DIY Home Energy Reviews

Archive for the ‘Wind Energy’ Category

Build Your Own Windmill and Create Wind Energy

Wind energy is really a form of solar power. The sun heats the atmosphere causing hot air to rise and sucking cold air in to replace it.

When the earth rotates and day becomes night, the temperature of the atmosphere changes again and the process is repeated. Wind is an inexhaustible source of energy.

Wind energy is also not a new technology. Man has used it for centuries. Windmills were used to grind grain in Europe and pump water in China for centuries.

However when coal was discovered, the interest in wind power declined. Coal was portable. You could take it inside your house and use it for heat and cooking. Coal created heat that could be used to forge metal and create steam.

Thus began our long dependence on fossil fuels which have led us to our current overwhelming problems with greenhouse gases and global warming.

Don’t wait for your city to go with wind energy. Click here for instructions on making your own personal wind turbine.

Wind energy of course emits no gases nor does it promote global heating. It’s free, abundant and a logical choice for energy.

However, there are disadvantages of wind energy.

Noise is among the disadvantages of wind energy. Wind farms consist of hundreds or even thousands of giant commercial wind turbines and the noise from the spinning rotors can be deafening.

Some people have even compared the noise to that of jet engines. This obviously is a problem if the farm is situated near a population. People will not want the peace and quiet of their neighborhood disrupted by noise from a wind farm.

In fact as much as people want to improve things, like get cheaper power, they are rarely willing to allow the means to get those things, like a wind farm, in their back yard.

So if you can’t build a wind energy farm near a populated area you look further out and then you may run into another challenge from a different group of people.

Building in what you may call a barren piece of land, another will call a sensitive eco-system or a pristine example of wilderness. Protests from these groups can also delay or eliminate the construction of a farm.

Among another of the disadvantages of wind energy is the lack of dependability of the wind itself. While statistically an area may have sufficient wind to merit a farm, it may not be a consistent wind.

If the wind doesn’t blow, the rotors don’t turn and there is no electricity generated. People relying solely on that wind generated electricity will have to go without on a calm day. Wind energy sounds like great but in practice it’s not so perfect.

The cost of acquiring land, getting permits and the wind turbines themselves are also among the disadvantages of wind energy. Trying to find land that is suitable for the farm, far enough away from a population yet close enough to serve it is a problem.

Top that off with delays due to environmental impact statements and other permits required, and suddenly the capital expenditure both in money and time is enormous.

Wind energy potentially could be the biggest source of electrical power. However until the disadvantages of wind energy, including noise, dependability and start up costs are so significant that it simply doesn’t make economic sense today.

However, that will not stop research and undoubtedly there will be advances that will allow wind power to once again become a major player.

Don’t wait for your city to go with wind energy. Click here for instructions on making your own personal wind turbine.

Wind Turbine Blades

Alternative wind energy, the energy that is generated by the sun heating the earth’s atmosphere resulting in wind, is potentially one of the largest sources of electrical energy on earth. The strength of the wind depends on where you are on the planet.

If you are close to the mountains or the sea it tends to be stronger. Researchers are fascinated with developing a technology that will harness the wind at sea as this represents the greatest potential for energy.

Wind energy was one of the earliest forms of natural energy used by man. The early Egyptians built windmills to grind grain and the Chinese used them to pump water.

Click here for instructions on creating your own wind energy system.

Harnessing the wind to produce electricity was first achieved by the Europeans in the mid-20^th century. The European wind farms worked on the same principal as the ancient windmills to produce the modern product of electricity.

Wind energy, which is really an extension of solar power, is a vast and inexhaustible source of energy. So long as the sun is in the sky there will be wind.

The highly respected World Energy Council has reported repeatedly that using just 1% of the global wind energy available could satisfy the electrical power needs of the entire planet.

That’s a pretty amazing statement given that we currently burn fossil fuels that are killing the planet with greenhouse gasses and global warming. What little alternative energy we have comes from nuclear power and we all know the risks there, particularly after the disaster of Chernobyl.

The biggest challenge to expanding alternative wind energy farms is placing them where the wind blows long and strong.

Wales and Scotland have large wind farms and in the United States, North Dakota is a favored location. In fact North Dakota has the potential to provide more wind energy than the entire country of Germany.

Germany has been the leader of wind power development in Europe and generates more power than the entire U.S. production. Europe has been the leader in this technology but President Obama made it clear that alternative wind power was a priority for his administration.

It’s not unreasonable to believe that the United States will be a far bigger producer in the coming years.

There are a number of reasons why wind power is a growth industry. Technology costs have dropped dramatically so the cost of creating wind farms has decreased. The cost of fossil fuels has skyrocketed resulting in significantly higher power bills.

Given that there is a finite supply of these carbon based fuels and that we keep depleting the supply, it is likely that their cost will continue to soar.

Finally, a struggling economy has caused everyone, governments, businesses and individuals alike to look for places to cut costs or become more productive.

Once past the start up costs of land and turbines, alternative wind energy is virtually free. The only real cost is modest maintenance on the wind turbines.

This makes having a personal use wind turbine to eliminate residential electric bills a very real possibility.

Click here for instructions on creating your own wind energy system.

Make Your Own Homemade Windmill with this great instruction DVD set.

