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Posts Tagged ‘homemade wind turbine’

Although solar power may be generating the most buzz among renewable energy sources, when it comes to generating power, wind power is another excellent option which may actually be superior in a variety of ways. Today’s efficient, quiet and compact wind turbine systems can be an excellent option for just about anybody who’s looking to reduce their monthly electricity bills. Wind turbines can turn any place that has a breeze into a power generating station.

To this end, some homeowners are even building wind turbines for themselves. This is a much more affordable option than buying a commercially available wind turbine. Once you’ve got the right parts and a design, you can build a wind turbine in just a couple of days. Are you interested in knowing the price range of commercial wind turbines? Read wind turbines cost for more information.

All it takes to put together a wind turbine are some technical skills and some basic tools.

The parts required are nothing unusual. You may even have some around the house already. The main parts for any wind turbine are rotor blades, something to mount the equipment on, and a generator.

All wind turbines depend mainly upon the blades and rotor assembly. When the blades are pushed by the wind, the turbine rotates, and this is what leads to the production of power. Different sources offer instructions for building rotor blades, which can be done using PVC pipe. This, too, doesn’t take professional-level mechanical skills.

A suitable generator is the next step. Generators come in a variety of shapes and sizes; it’s even possible to use an old motor from another type of appliance for this purpose. It’s possible to use any type of motor, provided that it can produce electricity when rotated.

Mount the rotor and blades on one end of a platform, then join the shaft from the rotor to the shaft on the generator. You now have a usable wind turbine. If the wind turbine is set up in a spot where it can catch steady wind, the rotors will continue to turn, generating electricity that is 100% free and unlimited.

For the best guide to making your own wind turbine, including step by step videos, go to Earth4Enegry Review.

Here’s another guide to building your own home solar power system How to Build a Wind Turbine.

Residential wind turbines have come a long way over the last decade. It’s now possible to generate more power from less wind than ever before, and the new residential wind turbine designs do just this. No matter what your requirements, you’re sure to find a residential wind turbine design that has the size and power appropriate for you.

Advantages

Everlasting energy

Unlike other sources of energy, we’ll never run out of wind. There’s no limit to the energy the wind can provide. Fossil fuels are a lot more finite by comparison. Oil and natural gas supplies are not permanent. Eventually, they’ll be gone. As fossil fuels become more and more scarce, they’ll only become more and more costly, while wind energy becomes an even more attractive option.

Energy without the bills

You don’t need to pay as you go for wind energy, which certainly isn’t the case with fossil fuels. Wind power is free in perpetuity after you’ve installed a wind generator. Residential wind turbines can enable you to provide all of your own power, so won’t ever have to pay for electricity again.

Zero pollution

In addition to monetary costs, you can also put a stop to environmental costs by utilizing wind energy. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, leave behind a lot of pollution. Switching to wind power is perhaps the best way to reduce your carbon footprint.

Forget about foreign oil

Dependence on foreign oil is a serious issue that affects us not just as individuals, but as a nation. Electricity produced by wind turbines directly replaces energy that comes from foreign oil, and therefore it can have a significant effect in terms of reducing dependence.

Power day and night

Wind energy can be produced at any time of day or night and in any weather, which isn’t the case with solar power. As handy as solar panels are, they have the limitation of needing sunny conditions. On rainy days, or at night, you’ll have to have a supplementary energy source, such as energy stored in batteries or purchased from outside providers. These restrictions don’t apply to wind power.

No problems with space or positioning

Solar power systems are limited by the fact that they require significant sun exposure in order to work at peak efficiency. This means that solar panels aren’t a good choice for homes that have a lot of shade, or where the roof isn’t aligned appropriately. The usefulness of a wind turbine isn’t affected by the orientation of your home. Additionally, a wind generator uses less total space than solar panels, while giving you the same amount of energy.

Disadvantages

Startup cost

Although the ongoing costs of wind energy are miniscule, some people are intimidated by the startup costs. This cost is more than mitigated by the savings that come from switching to wind power over the long term. If you’ve got the know-how, some common tools, and enough time, you can even build your own wind generator, which will make the whole process even more affordable. If you’re interested take a look at Wind Generator Kit.

Height needed

If you’re using a larger type of wind generator, you’ll need to make certain that it’s set up high enough to experience consistent, strong wind. Depending on the surrounding buildings and trees, this can be very high. Wind turbine users who live in areas with a lot of tall buildings or trees sometimes find it necessary to mount the generators on towers. This can mean that it’s necessary to obtain HOA approval or other types of permits, which in turn lead to a certain amount of additional up-front cost. Though, again, building a homemade wind turbine will help lower the cost.

Wind requirement

Consistent wind is a must in order to generate a really useful amount of energy from a wind generator. Thus, the most appropriate locations for wind turbines are those which see the strongest and most consistent wind. This means that wind energy can be produced most effectively in locations with relatively few buildings or trees. While it is possible to generate significant wind energy in wooded or urban areas by mounting the wind generator on a tall structure, it is certainly still better and more cost-effective to generate wind energy in areas that don’t have these features. One of the guides mentioned above will tell you how to build a wind turbine.

These factors make wind power different from any other type of power. A growing number of homeowners are finding out that the advantages are much more substantial than the disadvantages. Even in terms of renewable energy sources, wind energy has its own distinct selling points. The strong points of wind power in certain ways directly counter the weaknesses of solar (and vice versa). The only drawback common to both solar and wind power is the installation cost. Perhaps the best way to deal with this issue, should the expense be prohibitive, is to build a wind generator yourself.