Homemade Wind Generators

How to build homemade wind generators

Although most of us regard homemade wind generators as relatively new inventions, humanity has been harnessing the power of the wind for many thousands of years.

This includes ventilating, cooling and warming houses, pumping water, grinding grain and helping to sail boats.

Both commercially produced and homemade wind generators in the form of windmills and wind turbines have traditionally been used in rural parts of the United States to generate electricity and for mechanical tasks such as pumping water and grinding grain. And what's more, they're still in common use in many parts of the world.

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In the so-called mode world of today, we're becoming more and more concerned too with global warming and environmental health. This is where wind power is making a big comeback on both commercial and domestic fronts because of it's significantly reduced environmental impact, when compared to that of more traditionally generated electricity. It's interesting to see the surge in popularity with homemade wind generators as people seek ways to save money by trying to combat a poor economy.

So what are the main advantages in using homemade wind generators to make your electricity? That's easy; wind power is clean, free energy available to most of us pretty much wherever we might live. Home built wind generators are also quite easy to make.

Wind generators have an advantage over solar panels because as long as the wind is blowing your wind generator is making electricity for you. You can generate electricity day or night. If you live in a constantly windy place then that's certainly a bonus. Compare this to a solar energy system which only generates electricity of a daytime and only when the sun is shining.

A home-built wind generator can also be used in parallel with home solar power. By having both systems in place one can work to compliment the other. It's like having a backup power system just in case the sun stops shining for a couple of days (and your solar batteries run flat) or likewise, if the wind disappears for a while. You'll always have power on demand that way.

Another big attraction of using homemade wind generators compared to many other forms of power generation lies in their simplicity. You don't need many components and there isn't a great deal of maintenance involved if you take some basic care in building your system properly.

Planning is the most important factor in building a homemade wind generator. It has to be remembered that you're dealing with forces of nature. So thinking about efficiency is prudent; for example making sure the blade length is correct to match the required energy output. Likewise, the speed of the blades must match the rating of the generator. The blades, shaft and tail need to be well balanced so everything runs smoothly with a minimum of friction. Fortunately it's quite easy to make these calculations and there are a lot of resources around which show you how.

When designing your system a little ingenuity can work wonders and can save you some serious cash in the process. A basic wind power setup (or wind generator) can be summarized as follows:

• A tower - this can be easily bought new, secondhand or even home made with a minimum of tools and materials. You can attach the unit to a high mounting point from your house if you like instead.
• The generator - which really is the heart of any wind power system
• A shaft - as the blades turn, energy is then transferred to the generator. This must be well balanced for the best possible efficiency
• The blade assembly - can often be sourced for free or again, easily made from PVC Pipe and a heat gun (as an example).
• The tail - used to correctly direct the blades for optimum efficiency
• A battery bank - into which the DC (or Direct Current) energy is stored for later use
• A charge controller - to control charge to the batteries
• An inverter - to convert stored energy into AC or "mains" electricity - this makes sure you can run any regular appliance
• A disconnect switch - in effect a safety device which you activate to stop the system from working temporarily so that you can access it for maintenance. This is really important for safety purposes. It's a must have item.
• Assorted hardware such as switches and cabling - to connect it all together.

The generator is a key component and can be obtained in both AC (Alternating Current which is the power used in you home) or DC (Direct Current). As you will probably want to store your electricity via a battery bank (although you don't have to) then you should try to look at choosing a DC generator with a minimum rating of around 15 volts, preferably higher. For small wind power projects some people make generators out of old motors they've sourced from defunct mainframe computer tape drives. Other people have used modified car alternators for the task and found that they've worked okay.

From that point on your inverter does the job of converting stored battery energy into a form that's useable within your house - actually it's exactly the same as the power you'd normally use from your electricity company. Alternatively you can use 12 volt electricity directly from your batteries (without being inverted) for lighting, as well for your television and radio etc.

Most of the parts to homemade wind generators can be sourced new or secondhand whilst others can be fabricated in a basic workshop. This makes such a system ideal for anyone on a budget.

Homemade wind generators don't have to be difficult to make. If you have the right kind of instruction and take a little time planning and sourcing your materials they can be a really effective way to generate your own home electricity.

If you can't attend a course because of where you live or the high costs involved then it's strongly recommended that you obtain some quality training material on the subject before you commence your project. This will help you to avoid any pitfalls and get you on track as fast as possible with your project.

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