Homemade Wind Turbines: Design Considerations for Wind Turbine Capacity

15 June, 16:56, by homemadejoe Tags: , , , ,
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Design Considerations for Wind Turbine Capacity:

There are a lot of things to consider when setting up homemade wind turbines. One of the most important ones is wind turbine capacity. Or in simpler terms: how to squeeze every possible energy from the wind. Here are some of the design considerations when building one’s own system.

HAWT or VAWT

One of the things to consider when building a homemade wind turbine is whether to use the schematic for the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine or to use the one for the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine. Both wind turbines are effective and have some positive points to them. For the VAWTs design, the main rotor shaft is set vertically. This setup can be very advantageous because the gearbox and even the generator itself can be placed close to the ground. This results in very easy maintenance of the device. Also, since the VAWT design does not implement windmill like rotor blades, it can be considered relatively safe, especially in serious cases of very strong gusts and storms. Another good advantage of the VAWT is that it does not need to be pointed against the winds direction to harness its kinetic energy.

The Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine on the other hand, has a quite different schematic. Unlike that of the VAWT, the HAWT gearbox and generator is located on the top of the turbine. It usually has two or more rotor blades and it is considered to be one of the most efficient systems available for getting as much from wind energy. Since it makes use of aerodynamic rotor blades, the sweep area for the HAWT is relatively bigger and more power is therefore generated. Aside from that, the HAWT has a very common and simple design. The HAWT needs to be properly pointed at the wind direction to harness the most energy.

SIZE MATTERS

When designing homemade wind turbines, size can be a design consideration. This is typically significant to get more power out of the system. How much power does the system have to generate?  One thing to consider about wind turbines is that the sweep area of a turbine or the encompassing area where the rotor blades move is directly proportional to the output energy. Bigger is better so to speak. Designing a wind turbine with a big rotor blade will most likely generate more power. However, building a wind turbine with really big rotor blades can be a problem unto itself. There’s a big possibility of the equipment being a safety hazard when things suddenly go wrong. Choosing the best size for the system is not only of practical importance but health and potential risks have to be included into the computation as well.

MATERIALS USED

Homemade wind turbines come in all shapes and sizes. There have been a lot of builders who’ve designed their systems with unusual materials like cardboard boxes, scrap metal and the like. This makes for novelty designs. However, for practical reasons, it would be best to consider high quality materials – especially since the wind turbine is designed to be used on a day to day basis and will be exposed to all of nature’s elements.

 

ALEKO WG3KW 3000W 3KW Watt Residential-Commercial Wind Generator Wind Turbine

The Types of Wind Turbines and Manufacturers

11 June, 16:54, by homemadejoe Tags: , ,

With the current economic problems and woes and with gas prices skyrocketing, it is not uncommon for many people to start looking for alternative sources of energy. One of many good alternative power sources is the wind turbine. Homemade wind turbines are available all over the place and with the right tools, and maybe the right location for good airflow, off-the shelf and homemade wind turbines are definitely viable contenders for a good off-grid solution.

There are two popular types of wind turbines available in the market today. One is the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWt) and the other one is the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT). Vertical Axis Wind Turbines a type of wind turbine that has its motor shaft set vertically. One of the many advantages of this arrangement is that generators and gearboxes can be situated near the ground for easier maintenance. Also, VAWTS do not need to be pointed into the wind. Most VAWTS nowadays have helical twisted blades that allow the turbine to easily capture wind energy and convert it into electricity. A lot of homemade wind turbines are built with the VAWTS schematic.

The Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine on the other hand is the more common types of wind turbines we see today. It is the wind turbine that looks like a pinwheel propeller. The HAWT turbine has its main rotor and shaft and electrical generator at the top of the tower. According to manufacturers, HAWTs are the most efficient design for turning wind into electricity. This is because the turbine’s design allows to or more rotor blades to face into the wind, resulting in the blades having the least possible resistance to wind forces. HAWT rotor blades usually have an aerodynamic design, with its top side having a longer surface area than the bottom. HAWTs must be pointed into the wind to maximize the wind energy.

There are many wind turbine manufacturers available today that offer a lot of wind power solutions for every type of application. When purchasing a wind power generator, one should have a general idea of the kind of applications the wind power generator will support, and what kind of wind turbine one wants to invest in. There are companies that specialize in Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTS) while some manufacture only Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTS). For heavy duty power consumptions, one may want to consider purchasing one of those large wind turbines.

Large wind turbines are industrial sized equipment that is usually used for wind farms and power facilities. There are only a handful of companies that currently manufacture these industrial grade products, and almost all of them are European. Another solution is the small wind turbine systems. These are the ones that are usually setup in a home with ample amount of space. While definitely not as big as an industrial sized wind turbine, these small systems can still consume some space. The last type of wind turbine is the micro-wind systems. These wind systems are relatively cheap and one can get them from online shops and various other places around the country. These are the types of systems that are converted into customized homemade wind turbines because of their relative cheap cost.

Gudcraft residential wind turbine generator.

Wind turbine videos.
ALEKO WG450 450W 450 Watt 12 Volt Wind Turbine