pending, Baird would not provide the specific details of the electrical workings of his machine.
However, Jason Brezinski, an electrical engineer with the Federal Aviation Administration, who has spent the past eight years working on and designing low voltage systems for the FAA’s mission critical facilities, explains how such a device could conceptually work. He likened the process to a rotary engine, except the generator uses magnets to produce force rather than internal combustion.
Baird does volunteer that he uses batteries to get the whole process started.
“The generator is only as good as your worst battery,” Baird says.
For Brezinski, this poses a problem.
“Batteries are the only cost-effective means of storing electricity we have, but they’re plagued by their own problems,” cautions Brezinski. “And they’re not particularly environmentally friendly.”
Upfront cost, size, weight, reliability and maintenance are all factors that might work against the prognosis for a device like Baird’s, Brezinski speculates.
“It probably would not be cost effective in the city except when the power goes out,” says Baird. “But in the country or rural worksites, it would offer a lot.”
Baird sees many uses for the electromagnetic generator.
“I am thinking large and small. I see people using it to run small appliances or as a portable electricity source,” he says.
The Chickasaw Tribal Utility Authority apparently recognizes the generator’s potential. CTUA and Baird entered into a business relationship in 2010 that gave CTUA first right of refusal for exclusive licensing.
“I am looking for the right people to take this further than I can,” explains Baird.
Baird has been inventing for more than 20 years, but he says many people thought him crazy for quitting a lucrative business to focus on his electromagnetic generator.
“I have always found a way to get my stuff done,” offers Baird. “But, I have a room reserved in the nut house, just in case.”
