We recommend using two different blade materials. You can use the one that fits your budget or the one that is most readily available.

First off, we recommend PVC plastic sewer pipe in the 8 to 12 inch range to make the blades. The great part about using this large sewer pipe is that it is usually available at large city construction sites for free. Simple ABS pipe works well too.

Look for pieces in the 4 to 5 foot range if possible. You will want to build a wind generator with blade diameter of around 8 feet if possible to produce the most power you can with your DC motor and you will need at least 4 feet long blades to do that.

The PVC sewer pipe, if you had to buy it, comes in 16 feet length and costs about $183 per section. Kind of expensive, so those pieces you have in your hands are very valuable.

Why use PVC?

We have tried many types of pipe, from ABS to thin wall PVC, but nothing seems to hold up like this green or blue sewer pipe does. It is thicker and stronger than other pipe and all it requires is a coat of UV (ultra violet) resistant paint to keep going for years.

One note of caution, if you use this kind of pipe you will not achieve the kind of efficiencies of design inherent in using wooden blades. The main reason for this is because the pipe is rounded. The wind does not flow nearly as well off of a rounded blade as it will from a flat wooden blade. You can, of course use ABS or the thinner PVC if it is available. Try to find free sources if you can.

You will have to paint those blades. The only drawback to using PVC sewer pipe, or any pipe for that matter, is that it was intended for use below ground or inside. Thus, you will need to paint the pipe sections of your blades with a tough UV resistant paint to combat the nasty effects of the sun over time. The PVC pipe will get brittle and crack over time. This can be a very dangerous situation when your wind generator is spinning at high RPM and little (or large) pieces of the blades start flying off. Be careful.

So, paint the blades with a UV inhibitor. The main ingredient in most of these paints is Titanium Dioxide. Just look for that in the can. Ask at your paint store or hardware store and tell them what you are painting, and what you are looking for. This is not a hard to find product, even though at first glance it may seem that is the case.

You can check the recommended ebook Build a Home Made Wind Generator

Build a Home Made Wind Generator Ebook

In our next post we will discuss how to cut the PVC blades. Stay tuned

This is a walk trough to build a blade for your home made wind generator.

Your choice of blade design and material greatly affects your home made wind generator’s overall efficiency and performance. Most modern factory produced wind energy blades feature a 3 blade design with very slender blades made from space age materials mostly. Three blades work best to avoid vibration.

Those slender blades catch every bit of wind energy coming by too. You would think that the blades would have to be large in order to do this. But the most important aspect of blade design is how big of a diameter they form.

You will need a blade with outside diameter, measured to the tips, of at least 8 feet in order to achieve about 1000 watts of power production. If you don’t feel comfortable with this big of a machine then scale it back accordingly. Read more…

A 3 blade design can capture up to 8 horsepower of energy while many of the old bladed design will have a hard time producing 2 horsepower! All those blades get in the way of the wind moving through the blades and actually slow down the spin. This is what we regard as turbine efficiency.

Thankfully, the new materials and new blade design are available for us to take advantage from. These modern designs feature a high tip- speed ratio.

What is Tip-Speed Ratio?

Simply put, this is a comparison between angular velocity of the tip of wind generator blade and the wind speed.

Tip-Speed Ratio = Tip Speed / Wind Speed

Most of the newer models available today have a tip speed ratio of between 5:1 and 8:1. That is really moving. In other words, modern blades can rotate faster at lower wind velocities. The larger the number, the better efficiency in capturing wind energy.

This compares to the old slow moving water pumping windmills that used to dot the landscape with a tip speed ratio of around 1:1.

The old style windmills were designed to pump water, and although less efficient, they provided higher torque (because of the large blade outside diameter) and better performance at low wind speeds which gave them a steadier pumping action (more water delivered) in low wind situations. They had to start pumping immediately so they had to catch the wind at the start very effectively.

Home made wind turbine

If you think of your wind generator blades as aircraft propellers you will gain a new appreciation for the intricate designs necessary to achieve this high overall efficiency at tip speeds that approach 125 miles per hour.

You do not need to replicate these technical advances to have an efficient machine. Just follow the simple directions for a smooth operating homemade wind generator.

Note that the most efficient aircraft propeller design is not the best design for a wind generator blade. The propeller is designed to move air, while the wind generator blade is designed to be moved by the air. Subtle differences exist which we will explain further.

In 1979, the developer of a condominium village in New Hampshire decided to bring an environmentally responsive alternative to the market. He designed the building to use solar energy. The solar panels were made of glass, offering a beautify view of the scenery. Buyers responded very well, leading the developer to design several more similar buildings.

