Calculation of Wind Power
There are many complicated calculations and equations involved in understanding and constructing wind turbine generators however the layman need not worry about most of these and should instead ensure they remember the following vital information: 1) The power output of a wind generator is proportional to the …

Electricity With Stepper Motors
It is not necessary to build your own complex and expensive alternator for a small DIY wind turbine - small stepper motors can be perfect for the job. Found in old computer printers (dot matrix, daisy wheel, and some laser), stepper motors are cheaply (if …

DIY 2kW Wind Turbine
A large number of our site visitors have found our article How I Built a Wind Turbine to be interesting reading and a useful resource. That relatively simple wind turbine was constructed using an Ametek PM motor as its electricity generating alternator. In this article we …

PVC Wind Turbine Blades
PVC Wind Turbine Blades are becoming more and more common for homemade domestic wind turbines. The raw material, PVC pipe, is easy to find, relatively cheap, easy to work with, and performance is more than acceptable for a small basic wind turbine generator. PVC wind …

Wind Turbine Tip Speed Ratio
The Tip Speed Ratio (often known as the TSR) is of vital importance in the design of wind turbine generators. If the rotor of the wind turbine turns too slowly, most of the wind will pass undisturbed through the gap between the rotor blades. Alternatively …

Savonius Wind Turbines
A Savonius is a type of vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) generator invented in 1922 by Sigurd Johannes Savonius from Finland though similar wind turbine designs had been attempted in previous centuries.  The Savonius is a drag-type VAWT which operates in the same way as a …

Betz Limit
Albert Betz was a german physicist who in 1919 concluded that no wind turbine can convert more than 16/27 (59.3%) of the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy turning a rotor. To this day this is known as the Betz Limit or Betz' …

Make A Mini Wind Turbine Battery Charger
Chris from the Scrap to Power website has put together a very good guide to converting a standard PC fan into a small wind turbine battery charger (pictured above) with the addition of a few easy to find bits and pieces. Any used PC fan can …

Make A Bridge Rectifier From Diodes
The electricity generated by most wind turbine generators is alternating current (AC). To use this to charge batteries or power most lighting and devices directly, it must be rectified into direct current (DC). The simplest (full wave) bridge rectifier is made up of just four diodes …

Permanent Magnet Generator
While it is possible to build your own alternator from powerful Neodymium Magnets and coils of enamelled wire an amateur should consider purchasing a ready made and tried and tested Permanent Magnet Generator* for their Wind Turbine. Wind turbine blades (for example, home made DIY PVC …

Wind Turbine Charge Controller
A charge controller or regulator is vital for any wind turbine used to charge a battery bank. With PV solar panels a solar charge controller is often used to prevent the batteries from being over-charged. Unfortunately a solar charge controller cannot be used with a wind …

Hard Disk Drive Magnets For Wind Turbines
The most expensive parts of a wind turbine alternator are the magnets and the enamelled magnet wire. In a previous article we have introduced cheap and easy to make PVC wind turbine blades. Here you will learn how to obtain magnets for free and put …

Ametek PM Motors
Making your own generator or alternator is quite complicated and can be expensive (see our Guide to Axial Flux Wind Turbine Alternator Construction. It is perhaps the best method to use for a large DIY wind turbine generating over 300 Watts, or for a small demonstrator …

Wind Turbine Water Heating
Wind turbine generators are used primarily for electricity generation. The power used can be stored in a battery bank or connected to the mains supply using a suitable grid tie inverter. In very strong winds, and/or when the batteries are fully charged a wind turbine may …

Free VAWT Wind Turbine Plans
A great introduction to wind turbines is to build your own VAWT - a vertical axis wind turbine - a design which copes well with the turbulent winds typically found in built-up areas. They are easier to build than the more traditional horizontal axis wind …

Darrieus Wind Turbines
A Darrieus is a type of vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) generator. Unlike the Savonius wind turbine, the Darrieus is a lift-type VAWT. Rather than collecting the wind in cups dragging the turbine around, a Darrieus uses lift forces generated by the wind hitting aerofoils …

