Having a home wind turbine can be a relief to your finances, whether for use in your business or at home.
In addition to the positive impact, wind energy allows you to reduce your carbon footprint, so you’ll feel better knowing that you’re not harming the environment.
As you know, wind energy is the one that uses the power of the wind to generate electric current. It is considered a 100% renewable energy source and has been around longer than you might think.
Building a simple home wind turbine, with a motor reused from another device, will produce the amount of energy needed to light a bulb or several of them.
If you want to build an electric generator to support the energy consumption of your home, and save on the monthly bill for the service, you should build a more elaborate home wind turbine.
Don’t worry, in both cases, we’ll help you.
Next, we will tell you the materials you need to build a homemade wind turbine and the instructions to build your device, without complications and very fast.
Table of Contents
What do you need to build a home wind turbine?
Making your wind turbine is simple, but you should have some basic knowledge of how these types of machines work so that you can move forward with your project.
The first thing you need is an engine: it will be the heart of the whole project. You can reuse an engine from an old printer, VCR or DVD player.
For the manufacture of the structure that will support the homemade wind turbine you will need PVC tubes. The recommended width is 7 to 10 centimeters.
You also need a T-connector of the same width as the PVC pipe you will be using.
A plastic CD case, 22 AWG electrical wire, old fan blades, wire stripper, flange and insulating tape.
With these materials we can now focus on building our home wind turbine.
Step 1 – Prepare everything
When starting a project like this, it is best to have everything you need on hand. This ensures that you defeat the initial skepticism and don’t lose heart over any setbacks.
With the help of the PVC tubes and the “T” shaped connector, it makes a kind of “L”. That will be the central structure of the home wind turbine.
Install the motor in the connector and fix it with insulating tape. Make sure it does not move, remember that it is a machine that will keep moving.
Remember that the axis where you will install the blades must always be facing the wind direction. This way, your wind turbine will work regardless of the direction of the breeze.
To achieve this, the tube should not be the same length. Imagine you are making a letter T, the horizontal line must be longer on one side than on the other.
On the longer side, install the CD case. It must be well fixed, use screws and nuts.
The CD will make your home wind turbine move in the direction of the breeze, taking advantage of the current to generate the electrical energy you need.
Step 2 – Connect the cables
Now we’ll start working on our engine.
With the help of a tin soldering iron, fix the wires to the engine. Remember that we are going to generate energy with it, this means that you must identify the negative cable in the positive pole and the positive cable in the negative pole.
To avoid any accidents with the blades or unintentional disconnection, fix the cables to the structure of the home wind turbine. Use the insulating tape.
Step 3 – Installing the blades
Take the flange and install it on the motor. In case it does not fit perfectly, you can use the plastic CD case that we recommend among the materials.
With some screws or wire, attach the flange to the CD case. Open a small hole in the CD case and insert it into the motor you are going to use to generate power.
Now, using the flange as a support, install the blades that will do the work necessary to convert the wind into energy.
Don’t you have blades? It’s all right
One idea is to build your own blades. Make a longitudinal cut that divides a PVC pipe in two. Then, with the help of a dremel or hand cutter, give the split pipe a blade shape.
When you are done, you will have the homemade blades ready for your wind turbine.
Everything is ready: let’s make energy
After all the construction is finished, it’s time to test everything.
Connect a bulb to the wires coming out of your motor, turn the blades of the wind turbine and you will see the bulb light up
Everything is ready. Now all you have to do is select the site where you want to install your wind turbine and start enjoying the benefits of wind energy.
Where is the best place to install your home wind turbine?
To produce electricity through a wind turbine, we recommend winds between 11 and 16 kilometers per hour This is a variable that you should analyze and take into account when installing your home wind turbine.
In addition, to avoid any kind of inconvenience, it is necessary to consult if in your community there is any law that regulates the installation and use of this type of equipment.
As a courtesy to your neighbors, say you’ll install a wind turbine. This way, you will avoid any inconvenience or surprises that could spoil your plans to make one of the wind energy.
This way, you will have everything you can do limited.
Car alternator to go further
Your car’s alternator is made to transform movement into energy, that is, it has everything necessary to generate the amount of energy your project requires.
If you want to incorporate an alternator to your home wind turbine, you will have to adapt the structure to be able to install it.
Select an alternator that will help you generate the amount of energy you need. You will be sure to obtain the desired results with your electrical project.
A video that clarifies everything
We know that the installation of a home wind turbine is a project that can be overwhelming, especially when we are faced with it for the first time.
To avoid a little anxiety that could generate you, we leave you a video where it is explained step by step how to make your own home wind turbine.
It is in English but don’t worry, you will be able to understand it perfectly and you will have the opportunity to install your wind turbine without any problems.
You need more help?
In case you require extra support, you can buy a complete kit for the manufacture of a home wind turbine.
You have them in various sizes and generation capacities. You could even find a model that includes accumulators, so that you can store the surplus energy you generate.
You can buy it online or in the electrical store of your preference. About the prices, it all depends on what you want to generate, but they can range from 100 to 250 euros.
