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Wind Power Generators

Wind power is a favorite for makers and amateurs interested in renewable energy, chiefly because the technology involved is simple and accessible. While solar, hydroelectric, tidal and biogas are difficult to achieve on a small scale and small budget, wind power has simple requirements that put it within reach of many hobbyists.

The only real requirement is an electric generator and some way to make it turn. These Instructables cover a range of wind power designs, from the traditional turbine-on-a-mast to more unusual vertically rotating generators, that are mostly constructed using simple and easily available tools and materials.

DIY 1000 watt wind turbine by sspence

Chispito Wind Generator by velacreations

Ted Baer's Bicycle Wheel Windmill by dwarren

How I built an electricity producing wind turbine by mdavis19

Windbelt Redux 21st Century Micro Power Generation by Tool Using Animal

Faroun Savonius Wind Turbine by faroun

30 comments

Apr 24, 2010. 11:17 AMmahesh.ganpate says:

can u tell me 5.6 mtr blade balansing mathod and which instrument by uses

Apr 17, 2009. 11:59 AMrhooie says:

I suspect the reason they use AC instead of DC is that AC transmits a further distance than DC. DC you have a voltage drop to contend with. If you transmit AC from the generator and then rectify it near your batteries, you don't have to worry so much about the voltage dropping.

Dec 25, 2009. 5:53 AMStuNutt says:

Voltage drop is not a function of whether it's AC or DC - for the same current and voltage the drop is the same (Current times Resistance). The power loss in the transmission cables is Current squared times resistance.

Power distribution (city power) uses AC because it can easily be transformed up or down in voltage - up to high voltage for transmitting over long distances (because, for a given load, higher voltage means lower current - and hence less voltage drop, and much less power loss) and then down again to 120v or 240v to supply your house (because several thousand volts in the house is somewhat dangerous!)

I believe that the use of alternators in cars came about because it's easier to get an AC alternator to give a suitable voltage (around 14v to charge the battery) at idle speeds as well as at full revs than it is for a DC dynamo.

Apr 8, 2010. 11:41 AMjohn3347 says:

Automotive alternators came into being because the full output power had to flow through the commutator and brushes in a generator. This created maintenance issues. In an alternator, only the field excitation current flows through the brushes and this flows through smooth slip rings which do not make and break current several times per revolution. This elimintes the frequent brush replacement and commutator truing that was previously necessary. (There are other advantages to an alternator over a generator, but this is the primary one)

Mar 2, 2009. 10:19 AMmandable says:

is there any way of using a car alternator instead of a DC motor?

Mar 10, 2010. 9:24 PMbeehard44 says:

i suggest stepper motors, but alternators are also possible...

Jul 16, 2009. 3:59 AMdlomas says:

windbluepower.com

May 24, 2009. 3:00 AMvectrasj says:

You can use a car alternator but with a small 6V DC motor on the same axle for initial dc voltage for rotor (as generator) and with related REGULATOR (14.2V) who come with alternator. DC motor, thru 1A diode connect to thinner + pole of alternator and You will get a 14.2V on the bigger + (at 700+ RPM)!

Mar 2, 2009. 11:13 AM

PKM (author) says:

Car alternators can be used, as they are DC generators, but they are designed to work most efficiently at around 2000-3000 rpm (the RPM of your car engine), so the couple of hundred RPM you typically get from a homebrew wind turbine. You can gear up the turbine to run the alternator at higher RPM but this wastes energy in the gearing system- it is most efficient to use a generator which "matches" your turbine in terms of size and preferred RPM. This is one reason dedicated wind power enthusiasts build their own large-diameter generators which work better at the low RPM wind turbines provide.

Apr 18, 2009. 5:22 PMthe Watcher says:

Car alternators are AC generators with built in rectifer bridges rhat can be removed.

Mar 2, 2009. 11:32 AMmandable says:

I thought that might be the answer. I'm toying with the idea of replacing the stator coil with strong magnets, but its sourcing the magnets in the first place i'm having problems with. i just don't want to chuck my old alternator out, not if i can still put it to good use.

Apr 19, 2009. 3:44 PMpixar5 says:

hi i got 3 alternators cant figure out why i cant spin them to get powerout of them they make it look so easy but cant figure out why i can t get power out spining it hooked up to a battery rubbed against a excersice bike maybe you can help me figure this out if you have time thanks

Mar 25, 2010. 11:33 AMliquidsands says:

the alternator needs to be "fielded". You need to supply 12v dc to the field terminal of the alternator (usually marked with an "F"). Once fielded the unit should continue to produce electricity unitl it stops turning fast enough to function. Of course this all depends on the type of alternator (I.e. internally regulated, exterior, GM, Ford, foreign etc.)

