To
begin with, building a wind generator or a wind turbine
does not require the expertise of a Quantum Physicist or
a Rocket Technologist. Anyone with minor technical
knowledge and having a few machine room tools in his/her
possession can do it easily, provided the instructions
are clear and specific on how to build a wind generator.
Here are some directives to make your own wind turbine
in a step by step manner which should be followed to get
the desired effect.
Step
1
Consult
the USA Wind Map
to see if the area selected by you receives adequate
wind to run a wind generator. Remember, your wind
turbine will need to be located at least 30 feet higher
than any nearby obstruction (say, within a 400 feet
radius).
Step
2
Verify
the prevailing wind direction at the site. If necessary,
take the help of the local airstrip or weather station
for guidance in this matter since it is significant to
the installation of your turbine.
Step
3
Buy
or hire an anemometer to check the wind speed at the
site as this will ensure that the turbine is working to
capacity. It may also tell you when to shut the turbine
down in the wake of very high
winds.
Step
4
Visit
the nearby hardware stores to fish out small electric
motor with high rpm rating. An automobile generator or
alternator would also do. Connect it to a battery to see
that it runs well without any bearing
noise.
Step
5
Collect
a 6” diameter 24” ABS pipe from the local hardware store
and bring it home. When cut lengthwise into four equal
pieces, each portion will serve as a blade for your wind
turbine. Of course, you would need only 3, the
4th one may be kept aside as a replacement
when one gets damaged during the trial
run.
Step
6
Pay
a visit to the hardware chap once more to locate a hub
for the blades. You may have to carry the motor with you
to see that the hub fits into the motor’s spindle.
However, once located, bring it home and bolt all the
three blades to it, maintaining similar slants for all
of them.
Step
7
Fit
the hub with the blades on to the motor and your wind
turbine is ready for testing.
Step
8
As
for the electrical, a visit to the nearest e-bay is
necessary to get hold of a charge controller for the
battery and a converter-cum-transformer for converting
the low voltage DC current generated by the turbine to
actually usable 120V AC current.
Step
9
All
that you need now is a battery bank and a tower for your
wind turbine. If you intend to save money on the first
item, go visit a car graveyard or a junk yard and
salvage out a couple of workable batteries from
discarded automobiles for a few dollars. Connect the
batteries to the output terminals of the turbine through
the charge controller while you should connect the
transformer to the battery terminals of the system and
then direct to the dummy loads.
Step
10
Hoist
the turbine on pole, preferably a conduit firmly fixed
to the ground or anchor it to a steel frame on your
roof, keeping in mind the conditions mentioned in Step
1.
Follow
the instructions
to build a wind generator and you can set up a
system to make your own safe and clean energy at home.
Here is a manual that will show you where best your
system will work in the home, how you should set up the
system and complete the wiring, where you should get the
cheap parts from and also helps you know about the
safety precautions that need to be followed. There are
tremendous advantages of wind power that include both
ecological as well as financial – so learn as much as
you can and go for it. You are sure to
benefit.
