History of Homemade Wind Turbines:

The wind turbine is probably one of the cheapest and cleanest sources of alternative energy – and with skyrocketing gas prices, more and more people are considering using homemade wind turbines and go off grid, and people are amazed at the simplicity and effectiveness of this new technology. However, while a lot of people may think that wind generators are a relatively new technology, it is surprising to find out that humans have already started harnessing wind energy even during the earliest parts of recorded human history.

It was recorded that the most simple of homemade wind turbines have been used way back in ancient history. Windmills were already being used in Persia even as early as 500 to 900 A.D. These windmills were built in Sistan, a region between Afghanistan and Iran. These windmills were vertical axle windmills and had long vertical shafts with rectangular blades. According to records, grain-grinding was most likely the first wind mill application. However, it was also recorded that these wind-mills were also used to automate the task of water pumping. Surprisingly, vertical axis windmills were also used in China around 1219 A.D. for almost the same purpose.

In Europe, windmills were in use in the 12th century, with the earliest recorded reference to the windmill in 1185. Unlike its predecessor that uses the vertical axle configuration, the European windmills were built with the horizontal axle. Records say that this may be because a lot of European water wheels also had a horizontal axis configuration, and may have been the point of reference for the European windmill. Another possible reason may have been the better structural efficiency of the horizontal machines.

Since then, the windmill has steadily become reliable equipment and provided people with automation tasks that made life a lot better. The windmill has also improved by leaps and bounds. By the 14th century, the Dutch has started to refine the windmill design and attach the standard post mill to the top of a multi-storey tower, with each floor processing a specific task. A floor was for grinding grain and another for removing the chaff, and yet another one for storing grain and other tasks.
One of the more significant improvements of the European mills was the use of sails. These sails generated aerodynamic lift which resulted in increased rotor speed. With the increased rotor speed came better grinding and pumping action.

The windmill has had a lot more improvements over the years. Some of the improvements were the placement of the blade spar at the quarter chord position, a camber on the leading edge, having the center of gravity at the same 1/4 chord position, and nonlinear twist of the blade. By 1888, the windmill has finally been configured to finally generate electricity. The windmill has continued and has been given the name wind turbine.

Nowadays, wind turbines are being used by a lot of people, not just for governments and large power companies, but also by a lot of do-it-yourself folks who use homemade wind turbines. Wind Turbines have come a long way from its humble beginnings into being one of the most cost-effective alternative sources of power we have today.