Giromill Darrieus Wind Turbines
A Giromill is a Darrieus type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) generator. Unlike the more commonSavonius VAWT, the Giromill wind turbine uses lift forces generated by vertical aerofoils to convert wind energy into rotational mechanical energy. The giromill was included in Darrieus's 1927 patent for vertical …

Wind Speed Distribution Weibull
In order to calcalate the likely power output from a given wind turbine it is necessary to understand the wind in the planned turbine location. It is very easy to find the average wind speed in a location - for example using the UK Wind …

Stepper Motor Basics
In this article we will attempt to explain some of the basics of stepper motors and their use in renewable energy applications, primarily in basic Stepper Motor Wind Turbines with DIY PVC rotor blades. If you want to read more in depth information about the workings of …

VAWT Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Vertical Axis Wind Turbines are not as efficient as the more common Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines, but they do offer benefits in low wind situations. They also tend to be safer, easier to build, can be mounted close to the ground, and handles turbulence much better. …

Immersion Heater Elements for Wind Turbines
In our articles Wind Turbine Water Heating and 200W 12V Immersion Heater we looked at how a wind turbine generator can be connected directly to an immersion heater element in a water tank to heat water. Since cold windy weather occurs at times when hot …

40 Amp Blocking Diode 1N1190A
A diode is an electronic component which permits current to flow in only one direction. Diodes are an essential part of most wind and solar power generation systems. Diodes and Solar Panels Without diodes solar panels can discharge energy from battery storage at nighttime, and current can …

Wind Turbine Alternator Basics
A wind turbine generator is made up of two major components - the turbine blades which are spun by the wind, and an alternator which converts wind energy into electricity. While it is possible to purchase a sealed alternator unit, it is not particularly difficult …

Real Time Wind Speed Map
If you are planning on installing a wind turbine generator then it is essential understand the wind at your location. Obviously it is best to use an anemometer at the exact position you intend to locate your wind turbine, however there are a few useful online …

Worlds Largest Wind Turbine Generator
Pictured below is the RePower 5MW wind turbine generator, which at the time this article was first published (in late 2006) and for a while afterwards was the world's largest wind turbine generator. (Scroll down for details of the current - January 2014 world's largest 7.5MW …

Dynamo Hubs For Wind Turbines
A common way of learning more about wind turbines is to build your own with easily available cheap parts. For many years now old Sturmey Archer Dynohubs have been used for this purpose. Available at scrap prices, they generated 3 Watts at 6 Volts - …

Wind Turbine Axial Flux Alternators
In our article Wind Turbine Alternator Basics we looked at how electricity is generated in a wind turbine as magnets rotate past fixed coils of copper wire. The basic concepts behind axial flux alternator design are very simple, and it is well within the capabilities of any …

What is Wind Turbine Furling
Wind Turbines are designed to take the energy of the wind and convert it into useful electricity - the stronger the wind the better usually. If the wind is too strong then a turbine can spin so fast it destroys itself with turbine blades ripped …

Build a Savonius Wind Turbine
In our article Savonius Wind Turbines we looked at this particular type of vertical axis wind turbine generator. In this article we will show you how Sam Dekok in Australia has put together a DIY VAWT using 4 bearings, 2 buckets, a broom handle, and some …

Envirotek V20 VAWT Generator
In 2007 when we originally published this article the Envirotek V20 was a new and innovative product. It is a small vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) battery charger with three vertical axis wind turbine blades driving a 20 watt permanent magnet generator. The generated AC electricity …

How I Built a Wind Turbine
Here is the story of how Mike Davis, an astronomer in Arizona, designed and built his own wind turbine generator spending less than US$150 and utlilising some scrap parts and items he already had. His location is very remote and so there was no grid electricity …

Make Your Own Wooden Wind Turbine Blades
An easy introduction into DIY wind power generation is to make your own PVC wind turbine blades and fit them onto a permanent magnet alternator, Sturmey Archer Dynohub or stepper motor. However, if you want to build a high power wind turbine which can survive …

Vertical Wind Turbine Generator Blades
If you are interested in making your own vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) generator, then the first thing to consider is the turbine blades. Back in 2010 when we first published this article, a vendor on ebay was selling a kit of VAWT blades for …

