How to make a windmill

how to make a windmill

A home can be powered by the different forms of renewable energy that exist today. Among them, the most abundant and frequent are solar energy and wind energy. In this case, let's see how to make a windmill for the energy that the wind gives us to take advantage of wind energy in a more homemade way and generate electricity in our home.

For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you the necessary steps to learn how to make a windmill and be able to take advantage of wind energy.

Advantages of wind energy for the home

how to make a homemade windmill

Wind power is one of the most widely used renewable energy sources on the planet. Betting on this energy means betting on a change of energy models based on sustainability. For this reason, we are going to collect what are the main advantages of wind energy and how it can help us at home:

  • It is a renewable and clean energy. It originates from atmospheric processes caused by solar radiation, making it a renewable natural resource that does not produce atmospheric emissions or pollutants.
  • Wind energy is indigenous. It is found almost everywhere on the planet, which is why it promotes local wealth and employment.
  • Fits almost any space. It can be installed in spaces not suitable for other uses, such as desert areas, or it can coexist with other land uses, such as agriculture or livestock.
  • quick installation. No mining or fuel modifications are required, plus the wind turbines can be installed at different heights for stable output.
  • Allows households to be self-sufficient. It works in combination with photovoltaic solar energy, allowing the house to be self-sufficient without being connected to a supply network.
  • It is considered cheap energy. It is a low-cost energy source whose prices remain fairly stable, so it can compete with conventional energy sources in terms of profitability, as well as being an energy saver.

How to make a windmill

wind power

The wind turbines commonly used to harvest renewable energy are state-of-the-art, but for this reason, we should not abandon the idea of ​​making our own windmills to use in our homes. In addition, it is now possible to manufacture your own wind turbines using readily available raw materials at affordable prices.

Although a small wind turbine is not enough to provide us with the energy that an average household normally spends, if we connect it to the electrical system of a house, it can reduce costs and do a good environmental gesture for the planet.

First, we must consider the materials that you need to produce homegrown wind power. Therefore, pay attention to the following materials to obtain them, either by using certain equipment or appliances that you no longer use or by buying them:

  • Generator
  • Turbine
  • Motor
  • Blades
  • Rudder or weathervane
  • tower or base
  • Batteries
  • Suitable tools

How to make a windmill to generate wind power

advantages of wind energy

A windmill that produces wind energy is a type of turbine that we build relatively easily. Their use as a source of energy dates back to the dawn of time as they have been used for centuries and are currently used to generate electricity. Next, we will show you how to make a windmill, although it is fair to warn you that DIY skills are required, especially in carpentry, metalworking and electricity.

To build it we need a generator, design blades, a rudder to guide us against the wind, a tower or base and batteries. Perhaps the most complicated part will be the design of the blades, not only because they have to be durable, but above all because their shape will allow them to extract more or less energy from the wind. To get the maximum power, even if they are aerodynamic and feasible, if we do not want to carve wooden blades or PVC tubes in a complicated way, we can try ABS tubes. Simply cut them off and file the edges down to three blades.

Next, we have to join the blades to the motor, fixing them to the aluminum disk with bolts (a kind of screw that is fastened with a nut), because to generate electricity we have to join the turbine to the generator. A home-made solution would be to make your own generator, for example, by using an old DC motor (eg recycled from a printer), including coils and magnets, and mounting it on a metal or wooden stand, connecting the motor shaft to the device through a simple plastic tube.

Basically, whether we make a generator or buy one (there are very cheap ones like those from the Ametek brand), this has to be a low-rev motor, but this is going to give us a lot of voltage, about 12 watts of useful voltage.

By mounting it on a wooden foundation tower, we can add a wind vane to direct it in the direction of the wind, and at the same time we need to find a way to let the turbine rotate freely depending on the direction of the wind. To do this we introduce a metal rod into the steel tube and place some anchors for the ground.

In addition, we can charge the energy accumulated in the battery (it is very useful to put a blocking diode so as not to lose the stored energy), or as we have already pointed out, connect it to the electrical distribution of our house, for which we will have to go to the electrician .

Practical tips

Very light base wind turbines are not suitable if the wind speed is not very high, something that we can predict or check during the testing phase. On the contrary, if the wind speed is not too high, the wood design can be perfect, like the size. If the turbine is going to be large, the wind turbine should be made of metal to make it more durable and prevent possible fires.

Even so, once the turbine has been built, it must be checked that it works correctly, including its mechanics and stability. The ideal would be to test it in strong wind and, of course, see it work for the first few days.

As you can see, wind energy can help reduce electricity bill costs and make a very important gesture in protecting the environment. I hope that with this information you can learn more about how to make a windmill and its characteristics.


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