DIY Homebuilt Wind Generator Power | Excessive Wind Speeds

November 16th, 2008, Posted in Homebuilt Wind Generator Power
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DIY homebuilt wind generators have a lot of advantages in cost and therefore are easier for a backyard mechanical type to get into residential windpower. Some of the drawbacks to building your own, however, are trial and error type learning experiences. One such experience could be that you will learn all about overspeeding caused by excessive amounts of wind. High winds can literaly tear your unit apart in short order. This means every system should have some method to slow the blades down and protect the mechanism from harm.

One method used is to place a load on the system by using up power with an electric heater or whatnot. This makes the system work harder and resistance will keep it from spinning as fast. Still, this can burn out your alternator and leave the system wide open to overspeeding out of control. More protection thn this may be necessary.

A better design feature is to have some method of the blades automatically turning out of the wind if speeds become too high or the load on the unit is too small for the electricity being generated. You can’t keep an eye on everthing in person 24 hours a day, so it is the best bet to build in some sort of failsafe to protect it. This would be installed right on the wind generator tower.

On huge commercial wind farm generators, a computer senses the wind speeds and using an electric motor, turns the entire mechanism slightly to the side. Smaller systems such as a do it yourself homebuilt wind generator usually are equiped with an offset rotor and tail stabilizer, which will turn to one side if blown on hard enough. Others are spring loaded, and tip backwards if the wind is strong enough. These ones return to the ready position as soon as the pressure abates, due to a weight mounted in front.

DIY Homebuilt Wind Generator Power

October 9th, 2008, Posted in Homebuilt Wind Generator Power
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Energy costs keep on rising, with no end in site. In the current economic atmosphere, it is more important now than ever to try to save money in the home. A lot of people in North America will turn to a DIY homebuilt wind generator for power. Alternative energy becomes more available and affordable every year, so now is the time to explore your options.

There are no amazing new breakthroughs in wind power technology. However, advances in the existing devices and huge manufacturing runs mean that you can now create a homebuilt wind power generator for your home cheaply and easily. The same technology you may have seen in operation at a commercial windfarm can harness the power of wind to create electricity for your house on a smaller scale.

Since the basic concepts are easily understood and plans are easy to come by, it might seem that building your diy wind power generator will be a snap. Still, certain key areas can make the difference between a functional unit with long term operating capacity and a breakdown prone nightmare. Let’s look at a few of the basics.

A wind turbine catches wind and spins a generator to create power. One of he weakest points in this part of the mechanism is the bearings and the shaft alignment. Low quality bearings and misalignment of the pieces will create friction and heat and result in a breakdow. In particular, bearings and bushings are one area you should never settle fro low quality parts.  Many reasonably priced fully assembled units are now on the market as well, for incorporation in your homemade wind generator power.

Batteries are the next weak point. Since you need to store your power until needed, a sufficient number of deep cycle rv storage batteries are needed. Both the batteries, the inverter and the overcharge protector need to be high enough quality and installed correctly.

A good set of diy homebuilt wind generator power plans can help you with all the details you need to accomplish these goals. For some parts of your installation, it may be a good idea to get the help of a journeyman electrician or other necessary tradesmen.