How To Build A Wind Generator In 6 Simple Steps
Life can be tough sometimes and you may be looking for ways to make it easier and less expensive. Since energy, especially electricity is one of your more costly everyday expenses, wouldn’t it be great if you could tap into the renewable energy that is all around you? Wind energy is already benefiting much of the world, so why can’t you take advantage of it, too? All you need is a wind generator. But do you know how to build a wind generator?
Glad you asked. Below are some basic guidelines to get you started:
- First, find a suitable place where you can set up a tower. It must be 30 to 40 feet high, and within a 300 to 400 foot radius of open space. With regard to the tower, you can choose between tilt-ups and freestanding designs. Tilt-ups are most common since they are easier to maintain because you don’t have to climb up to clean it, but then free standing towers are taller, which means maximized output for your wind turbine.
- Now you have to think about the materials you will need, beginning with the motor that will convert the wind energy into electricity. It needs to be a DC motor that is designed for high voltage, low rpm’s, and high current.
- The blades of your wind turbine are the next things you will concentrate on. Wood, sheet metal, or plastic are all good materials, but PVC pipe is usually the best. If you want to get the most power from your generator, make the blades longer, since this will cover a wider area.
- The next step would be about fixing the hub, that which connects the blades onto the motor. One easy way would be to look for a scrap steel disc with which you can drill holes into and attach to a shaft that would connect the blades.
- In order to keep your wind generator turned to the wind, you need to make a tail and pivot. You can use some scrap sheet metal for the tail and a flange for the pivot, along with some square tubing and pipe nipple.
- Lastly, you need a place to store the converted energy so it is there even when the winds are calm. You do this with batteries. In order to monitor the charging, you should keep the generator and batteries as close together as possible. Look for low maintenance batteries that are highly efficient.
“Deep cycle” batteries are best used for this type of power system application. They are rated in amp-hours and have indicators of their charge-discharge cycles.
Now that you know how to build a wind generator, there is one more recommended step. You need to place a diode between the battery and the generator to stop the current from being wasted by flowing back into the generator. It would probably be a good idea to add a secondary load as well, to act as a depot for excess produced current.
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