How to Build a Wind Turbine

Planning Your Wind TurbineAssembling the Wind Turbine HeadBuilding the Wind Turbine TowerErecting the Wind Turbine Descended from the windmills that pumped water and ground grain on domestic farms, the wind turbines on wind farms generate electricity as passing bree es spin their blades, helping to meet the growing demand for producing energy through more en!ironmentally friendly means" Although those turbines are too large for indi!idual households, you can build a smaller !ersion of those turbines to supplement your household power or to pro!ide it if you li!e too far from a power grid" Here#s how to build a wind turbine"

Method 1 of 4: Planning Your Wind Turbine

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$ Determine the average wind speed in the area ou plan to build! To be cost%effecti!e, an efficient wind turbine needs to be e&posed to winds of at least ' to $( miles per hour )$$"* to $+ ,ilometers per hour- to generate electricity and performs best at speeds from $* to *( mph )$."* to /* ,ph-" To find the annual a!erage wind speed for your area, follow the instructions at http011www"mywindpowersystem"com1*((.1(21wind%finder%wind%speed%anemometer1" *" * "now the building #odes related to ere#ting windmills and wind turbines! The building codes may stipulate the minimum re3uired distance between turbines, as well as how far away the turbine has to be from the property line" 4t#s also a good idea to discuss building a wind turbine with your neighbors to address their concerns about the turbine and deal with any misconceptions they may ha!e about the amount of noise it ma,es or whether it will interfere with radio and T5 reception" /" / $valuate how mu#h hori%ontal and verti#al #learan#e ou have for the wind turbine! Although the turbine itself doesn#t re3uire much space, to a!oid potential conflicts with neighbors, you should ha!e at least half an acre )("* hectare- of space for a turbine that

generates up to / ,ilowatts of power and a full acre )("6 hectare- for a turbine that generates up to $( ,ilowatts" You should also ha!e enough !ertical space to build the turbine high enough so that buildings and trees don#t bloc, the wind" 6"

6 De#ide whether to build or bu the wind turbine blades! Although the older farm windmills were basically small sails attached to a rotating shaft, wind turbines resemble giant propellers with their large teardrop%shaped blades" These blades ha!e to be si ed and pitched correctly for the turbine to wor, properly" They should be anywhere from *( to +( percent of the height of the windmill itself" 4f you choose to build the blades, you can ma,e them out of wood or cross%sections of P57 pipe" 4nstructions for ma,ing blades from pipe can be found at http011www"yourgreendream"com1diy8p!c8blades"php" Whether you build or buy the blades, you#ll probably want to follow the design of most commercial wind turbines and ha!e / blades on your wind turbine" 9sing an e!en number of blades, such as * or 6, ma,es a wind turbine more li,ely to !ibrate as it spins, while adding more blades increases tor3ue but actually ma,es the turbine rotate more slowly 2" 2 &hoose a generator! Your wind turbine needs to be connected to a generator to produce

electricity" :ost generators are direct current )D7-, which means that to use them to pro!ide household current, you#ll need to connect the generator to a power in!erter to produce the alternating current )A7- that household appliances use" You can, howe!er, use an A7 motor as a generator, although there may not be sufficient residual magnetism to produce a strong enough electric field" 4f you decide to buy a D7 generator, loo, for one rated for high !oltage and current and low rotation speed )se!eral hundred instead of se!eral thousand re!olutions per minute-" You need to generate at least $* !olts o!er a consistent period of time" Your generator should be connected to a deep%cycle battery ban, and charge controller in between the generator and in!erter to protect the in!erter and battery from power spi,es and to pro!ide continuing power to the in!erter during low%wind periods" Automoti!e alternators are not recommended as generators because they need to spin at much faster speeds to generate power than wind turbines usually turn at"

Method ' of 4: (ssembling the Wind Turbine Head

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$ Bolt the blades to a hub! The hub will connect the blades to the motor1generator shaft" The blades should be attached so that they are angled in the same direction and spaced e!enly" ;or a /%bladed wind turbine, the blades should be $*( degrees apart< for a 6%bladed turbine, they

should be .( degrees apart" 4f you don#t ha!e a pre%made hub, you may need to bolt * metal pieces together, $ suited for attaching the blades and the other suitable for slipping o!er the generator shaft" =nce assembled, you may want to add a conical or hemispherical co!er for the hub to gi!e the blade assembly a more professional loo," *"

* Drill a hole in the head shaft! A simple head shaft can be made from a length of * & 6 long enough to ,eep the blades clear of the turbine tower and allowing enough space for a decent% si ed wind !ane to catch the bree e when the wind shifts to turn the turbine bac, into the wind" The hole should be between a 3uarter and a third of the distance from one end of the * & 6 to the other, long enough to accommodate attaching the generator to the end closer to the hole, and it should be large enough to thread the wires from the generator through" /" / (tta#h the generator to the head shaft! You can attach the motor with metal straps and protect it from the elements by encasing it in a section of P57 or metal pipe when attaching it" You may also want to place a smaller bloc, of wood beneath the generator before attaching it to the head shaft" =nce the wooden pieces are in place, you can paint or stain them to protect them from the elements"

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6 (tta#h the wind vane to the other end of the head shaft! The !ane itself can be made from a piece of sheet metal about a third the length of the * & 6 used to ma,e the head shaft" The simplest way to attach the !ane is to cut a groo!e in the * & 6 about half the thic,ness of the wood and insert the groo!e" 2" 2 )#rew a 1*in#h +'!2%centimeter- iron floor flange to the underside of the head shaft" This will support the shaft bearing" +" + )#rew a length of in#h*wide +'!2 centimeter%wide- pipe nipple into the flange" The pipe nipple will ser!e as a bearing to permit the wind turbine to turn freely as the wind changes direction" '" ' (tta#h the blades and hub to the generator shaft! After you do this, lift the assembly and chec, it for balance" The wind !ane section at the long end should rest e!enly with the generator section at the short end" 4f not, add weight to the !ane end so that both ends are le!el"

