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

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

Due to increasing global energy consumption and the probable depletion of the world’s non-renewable energy source, ways of exploring and using alternative energy sources are being undertaken. Using alternative energy source can be both beneficial and difficult. Let us explore the different advantages and disadvantages of alternative energy source.

A major advantage of renewable energy is that it is renewable; therefore, it is sustainable and will never run out. More importantly renewable energy produces little or no waste products that may pollute or has harmful effects on the environment.

Some countries using renewable energy as another source of energy are also showing some economic benefits especially in many regional areas. Most of their projects are located away from the urban centers and capital cities. They were able to increase the use of local services as well as tourism.

General disadvantage of using renewable energy is that it is difficult to generate large quantities of electricity similar to that of conventional fossil fuels. Another common problem among alternative energy sources is the reliability of the energy supply. Since it is naturally generated, renewable energy supply relies on the weather condition.

Another drawback or disadvantage of alternative energy source is that it is relatively more expensive to set up the equipment necessary for generating the energy.

Here are the several advantages and disadvantages of alternative energy source.

• Solar energy- the sun is a great source of energy since it is free and is efficient. It is possible to maximize the energy given by the sun to replace traditional electricity. But there are limitations, like areas at high latitude and places with frequent rains are places not capable of producing efficient solar energy.

• Wind energy- wind is also an efficient electricity source. It is possible that wind energy can replace up to 20 percent of the total electric consumption in the future. It is also a very environment friendly source of energy since there are no harmful gases produced in the process of converting the energy. Location is a very important factor in using wind energy, high latitudes and coast lines are good places to set up windmills. A relatively big land area is also needed to put up sufficient number of windmills.

• Hydroelectric and tidal energy- both of these energy come from water. With hydroelectric energy it is mainly sourced from dams. Tidal energy, on the other hand, uses the natural tides of the ocean. Production of energy from water is another clean way of producing energy. However there are several disadvantages. Putting up river dams as sources of hydroelectric energy is very expensive, while tidal energy source depends much on the ocean. Since oceans tends to be unpredictable there are only 9 places worldwide that are suitable for this kind of energy source. Tidal energy power plants are also said to provide negative effects on the migratory birds and the fishes.

• Biomass- biomass consists of fermented animal waste, agricultural crops, grains and other natural products. It can be used to produce an alcohol and also replace gasoline needs. It maximizes waste materials as an alternative energy source. A drawback, it that it still produces greenhouse gas.

Alternative energy sources although it is renewable also pose some disadvantages. But its unfavourable effects are relatively smaller than the harmful effects of conventional fossil fuels. The hunt for a cost-efficient and environmental friendly alternative energy source does not stop on the latest discovery.