Windmill Power

You can actually harness windmill power and generate electricity for home use. Renewable energy from solar panels and windmill power are starting to make their way in homes. The Dutch have been harnessing windmill power for years. Why not you?

Building a windmill in not that all difficult for someone who enjoys working with tools. For this type of project, some of the materials you will need are:

• Electric generator
• Pole
• PVC pipe (1 meter)
• Batteries
• Saw
• Drill
• Protractor
• Electronic control system
• Metallic circular plate (200mm radius)
• Threaded bolts (8-by-5 mm)
• Stainless steel plate (1-by-1 meter)

Prepare the windmill power blades. Use a saw to cut the PVC pipe down the whole length then into quarters. Shape each quarter. Make a diagonal cut on the long side of each quarter. You should end up with quarters wherein one side’s width is greater than the other sides. Get the metallic circular plate. Use a protractor to divide the plate into 3 120 degree sections. Make a line along the dividing lines you drew. Get your drill and make 2 5 mm holes on each line. You will attach the blades to these holes. Screw in the blades to the circular plate. You should end up with a turbine shape.

Make the housing. Attach a pole to a shed that has a rain guard. The pole should be tall enough to catch enough wind. The radius of the pole must be 200mm and 4 meters long.

Connect the generator. Make sure the generator is protected from rain. Two output wires coming from the generator should be connected to the terminals (positive and negative) of the control circuit. With your drill, make 2 5mm that are about 0.5 meters away from the top end of the housing pole. Use a bracket when attaching the 5 mm bolts.

Assemble the electronic controller. Connect the controller to the output of your generator. Next, connect the batteries to your controlling electronics. When the windmill turns, the controller will monitor your batteries’ voltage. Electricity from windmill power will be coursed through the battery.

Seek advice from people who have used windmill power before in their homes. Although building a machine to harness windmill power is not difficult, still, expert advice will ensure that you do the project right.