Construction began in 2007 in Boulder Colorado on a project called Solar Row. The project consists of thirteen homes using only solar power. This will be the first solar home development project in the Boulder area. The design of each home has been carefully set up to allow the home to use and creates its own energy.

Some states are pushing for solar powered housing. California officials are proposing half of all new homes build run on solar energy in within ten years. They are pushing for solar homes to prevent further issues with energy crisis. Three years ago utility customers had difficulty paying their electric bills because of the high cost. Officials plan to give rebates to home builders who agree to install solar panels on new homes. They may offer incentives for installing panels on existing homes as well. Environmental groups are backing California’s proposal as they fill it will encourage other states to follow. It is believed that if many states decide to implement such programs, then the cost of setting up solar power will greatly decrease.

However, many environmental groups aren’t willing to wait around to see what California decides to do. They have taken solar power issues to the legislation. A solar incentive bill has been approved by the Senate. It is still pending with the Assembly Committee. If approved, it would require fifteen percent of new homes being built are complete with solar panels beginning in 2010. The goal would be for the rate to increase each year by ten percent until it reaches fifty five percent.

The building industry opposes the promotion of solar homes. They are against the legislative bill. However, many in the building industry agree that solar homes could lead to economic and atmospheric improvements. The many concern of the building industry is the additional cost to them to meet the solar powered home requirements. If Congress is willing to give them monetary incentives to help reduce these costs, the issue could likely be resolved. It is estimated on average that addition solar power equipment to a home will cost $17,000 to $20,000.

Solar energy is a clean and efficient form of energy. The demand for it is greater than the supply.

The cost of supplying electricity to remote locations is expensive and time consuming. Solar power is an excellent alternative. Portable solar power has been referred to as packaging sunlight. The concept is using an adapter to allow you to use solar power that has been accumulated during times when you do not have enough solar energy, which is mainly used at night.

Battery chargers with solar power are very popular. They simply plug into your cigarette lighter and charge your car in minutes.

On a larger scale you can purchase portable generators that will allow you to use energy produced by sunlight when sunlight is not available. These power sources are used by corporations, small businesses, and individuals. They are used to supply power to entire networks or simply to operate your DVD player. The type and size of generator you want to purchase will depend on your individual needs. Within the next three years, it is believed solar panels will be made that can supply power to cell phones as well. However, the cost of such phones is anticipated to be high because it is expensive to design that type of solar panel.

The internet offers information to compare portable solar power products and their uses. This information will be very useful in deciding what products will give you the best deal for your money. If you still have questions, a great resource is the Advanced Energy Group. It is a respected supplier of solar power and portable power systems throughout the United States. They offer quality products and consulting information about solar power options. They also have an excellent rating for their technical support to customers.

While some remain skeptical about the use of solar power, it really does make sense. The portable solar power devices available at reasonable costs make it even more efficient, safe, and worth while to do for the environment. As the solar power industry continues to grow, expect to see new and better portable devices available on the market.

For some of you it may be instructional to start at a basic level in understanding how electricity works in everyday life.

Watts

You might have noticed that the power consumption of electrical devices is measured in watts. Most people are fairly familiar with the term watt, but most don’t know what it describes. A watt is the power produced by current (amps) flowing through a wire multiplied by the pressure (voltage) at which it flows.

Volts

Like water pressure in a pipe, voltage is the pressure of electricity flowing through the wire.

Amps

This is the amount of electricity flowing through the wire.

Power Rates

We are most familiar with the term KWH (or Kilowatt-Hour) as it appears on our monthly power bills. This is the rate of power flowing through a wire. As an example, if a 100 watt light bulb is turned on for ten hours the power rate would be 100 x 10 = 1,000 watt-hours or 1 Kilowatt hour (kilo means 1000)

Direct Current (DC)

We will be discussing both Direct Current (DC) power and Alternating Current (AC) in the planning of your renewable energy system. AC current is what you presently use in your home.

The most important difference between AC and DC power is that DC current can be stored in a battery while AC power cannot.

In the renewable energy system that you are designing to run your home, DC power produced by your wind generator or your solar panel will be converted to AC power by using an inverter. In this way you can still use many of the same AC appliances that you currently depend on.

Common DC voltages are 12, 24 and 48. The advantages of DC appliances are many, but most important is that DC motors are more efficient than AC motors. There are many applications for DC power and the benefit is that we can use this form of energy in our off grid home, while in your present tied-to-the-grid home you cannot.

AC Current

Alternating current is called this way because the current changes direction constantly. AC is the most common form of electricity usage today mostly because it is easier to work with than common DC current.