Interest in alternative energy is gaining momentum. With the depletion of non-renewable energy sources like oil and gas, it becomes more necessary for us to find other energy sources, preferably renewable. The two most practical renewable energy is the sun and wind. The good news is that these days we have the technology to generate power from both these renewable energy sources. Actually, you can generate your own free electricity from solar and wind power.
Here's how I made mine.
My solar panel consists of 36 solar panels, which I bought from eBay for under $ 200. I learned that I needed to connect them in series, which means that the front of a cell connected to the back of the next. Each solar cell is supplied with two tab lines (very conductible flat wires) used to connect the cells. I soldered each cell to the next and made a series of 6x6 cells. So I glued it on a base that I fit into a shallow plywood box as I did earlier. Remember to coat the entire field and base with weather resistant paint, then they would be exposed to the weather. Once these have been done, I tested solar panel before mounting it on my roof. Success! My solar-generated 18.8-volt electricity on a sunny day.
Before you connect my solar panel to a battery, I installed a blocking diode in the circuit to prevent battery from discharging back into the solar cell night. So I installed my solar panel on my roof. The panel is connected to my 12V battery via a charge controller. And then I connected the battery to an inverter to change the DC power to AC, so I could use it to power my appliances.
Next, I tried to make a windmill. It is a little harder, but I still made one that works fine.
I went back to eBay and bought me some turbine blades and engine (I recommend Ammeter motors). So I turned the blades on the hub of the engine exactly 120 ° apart. The hub is connected to the motor shaft and when the blades turn the shaft is also, and electricity. I went on to build a body that can house my engine and protect it from rain. I spent a large PVC pipe and cut it down lengthwise. That way it could be wrapped around my motor with the blades coming out one side. At the other end I attached a wind vane so that it can face the direction from which the wind came. The whole engine must be able to rotate, so I attached a flange at the bottom and spent some lazy susan bearings to be rotatable. So I needed my tower.
For a tower, I used an old TV tower, which I had before I switched to satellite TV. But before installation of the engine on top, I had to connect the motor to my battery. Since it would be constantly turned into the wind, I had to use an electric rotary connector. So I mounted the motor on top of my tower. Once again, the engine is connected to a diode, a charge controller and a battery.
That's it! Simple, right? Of course there are the minor details, but they are just that .... less. All the major steps have already explained. Think you can build your own energy-generator? Of course you can. If a non-craftsman like me can do it, so can anyone.
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