Power and fuel costs are rising, and many people are looking to stop depending on energy companies. Wind power generators are a source of free power and are becoming much more readily available. They are expensive to buy, but luckily there is another option.

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 generators an excellent alternative energy source. Because they can generate 1000 watts of power versus 100 watt for the average solar panel, they are a higher output system and cost less per Watt.

The spinning energy in the blades is converted to electricity by a DC motor. It uses a powerful magnet to induce charge in wire. You can buy one for $50-$200 or so, depending on the size of your turbine.

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.

Wind power generators are actually very basic and don’t require much maintenance if you create them correctly. You can find plans on the Internet to build your own fairly easily.

Anybody that has over a half acre of land, some PVC, a motor, some batteries, and either a tall TV Antenna, or some 2 or 3 inch steel to build a tower, can put together their own wind power generator, with basic tools.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 6:55 am and is filed under Home Improvement.