DIY wind turbine project goes open source. If you live in an area that sees a fair amount of wind and you’d like to reduce your utility bill by harnessing some of that wind power, a wind turbine might be a good idea.
The trouble with most commercially made home wind turbines, though, is that they’re fairly expensive, extremely tall and, if you have neighbors, they might not appreciate the new addition to the neighborhood. Washington state resident and do-it-your-selfer Make Marohn came up with an inventive alternative. It’s called The Zoetrope and it’s a vertical-axis wind turbine made out of easily attainable parts and, according to this article, it can be assembled by just about anyone. Applied Sciences indicates Marohn’s intention for this project was to reduce his water heating bill. So, he set out to make a wind turbine that could harness the winds of the Pacific Northwest and put the energy to work for him.
The result is this wind turbine made of materials that you can find at Home Depot and online. How to Make an Inexpensive Vertical Wind Turbine - Part 1. How to Make an Inexpensive Vertical Wind Turbine - Part 2. Make a Wind Generator. Make: Projects With a motor and some piping, it’s easy to enjoy free energy forever.
There are no limits to what you can do with wind power. It’s abundant, clean, cheap, and easy to harness. We designed this Chispito Wind Generator (that’s Spanish for “little spark”) for fast and easy construction. Most of the tools and materials you need to build it can be found in your local hardware shop or junk pile.
We believe that anyone can be in control of where his or her electricity comes from, and there is nothing more rewarding and empowering than making a wind-powered generator from scrap materials. How I built an electricity producing wind turbine. Several years ago I bought some remote property in Arizona.
I am an astronomer and wanted a place to practice my hobby far away from the sky-wrecking light pollution found near cities of any real size. I found a great piece of property. The problem is, it's so remote that there is no electric service available. That's not really a problem. No electricity equals no light pollution. One thing I noticed right away about my property is that most of the time, the wind is blowing. Let me state up front that I probably won't be able to help you out much if you decide to build your own wind turbine. Since no one seems to be reading the FAQ, I will answer the No. 1 question I get many, many times a day right here up front. Update: Here is a video of the wind turbine in operation. Update: Here is a video of me assembling and setting up the wind turbine on my remote off-grid property. I started the process of designing my wind turbine by Googling for information on home-built wind turbines. .
Wind Power Generators. Annual Output (KWH/year) = 0.01328 (D^2) (V^3) source...
Where D^2 is the blade diameter in feet squared, and V^3 is the wind velocity cubed in mph -- this is the year round average wind speed -- see wind maps below. So, a 10 ft diameter wind turbine in 12 mph average winds might produce about (0.01328)(10^2)(12^3) = 2300 KWH/year Note that the energy produced is proportional to the cube of wind speed -- having enough average wind speed is everything in wind turbines. Use the wind maps discussed below and a wind survey of your site to determine if a wind turbine will actually payoff. The graph is of the wind energy equation shown above for various wind speeds and turbine blade diameters See also: Solar and WIND water pumping ...
DIY 1000 watt wind turbine. DIY vertical axis wind turbine.