Can I make my own windmill to generate electricity?

Question

I see these windmils for residential use and am interested in building my own instead of purchasing a kit. Are there instructions "out there" somewhere on how to do this or is it really much more complex than I am thinking?

Answer 1

Yes, that is a great idea, go with full steam ahead

Answer 2

dude unless uve got an engineering degree or can afford to hire an engineer to build one for you nooooo you cannot... i would think this would be a vague procedure:

1. have the windmill able to spin

2. connect the spinning top of the windmill to something that makes some sort of material (that creates friction between some other material) spin while the spinnning top is spinning... this would create friction and if you could somehow harness the energy created from the friction and store it in some sort of battery, you can build your own windmill

lol i know it sounds vague and a little confusing but read it over a couple of times and if you withold any concepts of physics it would make some sense... i still think its impossible unless you possess the know-how and the materials...

Answer 3

My neighbor has a homemade system withf an 8' welded steel "windmill" on the top of his shop. It gear drives a DC generator which charges a 24V DC system made from a bank of old 2V submarine batteries. The battery power is then is inverted to 120V AC which he uses to operate a small greenhouse and yard lights at night.

These systems can be as complex or simple or as efficient as you wish. Once constructed there are no operational costs.

Lots of information on the net or at your local library.

Answer 4

nice!  I like where you're going with this!  when you figure it out, let me know.  :)

Answer 5

lol, very interesting! i like your sense of direction! I hope it works out, cuz with the price of gas now-a-days....we gotta save our pennys and nickels everywhere we can! haha. Good Luck!!

Answer 6

you can... talk to the govt about kits... i saw a whole segment on this in environmental science ap class

Answer 7

Yes, you can build a wind to electric turbine that costs very little. DO not assume that buying a kit  will necessarily make it safer. In my area one kit  built on site lost a blade in high wind, and the blade flew away for about 700 metres... that is the blade on one of three arms became detached.

The kit manufacturer claims that the bolts were over-tightened causing them to fail. Well, when you do it yourself you are responsible for such details too. Imperfect welds, bolts that back off or break, segments too light or too heavy... it is all your responsibility.

Designs on the Internet are often just as good as kits one buys, but  the details of construction are up to you. Problem is, the same is true for kits. You have to know whether the kit has been well engineered.

If you live close to other homes, you may require both signed permission and municipal permit.

Getting either of those can be your major impediment and should be your first step.

But to get municipal permission you need to know what their requirements will be, and be prepared to provide all technical specs first trip in. (distances, height, maximum noise level, blade tip speed, furling or other speed limiting devices,and if there is a remote possibility that you may wish to integrate this with your grid, know what your grid management will require.

Grid tied systems are much more serviceable for a given cost if your maximum output will exceed 10kW. Even at 5 kW one would be thinking about grid tie instead of large battery banks.

Don't make the mistake of using a breaker to protect the electrical circuits without having a brake slowing or stopping the rotor. When a beaker trips, the blade spins up to very high speeds. It is current that provides rotational resistance. You dump current, as in heating water, to slow the rotor down.

Answer 8

solar panels are more common

Answer 9

Yes...many states offer tax incentives, and you can also sell any excess power to your local utility, if you so want. Here's a good starting place,

http://www.berezin.com/jeff/Savonius%20W...

As for plans, I'd check with the Cooperative Extention Service in your county, or the main agricultural college in your state. .

Answer 10

Yes, you can. It simply works on the principle of a dynamo just like the source of power of your old style bicycle. Just simply change your bike wheel into an efficient turbine fan and face it to a constant and consistent wind source.

Answer 11

Saw a program on making your home green and they had these small, tube-shaped wind generators that could be placed either vertically (looked like a hanging pipe) or horizontally, and if used in conjunction with solar panels could generate all the electricity a home needed.  Try these links to get started.

http://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/index....

http://www.otherpower.com/guemes04front....

http://www.windpowermatters.com/resource...

http://www.pronto.com/user/search.do?dis...

Answer 12

in the UK you may well need planning permission before you put it up.   Geothermal sounds more effective.  But in theory making your own should be possible if you have the knowledge.  trouble is, if you make mistakes and have had to spend money, you may waste money, so existing systems can be more economical in some ways.

Also, depends what you are going to do to store or export power not used.  After all, it would be rare that amount generated actually matched amount required. we export our excess solar generated electricity to the national grid.  In theory if there was a power cut or failure, then our electricity can no longer get back into the grid.  however, if there were engineers trying to repair the elctricity supply locally there could be a risk that our power could leak to where they are working and electrocute them.  (Though the electricity board would have made sure they were not sending power that was a danger to workers).  So it is where the item is a potential hazard to others that I would be most worried about the idea of a home made attempt!