How to Make a Wind Turbine to Generate Electricity
Do you know how to make a wind turbine to generate electricity? Wind energy is in the news today. The increasing cost and instability of oil is the primary reason for the current focus on wind energy as affordable power that will also protect the environment.
Oil and coal are fossil fuels that used for generations to heat and cool our homes, to provide light and to power our vehicles. Wind energy has been used for centuries where windmills were commonly used to grind grains or to provide irrigation.
Wind turbines began to seem like an alternative to fossil fuels many years ago but as coal and oil were relatively cheap and readily available; the technology of building wind turbines was set aside for years.
In the 1970's an oil embargo led to long lines of cars trying to buy gasoline and to great increases in the price of heating homes. Once again, the idea of how to make a wind turbine to generate electricity efficiently was a newly popular topic.
Recent
In recent years, a concern for the environment has only increased the desire for wind energy. There were concerns on how to make a wind turbine to generate electricity in a way that would not cause harm to migrating birds and this problem has been addressed with propeller blades on turbines that turn much more slowly than previous designs.
Another issue was how to make a wind turbine to generate electricity in amounts that would provide significant electricity for the power grid. Wind turbines became larger and wind towers became taller to catch the maximum kinetic energy of the wind. A class system was developed to rate geographical areas so as to build wind turbines in locations where the winds were reliable and wind speeds steady.
As the knowledge of wind energy grew, new information became available that provided answers to many of the problems the public had with how to make a wind turbine to generate electricity in a way that did not use too much open land or interfere with agriculture.
Initially, farmers and ranchers were skeptical of the structures and sounds of wind turbines. They worried that livestock would be negatively affected by this unknown structure or that noise vibrations would lead to problems for dairy farms or cause livestock to go off their feed.
Wind Farms
Wind farms are not silent. Anyone who has lived in an area where the winds blow constantly knows the sound of the wind alone can grate on your nerves at times. Wind is not silent. It whistles and sometimes howls around corners and through trees and was one of the main sources of stress cited by early settlers in the plains states.
Though wind turbines are mounted on the top of a high steel tower, they do produce a constant noise. It's not loud enough to be a source of pain or something you must turn away from to avoid but the constant humming was a problem for some people who lived near early wind farms.
Like the wind itself, the turbines were a sound that went on day and night and were never ending. For most people, it became a normal background noise they ignored but some nearby residents could not ignore it and complained loudly about it.
You Can Build Your Own Wind Turbine
Wind turbines are very expensive. The price almost doubled in about ten years as the popularity of the products soared but manufacturing did not keep up with demand. It's not surprising that a few enterprising people have figured out how to build their own wind turbine. You can buy a wind turbine kit today for $500 and up. How to make a wind turbine to generate electricity is fairly simple with such a kit.
The major components are pre-assembled and everything you need to create wind energy is included. You can power your home with wind energy for about 80% less cost than using standard electrical power so this kit could well pay for itself quickly.
If $500 is over your budget, today there are detailed plans available for how to make a wind turbine to generate electricity. Instructions are often very complete and easy to follow. These guides are written by experts in the field of wind technology. These do-it-yourself wind turbines can be built by almost anyone at a cost of only $200 or so for parts and equipment.
Enterprising individuals who live in areas where wind energy is easily produced can build more than one of these structures and sell excess electricity to the power company. If you use such a guide and learn how to make a wind turbine to generate electricity you could potentially provide all the power your home needs for free. The excess electricity sold to the power company is just icing on the cake and offset any other power costs you might have for your home.
