Alternative fuels including wind, solar, geo-thermal, ethanol, coal seam gas and natural gas.

Wind Power Generators – Inexpensive Power Alternative

Posted: October 6th, 2009 | Author: David Sullivan | Filed under: Alternative Fuels | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Are you looking to get off the grid and stop depending on your power company for electricity? There is another way. The cheapest way right now is wind energy, and the best way to get it into your house is to do it yourself! You can save thousands of dollars.

You can build your own wind power generator for your home. The ideal situation is an area that is 20ft higher than the nearest obstacle or building, and about 250-400 feet away. The average wind speed in North America is about 9-10m/s, which is great for using wind power.

Wind power is a great source of renewable energy. It is much cheaper than solar power per Watt, as a wind turbine can generate 1000W while a single solar panel generates around 100 in daylight.

To turn the rotational energy of the turbine into electricity, the actual power generator is the DC motor. You will have to pick one up or order one – they can cost $50 on up depending on size.

You will also need to buy a tower, or improvise one. Recycling towers is a good idea – people that have old TV towers they don’t use any more may actually pay you to take them away. You will also need some great engineering blueprints to get you started on your project.

Many people have bought guides and made their own 500 watt turbines from scratch using PVC piping, a DC motor, TV tower recycled and a grid connector unit. This can be done in less than a week and for less than $300. On the other hand the same turbine might cost $1500 or $2500 commercially.

The basics of wind power generators have been around ever since the old windmills you still see at farms across the plains and prairies. Now you can find plans on the Internet for building your own system, or buy components or kits that contain what you need to know.

If you have a bit of land or a rooftop to place it on, some PVC, a DC motor and something to make a tower out of, you can put together a wind power generator with basic tools quite easily.

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