Mar 25, 2010. 11:54 AMliquidsands says:

Note: 12v DC only needs to be touched to the F terminal to start it generating. Leaving it connected continuously will demand full power generation and bypass any voltage regulation in the system.

Mar 3, 2009. 6:54 PMDrop Top says:

u can get powerful magnets out of an old hard drive

Sep 30, 2009. 1:45 PMIts Giggles says:

Any way possible to connect this to the car so that the turbine generates electricity when driving? :P

Apr 18, 2009. 4:02 PMdb_speakers says:

I have some backgound in power gen (I'm an EE). The reason that most home brew wind projects don't specify AC motors is because most off the shelf AC motors are inductive, not PM. In an inductive motor, the rotor receives power from the stator that forms magnetic fields that spin across the stators. If you spin the rotor of an unpowered inductive AC motor there's no electric energy to push back into the system. That being said, there are many inductive DC motors (e.g. squirrel cages) too. So just because you have a DC motor, it doesn't mean that it can generate. Electric generation is inherently A/C, so if you were to wind your own stator/rotor combo, I'd recommend a PM rotor with wound stator. Then use a power bridge rectifier to get your DC out. Hacking alternators is very time consuming because many of them are DC these days. I saw a page a while ago of a guy that pulled the rotor out and put slots in it. He then installed PM's and buttoned it up. Allegedly, it worked, but you know the internet.

Jan 10, 2009. 10:58 PMtlcroz says:

Has anyone made a wind generator with a ac motor???

Apr 15, 2009. 11:42 PMthenonja says:

Lots of wind generators are made with three phase, fixed coil, permanent magnet alternators. It's quite arguably the best way to go... as motors employing brushes suffer from the inherent inefficiency of a brushes dragging.

Feb 28, 2009. 8:24 PMRadioactive_Legos says:

If you were to use an AC motor, you would need to put a bridge rectifier (and probably a smoothing capacitor) between it and whatever you are powering. This converts the AC output of the motor to DC. The smoothing capacitor evens out the voltage (if you were to look at the bridge rectifer's output on a 'scope, you would see it looks like a ball bouncing over the 0 volt marker).

Feb 17, 2009. 3:05 PMDeanC993 says:

HI i would not try! you know you could make your own generator using rare earth magnets and coils, you could get more volts out of dc motors or you can just use a dc motor it is good to use stepper motors( just to let ya know) see ya

Feb 12, 2009. 9:51 PMJusme_Newby says:

Why would you want to use an AC Motor? You would have to apply an outside source voltage to energize the field coil. A PMDC (Permanent Magnet Direct Current) motor is much more efficient. Look at auctions and sales that have computer accessories for a Large-Format dot matrix printer is going. They usually go cheap and the Stepper Motors are good size. Just remember, even a 3.5 kw wind generator will only provide 15 amps at 120 volts, hardly enough to keep a refrigerator running.

Apr 9, 2009. 1:09 PMelwalker86 says:

Correct me if I'm wrong. Wouldn't 15 Amps multiplied by 120 Volts equal 1800 Watts? This is assuming W = V * A. I'm new to the DIY power systems but if you are planning on staying on the grid, I would think this should at least cover the power requirements for a fridge and some lamps when it's running.

Jan 12, 2009. 1:55 PMBus says:

There is 2 guys that sell a kit called Breezy 5.5 that uses a AC motor. Its a larger kit, but they include a full build up and help troubleshoot if you have errors.

Jan 20, 2009. 10:19 PMhoyahoyaman says:

Is there any Instructable on creating the actual power managing system (or whatever it is called) for these kind of alternative energy sources? If i build myself a wind gen, then what?

Jan 21, 2009. 3:54 AM

PKM (author) says:

That's a good point, I tended to focus on Instructables that cover building the actual wind collector in this guide. Assuming you want to use batteries, the battery management part is less open to DIY unless you want to buy components, etch and solder your own PCBs and so on. There are commercial solutions (charge controllers designed for working from wind power) but you will end up paying for them.

How I built an electricity producing wind turbine has some information about battery management systems in it- perhaps you could get in touch with mdavis19 to see how he tackled the problem?

Mar 10, 2009. 9:33 PMgeeker says:

crazy idea on the whole power end of the turbines. Ive seen 'ibles on here on how to make bike generators...now why couldn't you just strap the bike generator to the turbine and call it cool? personaly I plan to go that route .

Jan 5, 2009. 4:00 PMJr Hacking kid says:

your still missing some like how to make a generator from a stepper motor and from the hard drive so please include them too =)

Jan 24, 2009. 11:58 PMcowen says:

There is not much point using those motors for anything practical besides a school project. A wind meter is more of a use. Just do not see a use for such small motors. Build something that will make energy for you.