How to Build a Wind Turbine to Create Electricity
Along with solar energy, wind energy is another viable renewable energy source. With the depletion of fossil fuels, the world needs an alternative. Wind energy is clean and plentiful, depending on where you live. To take advantage of this natural energy source, build your own wind turbine.
How does Wind Energy Work
The process of harnessing wind energy is a simple process. The wind blows and hits a wind turbine. Most wind turbines created these days resemble giant sticks with spinning propellers on the top. The force of the wind against the turbine blades produces kinetic energy. This kinetic energy is passed to a generator where it is converted to electricity.
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Because wind energy speeds are not constant, a different amount of energy is produced from day to day. On days when more energy is harnessed by the wind turbine, the excess electricity is stored in a battery. Home connected to grid power can choose to use the battery or have the wind turbine connected straight to the home and watch their utility meter spin backwards when excess electricity is produced. Wind energy works well for homes that are too remote to be connected to a utility grid.
Where to Start your Project
Start your wind turbine project with a bit of information. How much energy do you use on a daily basis? your wind system will be capable of producing at least that much energy at its highest limit. The average wind speed you want to achieve is ten miles per hour in order to successfully power your home on a daily basis. if you are tied to the grid, you may not need that much electricity but you eventually want to rely on wind energy alone if you can.
Wind Turbine Components
The main components of a wind turbine are:
• Rotor blades
• Shaft
• Generator
• Tower
The rotor blades are attached to a hub and looks like an airplane propeller. Residential wind turbines are constructed on a horizontal axis. The rotor blades are mounted on a shaft that allows them to spin around horizontally as the wind changes direction. The generator uses magnets to turn the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity. And, the entire wind turbine system sits atop a tower with elevates it above other structures in the area so that the strongest winds can reach the rotor blades.
There are other parts needed besides the main components mentioned above. Any wind turbine kit like the one available from Earth 4 Energy, will list these parts and pieces. Before you embark on this project, make sure that everything that you need is in your possession including various tools.
Construction of the Wind Turbine
Now it’s time to put it all together. You can begin with the blades since they collect the wind energy. Use ABS or PVC pipe that is at least eight to twelve inches in diameter.
The rotor blade assembly will be rather large so make sure that you have adequate room to house the wind turbine. The diameter of the blades will be at least eight feet per blade. Standard wind turbines have three rotor blades for both efficiency and stability.
The blades will mount on a hub to create the blade assembly. That hub will be attached to your DC motor. For an efficient wind turbine, look for a motor with low RPM and high voltage and amps.
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The entire works now are mounted on a horizontal shaft. the shaft slides over the narrow top portion of the tower. The tower has to be several meters tall so that your rotor blades are high enough to catch the strongest winds.
Once the turbine is constructed, you will wire the entire apparatus to the controller, the battery, and the AC inverter.
Building your own wind turbine takes time and lots of energy, but the money you will save with it is extraordinary. You’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.