Let’s face it. The whole world is in an energy crisis. We’re killing the planet with global warming and greenhouse gases because of the fossil fuels we burn and we’re killing ourselves financially because of the ever rising costs of those fossil fuels.

Can you remember when gasoline was under a dollar? Has your electric bill stayed the same over the past five years? The answer to those questions is probably no to both. We’ve got to cut back on our use of energy and find cheaper cleaner sources.

A novel way of doing both is a homemade windmill.

Click here for instructions on making your own windmill.

When you think of a windmill you probably see a vision of this lonely tower in the Great Plains or on a ranch is the West. The windmill has been around for centuries and in the beginning of this country’s expansion west, they were used to pump water from deep wells.

They actually became the icon for civilization during those years. But build a homemade windmill for your own house? That probably wasn’t the first thing to pop in your head.

Let’s think about that for a second. Once the windmill is in place, the cost of the electricity generated by it is $0. That’s a pretty good rate don’t you think? The downside is that it can be expensive to build and those costs are typically upfront unless you opt to finance.

It’s also going to take some time, not only in the construction, but in getting the necessary building permit. That said, you’re still saving a ton of money by doing it yourself and the long term benefit is well worth it.

The first thing you need to do is determine if the windmill is going to work for you. Ideally, your location should average an 11 mile per hour wind although some people have built in areas with slightly less and still get good results. Assuming you have the wind, the next thing you need is a guide and materials.

Here are a few tips as to what to look for:

• Determine what kind of output you want your windmill to provide and then look for a plan that’s designed for that wattage.
• When shopping for components, keep in mind the kinds of stress that your location is going to place on the system. A site that averages 16 mph winds is going to put more strain on a windmill than a site that averages 11 mph. In other words, the lowest priced component is not necessarily the best buy.
• Your total project should have a budget and you can use that number and your electrical bills to determine how long it will take in electrical savings to pay for the windmill.

Okay you’ve decided to buy. Actually that’s the easy part. Now comes the construction and for that you are going to need a good comprehensive set of plans or guide.

Do you remember the last time you bought something that needed to be assembled? Like so many things now it was probably imported and if it had badly translated instructions then you know the pain of do it yourself construction.

Here are a couple of tips on what to look for in the plan:

• Illustrations. A picture is worth a thousand words. The plan should have detailed illustrations so you can see as well as read how parts go together.
• Written instructions in easy to understand language. If the instructions are a bad translation, or if they are filled with technical terms or industry jargon, then they weren’t designed for the do it yourself market and you should look for a new plan.
• Because windmills are subject to local conditions, make sure that the guide has good visual and text descriptions of the components. Even more important is to learn if the components are suited to the conditions at your site.

Once you commit just go ahead and build your homemade windmill. Who knows. It may become the icon of civilization in your neighborhood.

Click here for instructions on making your own windmill.

Click here to check out Earth 4 Energy DVD Alternative Energy Instructions

Wind Energy is an alternative electricity generator that does not create green house gases or other forms of pollution. It is a natural form of energy just like solar power. Wind comes from the sun as well through weather pattern changes caused by the heat generated by the sun.

There are a number of advantages to using wind energy such as being renewable, free and everywhere. Renewable means that it is continually available without using resources to create it. We don’t need to worry that the wind will stop blowing but we are using up fossil fuels and will run out.

Looking towards alternative energy producers is imperative for the long-term. The sun and wind will be here forever and therefor are great energy producing alternatives.

Click here for instructions on making your own wind turbine.

• Wind Energy Advantage number one – As with any form of energy creation there are set up costs (the largest part of the budget) for a wind system. Even with these costs it is a very affordable alternative.
  Just like any other system there are maintenance costs as well such as checking the system and oiling on a regular basis to keep everything working in prime condition.
  Even with these costs it is still a very affordable way to produce energy in the long run.

• Wind Energy Advantage number two – After the manufacture and building of your system, there is no pollution created. This is the direct opposite of using fossil fuels which is a huge drain and effect on the environment.

• We can see this in the increased levels of smog, global warming and, of course, acid rain.
  These are all huge factors in the misuse of the planet that we all need to worry about and make our own personal changes to.
  Global warming has been changing our weather patterns and seasons. Just look at all the extreme weather, not just warmer over all, but the floods, tsunamis, polar melting and so much more that we aren’t even hearing about in the news.
  If we continue to pollute with sulphur dioxide then inside of a few generations of people, the destruction of the environment will be beyond the help of humans.

• We are losing the ice caps and coasts around the world through warming and higher ocean temperatures and levels. We all need to do our parts.

• Wind Energy Advantage number three – There is no further pilfering of the earth’s resources once your system is set up.
  There is no need to use the resources necessary for old-style forms of energy production. Scientists have been looking for alternatives for decades because we are using up the physical fuels and damaging the environment.
  It just makes sense to convert to an energy efficient power system for our electricity generation.

• Wind Energy Advantage number four – Since the whole world is now in a recession, there is further need to cut our own costs to make ends meet.
  But also, the global community advantage is the industry of wind power parts production and DIY kit production creating jobs, DIY books and workshops for the do-it-yourselfer.

There are many advantages of wind energy, both personally, and for the sake of the planet and our contribution to the global issues of the day.

We need to help the planet by not using up the precious resources available to us that are becoming in short supply and freshen up our air so that all can breath without worrying about the pollution that is entering our bodies.

Click here for instructions on making your own wind turbine.