Chispito DIY Wind Turbine Plans
Back in 2006 we wrote an article on the Chispito Wind Turbine Generator - a simple, cheap, fun and educational 100 Watt machine available in kit form in the USA for just $105 (£65 at that time) with free delivery. Unfortunately the kits were not …

Three Phase Basics
An excellent resource for anyone interested in understanding why the majority of wind turbine generators are wired in three phases should take a look at this excellent article on Three Phase Basics from WindStuffNow.com. Find out about the differences between wiring in Delta or Star configuration, …

Windbelt Cheap Micro Wind Generator
Unlike PV solar panels, wind turbine generators do not scale downwards well. While large wind turbines can generate huge quanties of electricity very efficiently and relatively cheaply, as the size of the wind turbine is reduced, efficiency reduces and cost per Watt power jumps enormously. Windbelt …

Pringle Tube VAWT Wind Turbine Plans
Although vertical axis wind turbines are less efficient than windmill type wind turbines they are typically much easier to build by the amateur DIY enthusiast. If you are interested in making your first wind turbine then the following plans should be of interest to you. They …

Wind Turbine Tower Basics
The tower (or mast) on which a wind turbine sits is an essential and often forgotten part of a wind turbine system. Raising a wind turbine high above the ground and surrounding obstacles such as trees and buildings increases its power output because clean unobstructed …

blueEnergy DIY Wind Turbine Generator
blueEnergy provide sustainable low-cost energy generation equipment to underdeveloped communities in Mexico and Central America particularly focussing on wind and solar energy systems. In July 2004 in Venata, Oregon, USA, blueEnergy built a fully functional DIY wind turbine generator using a mixture of salvaged and new …

Photos of PVC Wind Turbine Blades
PVC Wind Turbine Blades are a great alternative to expensive and difficult to make DIY wooden blades. Here are some photographs of PVC wind turbine blades currently used on small wind turbine generators around the world. If you would like to find out more about …

Windsave 1000
Windsave small wind turbine generating systems are also known as Small Scale Embedded Generators (SSEGs). The Windsave wind turbine generates electricity which is then plugged in to the building's ring main supply suitable for UK 230 Volt AC 50 Hz applications. Pictured below is the …

Proven WT2500 Wind Turbine
Proven produce a range of mast mounted rugged wind turbine generators. Starting with the smallest (Proven 7 2.5kW) wind turbine, up to the largest (Proven 35-2 12kW) wind turbine, the Proven range offers something for all requirements whether powering just a domestic light circuit or …

Micro Wind Turbines
Wind turbines do not have to be enormous like those found on windy hilltops and on cliffs beside the sea. In recent years mini wind turbines have become more and more popular sitting atop a 5+ meter pole at the bottom of the garden or …

Use A Cycle Computer To Measure Turbine RPM
It is often useful to know how fast the rotor blades of wind turbine generator are turning - particularly during development. The amount of power generated is directly related to the speed of rotation, and the speed of rotation depends on the speed of the …

Wind Turbines on Ebay
It is possible to buy virtually anything on eBay and wind turbine generators are no exception. On any given day there is usually around 500 wind turbine related lots for sale ranging from wind turbine eBooks (detailing the advantages of wind power with DIY plans) …

Futurenergy 1kW Wind Turbine
The FuturEnergy 1kW Upwind Wind Turbine Generator is built around a unique Permanent Magnet Generator generating 600 Watts in the 12V version and over well over 1kW in the 48V version. 24V and 36V DC models are also available. These wind turbines offer the most Watts …

Look Inside a Commercial Wind Turbine
Pictured below is a cut away image showing the inside workings of a commercial wind turbine generator. Though large in size, such wind turbines are still very simple with relatively few components. Such simplicity is essential if the wind turbine is to be kept operational …

Wind Turbine Slip Ring
Wind Turbines are designed to rotate to face the wind and extract the maximum possible amount of power from it. With the wind often changing direction frequently this can lead to the that emerge from the wind turbine generator becoming twisted. Usually they will untwist …

Sturmey Archer Dynohub
A simple way to learn more about building wind turbine generators is to use a bottle dynamo or Sturmey-Archer Dynohub as your alternator rather than building your own. While bottle dynamo generators are useful, they suffer from large friction losses and do not generate much …

