DIY Home Wind Power
- 1). Draft a basic diagram of what you are setting out to build. The first thing to consider is size; start out with a small garden-size project to work the kinks out of your design before moving to larger-scale units. Some basics should be common to all designs, such as a fixed base anchored in the ground; a moving upper turret, directed into the wind by a tail fin; and large, slow-moving windmill blades, constructed out of weather-treated canvas cloth to reduce weight. Include a hardwood or metal gear and drive assembly, as well as a generator box and power output wires.
- 2). Measure and cut your plywood body panels and two by four frame, remembering that the turret needs to be able to move independently of the base. To construct the gears for your windmill, use high-density hardwood. If you don't have pieces of an appropriate size you can build larger gears by joining multiple pieces with mortise and tenon joints reinforced by glue. Drive shafts on smaller yard models can be made of hardwood doweling; however, for larger versions you may need to change to steel.
- 3). Build the windmill blades. For the best effect use a solid length of wood on the upper beam, leading inward to the drive train. You can then build upon the beam a rectangular frame on which to mount the weather-treated canvas cloth. Giving one side of the blade a 30 to 45 degree slope results in the best energy transfer. Be sure to build bracing into the frame so that the canvas material doesn't bellow out like a sail and tear.
- 4). Connect your generator box to your drive shaft gears, using gear ratios to build up an ideal rpm speed. Your engine should tell you the ideal rpm if you bought it for this purpose; however you can experiment with re-purposed electric motors to yield a similar result and recycle at the same time. A common test is to use standard home light bulbs in series to check if your motor is generating enough power for your application. Simply attach the power leads to the light bulb and when it reaches the correct brightness, add another bulb to the circuit. You can use the volt/wattage of each bulb to roughly estimate your power output. The best way to judge your power output, however, is to to use a multimeter.
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Let a professional handle connecting the power to your home--you'll be glad you did.electrician image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
Adding home-brewed electricity to your home service can be difficult and extremely dangerous. You'll need the help of a journeyman electrician if you aren't one yourself. If you prefer not to use a professional, you still have the option of using the energy to charge an emergency power unit that you can then take inside and use to power your household items.