Method , of 4: Building the Wind Turbine Tower

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$ Build a strong base! How you build the wind turbine base depends on whether you plan to mount it permanently in one location or mo!e the turbine from one location to another" 4n either case, the base must support the turbine and ,eep it from blowing o!er in a high wind" ;or a permanently mounted wind turbine, the base needs to be wide, strong and hea!y" You can either pour a base of concrete or use sandbags to pro!ide the weight for a wooden base, while the base#s hori ontal dimensions should be roughly a third of the tower#s height" ;or a 2%foot%tall )$"2%meter%tall- tower, the base should be about $> to *( inches )62 to 2( centimeters- s3uare and weigh about *( pounds )66 ,ilograms-" Attach a length of $ inch )*"2%centimeter- diameter pipe to the base )or set it in the concrete before it dries-, then attach one of the long ends of a $%inch tee to the pipe and a length of inch%diameter pipe nipple to the other end" ;or a portable base, cut a dis, of hea!y plywood" );or a 2%foot%tall tower, a diameter of *6 inches, or ("+ meters, would be sufficient"- Thread a length of $%inch )*"2%centimeterdiameter pipe through a $ %inch )*"'2%centimeter- diameter pipe tee" Attach an elbow ?oint to either end of the straight pipe, and attach the ends to the plywood with iron flanges, forming a @9@ that the tee can rotate about freely" Attach a reducing fitting to the free opening of the $ %inch tee, then connect one of the long ends of a $%inch tee to the other end of the reducing fitting" 7onnect a length of pipe nipple to the other end of the $%inch tee" You may also want to drill holes in the dis, so you can dri!e sta,es to anchor

the base" *"

* &ut a length of P-& pipe or #onduit to serve as the tower! The pipe or conduit should be thic,er in diameter than the pipe nipple used as a bearing and a base soc,et, at least $ inches )*"'2 centimeters-" The length of the pipe will determine how tall the tower is"

Method 4 of 4: $re#ting the Wind Turbine

$" $ &onne#t the #harge #ontroller to the batter ! 7onnecting the charge controller to the battery before connecting it to the wind turbine will pre!ent power spi,es from forming and damaging your e3uipment" *" * &onne#t insulated wire to the #harge #ontroller! This wire will transfer power from the generator to the charge controller and into the battery" Your wire should be li,e that found in power cords, with two lengths of wire bound in the same insulation" You can use an old e&tension cord with the plugs remo!ed, if you wish" =nce you connect the wire to the charge controller, you may want to set it up so that

power output is shunted to a dummy load instead of the battery or shorted altogether" This will slow or bra,e the turbine generator once it#s connected, so the blades won#t spin when raising or lowering the turbine unit" /"

/ Thread insulated wire through the base and tower shaft! 4nsert the wire into the side opening formed by the tee and up through the top" Then, thread the wire through the tower shaft" You may need to use a string line or fish tape to help you thread the wire through the pipe" 6" 6 Mount the tower shaft on the base! You may want to attach guy wires to the shaft to help support it" 2" 2 Mount the wind turbine head on the tower shaft! Thread the wires through the bearing to the top of the head assembly and connect them to the generator" 4f your tower is permanently mounted, you may want to remo!e the blades from the head assembly before putting it in place and then reattach them after e!erything is hoo,ed up" +" +

&onne#t the other end of the wire to the generator! You can then reconfigure the charge controller so that power output is directed to the battery"

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Tips
You should enclose the charge controller to protect it from moisture, and you may also want to wire in a !oltage meter to monitor power output" Do some research about bird migrations within your area" 4f there are species that migrate at that area, a!oid building turbines there" You may periodically ha!e to disconnect and untwist the wires if the turbine#s rotation in the wind causes them to twist too badly"

Warnings
4f you#re planning to sell e&cess power bac, to your utility company, be aware that the utility normally sells power to you at retail prices but only buys it bac, at wholesale prices" You#ll need to install a synchronous in!erter that matches the A7 fre3uency of the utility#s power lines, as well as special switching gear" You may not be able to generate enough power to recoup the cost of such an installation, let alone turn a profit" 4f you plan to integrate a wind turbine into your household wiring, contact a licensed electrician who has e&perience with the speciali ed in!erters and switches that are necessary" 4n some places, the building codes re3uire such wor, to be done by an electrician"

Things You.ll /eed

Turbine blades Hub D7 generator or A7 motor *&6 :etal straps 4ron pipe )$ inch1*"2 centimeter diameter4ron floor flanges )$ inch1*"2 centimeter diameter4ron pipe nipple )$ inch1*"2 centimeter diameter4ron pipe tees )$ inch1*"2 centimeters and $ inch1*"'2 centimeters:etal conduits 4nsulated power cord 7harge controller Deep%cycle battery 5olt meter )optional-

0elated wi1iHows
How to 7onnect a Portable Aenerator to a House

)our#es and &itations

http011www"fieldlines"com1story1*((61.1*(1(6(+1*'6>> http011www"mywindpowersystem"com1*((.1(/1how%to%build%a%windmill1 EspaBol0 7Cmo hacer una aerogenerador, PortuguDs0 7omo 7onstruir uma Turbina EClica, Deutsch0 Ein Windrad bauen Than,s to all authors for creating a page that has been read /2,$$+ times"

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