Hong Kong Micro Wind Turbine Arrays
Hong Kong is massively polluted and uses huge amounts of energy but has until now shown little interest in renewable energy. Wind power had been ignored because despite occasional Typhoons, average wind speeds over most of Hong Kong are very low. Currently Hong Kong has only …

Balancing Wind Turbine Blades
It is essential that the blades on a wind turbine generator are correctly balanced whether you have a cheap pair of home made PVC wind turbine blades or you've gone to the trouble of carving your own wooden wind turbine blades. In practice it is unlikely …

Roof Mounting Of Wind Turbines
The debate about roof top mounting and building integration of wind turbines continues with strong opinions on both sides of the argument. While the manufacturers of the D400 Wind Generator, the Windsave 1000, and Air-X wind turbines claim that it is safe to install their turbines …

Consumers Disappointed With Micro Turbines
Since B and Q started selling Wind Turbines during the summer of 2006, many people have taken the plunge and invested £1500 in a green alternative source of energy promising "30% reduction in electricity bills". Many commentators have written about how unrealistic promised power yields …

Quiet Revolution QR5 VAWT
The Quiet Revolution QR5 is a wind turbine designed for use within urban environments where average wind speeds are lower and more turbulent. Its helical (twisted) design virtually eliminates the noise and vibrations typical of large wind turbine generators. This VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine) …

Anemometer
An Anemometer is a wind speed measuring device. For anyone interested in wind power, and using the wind to generate electricity for their home, an anemometer in an indispensible piece of equipment. Knowing the direction of the prevailing wind, the average wind speed at a …

Windmaster 500 Wind Turbine Grid Tie Inverter
The Windmaster 500 is a grid tie inverter for use with small 48V wind turbine generators. Used for connecting a wind turbine to the household mains electricity supply, this inverter will convert wind turbine power (with an input voltage from 40 to 125 VDC) into …

D400 Wind Generator
The D400 is a new direct-drive wind generator which is marketed for inner city roof top use thanks to its "vibration-free quiet operation". It is available in white (as pictured below) or in black (marketed as StealthGen and pictured further down the page). The D400 features …

Airdolphin Wind Turbine
The Zephyr Airdolphin Z-1000 was an excellent but expensive micro wind turbine designed for the domestic market and developed and manufactured in Japan by Zephyr Corporation back in 2005/6. It is now marketed as Airdolphin Mark-Zero in its 24V version, and Airdolphin Pro in its 48V …

Air X Wind Turbine
The Air-X wind turbine generator (approx £300-500 including delivery from USA to UK) from SouthWest Wind Power is the improved version of the Air-403 turbine which sold in vast quantities. The built in microprocessor enables peak-power tracking of the wind efficiently delivering energy to the batteries. …

B And Q Wind Turbines And Solar
Wind turbine generators and solar panels are finally to be promoted to the masses through the UK's biggest DIY chain B & Q and their 300+ UK stores. Starting in October every store will display a range of water heating solar panels and energy-saving wind …

Iskrawind AT5 1 5kW Wind Turbine
The AT5-1 is a 5 kW wind turbine generator from Iskrawind Ltd, a Leicestershire-based company. Winner of 2 DTI Smart Awards, AT5-1's have proven over the last few years to be durable and to provide a high output even at low wind speeds. Maintenance has been …

Up Wind or Down Wind Generator
One point of confusion about wind turbines is the difference between a DOWN-WIND wind turbine generator and an UP-WIND wind turbine generator? An Upwind turbine faces into the wind with the turbine blades in front of the Nacelle* while a Downwind turbine has blades to the …

MiniWind Wind Turbines
The new MiniWind range of rugged wind turbines are designed for the domestic market. Developed to cope with extreme conditions, these high quality turbines are built to last, but are very competitively priced. MiniWind Downwind Wind Turbines The MiniWind 1100-24 and MiniWind 1100-48 are entry level downwind …

Storing Wind Power with Compressed Air
Wind power suffers from one major problem - the wind is very fickle. If wind turbines are to be a viable large scale replacement for coal- and gas-fired power stations, a way has to be found to capture and store the energy from the wind …

