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Residential wind power project

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posted on Mar, 1 2011 @ 05:46 PM
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Im going to either build or buy a small wind turbine, to charge a bank of batteries for emergency lighting. If I build one, I will build a vertical axis wind turbine, or VAWT. If I buy one it will be a horizontal axis wind turbine. The reason for this is simply because I have not been able to find a small VAWT for a reasonable price. Im looking at charging a bank of ten 12v batteries. I live where the wind is constantly blowing but would still like a low rpm permanent magnet alternator (PMA) I want to use this battery bank to power low voltage LED lighting.

Have any of you out there already embarked upon a project like this? Any suggesstions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks



posted on Mar, 1 2011 @ 05:52 PM
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reply to post by SUICIDEHK45
 


A couple o links for support from a thread:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

thecoolgadgets.com...

hl=tl&rlz=1C1GGGE_enAU385AU385&q=wind+turbine+design&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=lQFlTOjqIM3XcbfIxaMK&sa=X&oi=image_r
portablesgenerators.com...

Peace,
spec
edit on 1-3-2011 by speculativeoptimist because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 1 2011 @ 06:01 PM
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Instructables is your friend!
www.instructables.com...

They also have many Instructables on how to create VAWT's.

Quite fascinating really!



posted on Mar, 1 2011 @ 06:02 PM
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build your own I built the one on my boat and I charge 4 batteries with mine on a good day. you can get most parts on ebay for a good price.



posted on Mar, 1 2011 @ 06:04 PM
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reply to post by SUICIDEHK45
 


Before you get too involved with this, you might want to check the deed of restrictions for your neighborhood. Things like this may not be allowed, it would suck for you to get it built and have to tear it down.



posted on Mar, 1 2011 @ 07:02 PM
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reply to post by SUICIDEHK45
 


I have been in the battery business for 10+ years...any questions about that end, ask away!

edit: Also, I came across this once.

www.mdpub.com...

edit on 1-3-2011 by superman2012 because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 1 2011 @ 10:15 PM
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if your in california i work for a natural alternative energy developmental firm and right now were giving away a free 9.6kw package with two top of the line inverters email me if your interested [email protected]. its free by state and federal rebates.



posted on Mar, 2 2011 @ 08:41 AM
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reply to post by superman2012
 


Thanks, I would like to know what battery would be best for a project like this, I have seen some deep cycle batteries upwards of 250 dollars. I don't know much about batteries but it seems thats very expensive. Are they just taking advantage of people with "green" projects or are the batteries actually worth it?



posted on Mar, 2 2011 @ 08:42 AM
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reply to post by coldfact
 


Wow, I wish you were in SD or MN! That would be perfect for my parent's farm.



posted on Mar, 2 2011 @ 01:06 PM
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I ended up breaking down, and buying one. I want to explain that this is mostly for learning about the system and how to set it up until I can get a larger one set up out in the country.

I purchased a Gudcraft WG400 wind turbine. It should arrive in a few days and I will let all of you know if it seems to be worth it. I hope to have the whole system set up and running by the end of summer so I can "tinker" with the electrical stuff next winter. (if this winter ever ends, its currently two degrees farenheit here)





posted on Mar, 2 2011 @ 07:49 PM
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I am also going to incorporate solar power into my system as well as the wind turbine. Right now I have a 34v solar panel that I need to step down to 15v, and a 12v solar panel. I plan to mount them on the sides of my windmill's tower pole. I have some charge controllers and some lights. I will eventually be able to buy batteries and I should be well on my way to have a emergency power supply.



posted on Mar, 2 2011 @ 08:18 PM
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reply to post by SUICIDEHK45
 


Keep your wire to batteries as short as possible and with good current flow.Deep cycles are expensive for a reason and if you look after them they will go the distance.If you are only using for emergency lighting ,you dont need a huge battery bank and two decent six volt batteries would do.



posted on Mar, 2 2011 @ 08:25 PM
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reply to post by SUICIDEHK45
 


I do know by law the utility company has to buy whatever electricity you do not use so that will be an extra source of income for you I guess. I do suggest building or installing the wind turbine on high ground. You can also buy or even make your own solar pannels as well which is what I'm doing. I do hope however to set up a wind turbine as well someday soon.



posted on Mar, 2 2011 @ 08:49 PM
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reply to post by I Want To Believe
 


Although I may be able to save money on my utility bills, I think I'm going to keep this expieriment "Off-Grid" for now. I plan on buying some property in the near future and want to move my system out there or upgrade to a larger system. Keep me updated on your solar panel project. Thanks



posted on Mar, 2 2011 @ 09:29 PM
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Warning of windmills. Just google eu windmills. Many countries have abandoned them due to weather paterns. Be sure of yours. I have decided to first go solar and subsidize with wind .. even though I have the same wind as palm springs ca.



posted on Mar, 3 2011 @ 08:00 PM
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reply to post by superman2012
 


can you tell me what is inside this book? I hate to buy it if you have the info for free!

link



posted on Mar, 4 2011 @ 04:10 PM
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Received my new wind turbine in the mail today. Haven't broke it out of the box yet, but plan on doing so this weekend. I will keep you updated. Unfortunately there is still about three feet of snow on the ground, so it may be awhile before I get to set it up.

Also working on my solar panels today. Tried to step down my 34vdc panel, but didn't have a big enough resistor. Ordered some off the net should be here next week.



posted on May, 19 2011 @ 12:50 AM
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reply to post by SUICIDEHK45
 


Hi,

You may want to check out this webpage: www.greenenergyhelps.com... on how to build your wind generator or turbine. It offers pretty good advice on how to build one. Hope that helps.

Thanks
George



posted on May, 19 2011 @ 02:03 AM
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So you are keeping voltage low, right?

I only ask because a few setups on the web I have seen, step up to 120v (house current) for running things in the house.

If you are using it to run LEDs, this would be a huge waste, as you are changing from low voltage, to high voltage, back down to low voltage. Obviously you are going to need some kind of transformer for running your LED, but keeping the voltage low will give you less waste. If you are making your own LED array you could actually do without any voltage change at all, and just tailor the voltage of the LED array by how many you have in series and parallel.




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