Homemade Wind Generator

You can use a homemade wind generator (also called windmill or turbine) to provide additional power to your home, especially if you live on a large property or in a remote area.  Many consumers find that building their own wind turbine is an easy project with great financial payback.

The homemade wind generator captures the wind through use of blades, like a traditional windmill, converts that energy into power you can use for appliances, and stores that energy in a storage device so the energy can be tapped on demand.  This is a great way to store energy for future use such as during a power outage, a common occurrence in many remote areas.

You need to assemble or purchase the following parts:

• Windmill base – the structure that will support the shaft and blade assembly that may sit many feet in the air.  The base needs to be sturdy and firmly rigged to the ground.

• Generator – generates energy from the wind source and stores the energy.

• Tower – column support on which the blades and shaft sit.

• Shaft – holds the blades to the tower and facilitates blade rotation.

• Blades – the fan-like arms that capture the wind.

There are some things that need to be accounted for in the design of your homemade wind generator in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness:

Natural impediments – what obstacles stand in the way of the blades capturing the wind in the area in which you intend to place the windmill?  Trees, hills, and other building structures can block and divert the wind from your blades.

Number of blades required – depending on wind supply, speed, and required output, you may need more or less blades than you would in another location.

Wind patterns – trends of wind direction, speed, and changes in direction need to be analyzed in order to find the ideal design and placement of your homemade wind generator.

Height efficiency – measure the wind speed at various heights to determine the optimum height for your blade and shaft structure.

There are tools and guides that can help you find the ideal location for your homemade wind generator to make sure you get the best return for your investment.