Karasouli SCC 20 Wind Turbine Charge Controller
Pictured below is the new (December 2011) SCC-20 wind turbine charge controller with integrated dump load controller from Karasouli. This is a new low cost, highly efficient, and easy to use charge controller designed for domestic and small commercial micro-generators. What is a Wind Turbine Charge …

Wind Turbine Insurance
Wind turbine generators are expensive to buy and install and are typically positioned in quite remote and inaccessible locations subjected to harsh weather conditions and costly repairs if anything goes wrong. Most people would not dream of leaving their home uninsured, but many wind turbines …

Intelligent Charge Controller ICC Karasouli
The Intelligent Charge Controller (ICC) from Karasouli is a new wind turbine charge controller designed for use with 12V battery bank with a wind turbine rated at up to 45 Amps, or for a 24V battery systemand 24V battery bank with a wind turbine rated …

Survey Wind Speed At Turbine Site
It is relatively easy to find out average wind speeds at any location in the world thanks to the enormous amount of data collected by meteorologists. For example, in the UK there are many wind speed resources providing real time and historical average wind speed …

Reed Switch Wind Turbine RPM Meter
A Reed Switch is a very simple device which is very useful in many renewable energy applications. Within the reed switch are two wires which are not in contact with one another. When a magnet passes close to the reed switch, the two wires are …

Simple Wind Turbine Plans
Below are a collection of links to useful online resources for anyone interested in making very basic wind turbine generator: re-energy.ca Savonius - Plans to make your own Savonius wind turbine with 4 permanent magnets and 4 coils. This vertical axis type wind turbine is very …

Power Predictor From Better Generation
Before spending a lot of money installing a PV solar or wind turbine generating system, it is vital to survey the planned site to ensure that the prevailing weather conditions are suitable. In our article Survey Wind Speed at Turbine Site we looked at how …

Burradale Wind Farm Shetland Islands
The Shetland Islands are blessed with one of the world's finest exploitable wind resources. Plans are currently underway for a huge 600MW wind farm on the islands with building to be started in 2012, however there is already one small wind farm on Shetland having …

LeWL Wind Logger
As we discussed in our article Survey Wind Speed at Turbine Site, it is vital to accurately measure wind speeds over a course of weeks and months at any site where a wind turbine is to be installed. An anemometer is a device used to measure …

Logic Energy WindTracker
In our article LeWL Wind Logger we looked at a product from Logic Energy designed to Survey Wind Speed at Turbine Site - a necessary process before a wind turbine generator is installed. While LeWL is primarily for proposed large scale wind turbines installations, a …

Integrated Wind Turbines in Bahrain Skyscraper
The Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC) - a pair of linked skyscrapers - has been built with three integrated 29-metre diameter wind turbine generators. Each turbine has been installed on its own specially strengthened bridge between the two 50-storey 240 metre tall office towers situated …

Karasouli SCC 50 Wind Turbine Charge Controller
Pictured below is the new (Oct 2012) SCC-50 (Simple Charge Controller 50) - a 50 Amp rated wind turbine charge controller from Karasouli - user configurable for both 12V and 24V battery charging systems connected to wind turbine generators rated at up to 750W @ …

Aerogenerator X Offshore Wind Turbine
Currently the largest wind turbine generators being installed will generate at most 5-7 MW, while most installations are of wind turbines rated at only 2-3MW. According to the calculation of wind power, if the swept area of a wind turbine can be doubled, its potential power …

Magenn Power Air Rotor System
Magenn Power Inc are about to (2007) start selling their MARS Wind Power Anywhere wind power generating system. Using a helium filled balloon to raise a horizontal axis wind turbine to between 600 and 1000 feet, Magenn believe that improved operational performance and greater environmental …

Proven 6kW Wind Turbines In Antarctica
British small wind turbine manufacturer Proven are to supply eight of their Proven 6 6kW wind turbines for Belgium's Princess Elisabeth research station in the Antarctic. The research station will be the first zero emission facility in Antarctica and will be used by scientists studying …

Calculate KWh Generated By Wind Turbine
Knowing that wind speeds can be modelled by the Weibull Distribution we can estimate the amount of electricity likely to be generated by a given wind turbine generator in a location with a given average wind speed over the course of a year. Wind Turbine Annual …