Talking About Green

Looking to reduce your power bill or start living without buying power from the power company? A great way to do it is to invest in residential wind power.

Why not just go out and buy one? Well, for starters if you are thinking of creating your own power then you are also thinking of saving money. The last thing you will do if you purchase one is save money as prices for these start at about $4000 dollars for a commercial one.

You can build your own if you have the right plans for a fraction of the cost of buying one. You can have your own source of residential wind power for $150-$300!

What will you need to make your own wind generator?

First you will need a good set of plans, an area to work in such as a garage, common tools, and about four days to complete the job.

The components of a wind generator:

There are four main parts – the blades and hub, the body and DC motor, the tail and the tower. It takes the longest to build the blades and the hub of the system, though it is still fairly simple.

The motor is the most expensive component – at around 50-150$ depending on size. Your manual will detail what size motor you will need and all the technical stuff. The DC motor converts the spinning energy to electricity.

For the body it is best to use double walled stainless steel like that from a chimney pipe or wood stove. It is very cheap and easy to get and will last a long time.

The tail is very simple but usually essential to make sure your turbine is pointed in the right direction. Make it sturdy so it can withstand storm winds.

For the tower, you can either build it from scratch too out of piping or recycle something like an old TV tower. People who have them in their yards may actually pay you to take them away.

These are some of the basics of building a wind turbine (and believe me, it doesn’t get much more complicated). All you need now is a manual to get you started saving money and the environment.