Domestic Wind Turbines

Would you like your own domestic wind turbines that generate electricity for your home?  It was only last year that I started looking for ways to construct one for myself.  The oil price hike hit my business badly and I had to find ways to cut costs.  I decided to try generating my own electricity to reduce my dependence on the traditional grid system.  But after making some inquiries, I was disheartened to discover that the cost to install a wind turbine commercially were exorbitant.  With my failing business, there was no way I could afford the $10,000 plus price tag.

Click Here How To Own Domestic Wind Turbines

So I researched the matter online.  I discovered that there were many DIY guides that I could use to make my own wind generator.  I also found out the basic steps and materials needed.  All the DIY guides follow these basic steps and use pretty much the same materials.

If you’re interested to make your own domestic wind turbine, you need 5 basic components:

1. 3 wind blades
2. A motor that functions as a generator to create the electricity
3. A tower to mount the wind generator on
4. A battery to store the electricity produced
5. An inverter to convert the DC current to AC current

You start by making the 3 wind blades.  They should be no longer than 4 feet long, otherwise they may flex under strong wind conditions.  The recommended material to use is PVC or fiberglass.  PVC is cheaper so if you’re just starting out, this is recommended.  Buy some 6” PVC pipes from a hardware store to cut your blades from.  Cut them into the shape of a wing of a plane (you would also need to sand them using a sander).  But if you can afford it, the best thing to do is buy some ready-made fiberglass blades.  One of the best I’ve found is Windmax wind generator blades that can be bought from eBay.  Fiberglass blades are more durable than PVC and more energy efficient; meaning they can convert more wind power into electricity than PVC blades can. 

Always paint your blades with outdoor weather and UV-resistant paint.  This makes them last longer under the heat of the sun.

Do not make your blades from wood.  They are heavy and worse of all, over time some rain water will inevitably seep into the wood making your blades unequal in weight.  This will cause your blades to wobble and may break. 

Once you have cut out your 3 wind blades, you need to attach them to your motor.  To do so, you need to attach the blades to a hub and then attach the hub to the shaft of your motor.  The size of your motor should commensurate with the length of your blades.  A bigger motor can generate electricity from longer blades.  It is advisable for you to buy the motor because it is the most important part of your wind generator so if you’re going to buy any of the components, buy the motor.  A recommended brand is Ametek that is ideal for smaller wind blades (up to 6 feet in diameter, which means 3 feet in length).  If your blades are between 3’ and 4’ long, go for Windblue motors.  Good quality motors such as Ametek comes with its own hub. 

If you chose to use an old motor from another appliance, it probably doesn’t have a hub so you need to make one yourself.  A hub is basically a flat circular piece of metal and can be made from a pulley or a modified scroll saw blade.  You would need to screw the blades on to the hub at exactly 120° apart from each other.

Now you need to balance your blades and hub.  To do so, make a hole in the exact center of your hub using a lathe.  Mount it onto a horizontal rod with some pillow block bearings and give your blades a spin.  If one particular blade always ends up at the bottom (you should number them to tell them apart), then your blades are not balanced as the bottom one is heavier.  Sand down the heavy blade to make all 3 balanced.  If you’re using fiberglass blades, you don’t need to balance them.

Once your blades are balanced, attach the hub onto the shaft of the motor.  If the motor does not come with its own hub, you will need an arbor to attach hub and motor.  An arbor is a small length of metal that can hold your hub and be slipped onto the shaft of your motor.  Arbors come in different sizes according to the size of the shaft.  For example, a 5/8” arbor would fit into a 5/8” shaft.  You can buy your arbor from eBay.

A set of blades attached properly to a motor makes up your wind turbine.  Since your motor will be outdoors, you need to protect it from the rain.  You also need a means to turn it to the direction of the wind.  To do so, make a body out of PVC or chimney piping.  Simply cut a line down the PVC or chimney piping and slip it over the motor.  Attach a tail to the back which can be an aluminum or plexi-glass sheet attached to a 3’ rod.  Don’t forget to paint the body as well.  Next, screw a flange to the bottom of the body.  This is then attached to a directional mechanism (like lazy susan bearings) that swings the blades into the wind.

Now all you need to do is to construct a tower (or buy one) and mount your wind turbine on top of it.  As a general rule, your wind turbine should be at least 15’ higher than any object within 300’ of it.  Your tower should be fastened with guy wires to stakes in the ground.  Alternatively, mount the tower into a concrete base. 

Finally, you need to connect your motor to a battery.  You will need an electrical rotary connector so that you can avoid having the wires get twisted as the generator turns to face the wind.  You also need a diode to prevent the electricity flowing from the battery to the generator.

So there you have it.  Your very own domestic wind turbines.

Click Here How To Own Domestic Wind Turbines