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Solar panels that capture the abundance of energy sent to us each and every day can be just the relief we need from the high cost of electricity. It almost seems like a crime to turn our backs on this wonderful gift of more free energy than we can possibly use. This is especially true today because it is possible to build your own solar panel with simple tools for less than $200. These homemade solar generators are capable of reducing household electricity costs by 50% or more.
How Do Solar Panels Work?
Photons, the energetic particles found in sunlight, strike the individual solar cells and bump electrons out of place. The electrons are, in effect, pushed out of the cell and into the wires that connect all the cells together. Ideally each cell will generate about .5 volts of electrical pressure. 80 solar cells wired together in one panel should generate about 100 watts of power.
The Secret Of Making Cheap Solar Panels
The secret to making an inexpensive solar panel is in scrounging low cost or free solar cells. The lower the cost of this project the faster it will pay for itself. Using your own labor to assemble free solar cells into just one panel should pay back the original costs in just a few months. Buying a brand new pre-assembled and installed panel for over a $1000 might take 5 -10 times longer.
The Parts Of The Complete Solar Panel System
Plan A: This is the simplest system. The direct current DC electrical output from the solar panel goes to a bank of deep cycle batteries for storage. The batteries are then connected to an inverter that converts the DC Current to the kind of alternating current that most household appliances require. This is then wired to directly power a specific group of appliances completely separate from the house wiring.
Plan B: Takes the above system a step further by connecting to the electrical wiring in your house at the main fuse box. Legally, this step almost always has do be performed by a certified electrician. Some power companies will actually pay you in the form of energy credits for sending excess energy back out into the grid.
Plan C: This system works completely off the grid for homes that have no electric power coming to their home at all. The key element here is to have back-up sources of power interconnected with the solar panels for supplying power on days that there is no sun. Windmill generators and gas powered generators often serve as additional sources of power.
The Advantages Of Solar Panel Systems
Besides providing almost free electricity, solar panel systems are quiet, non-polluting, low maintenance, safe and if properly weatherproofed could last up to 50 years. They can also be a life saver if you live too far from the electric grid to economically afford to extend the transmission lines to your location.
If you tie into the electric grid, it is even possible to get paid by the power companies for any electricity generated over and above your personal needs.
The Need For A Good Plan
Despite the simplicity of a building your own solar panels, it is important to have a complete set of plans. Good plans should, at the bare minimum include the following:
1. Ideally these set of plans will originate from authors that have successfully built and used solar panels themselves. 2. The plans should give a brief background of simple electrical terms like watt, volt and amps. 3. A detailed explanation of the different types of solar cells and exactly where to find them. 4. Wiring diagrams for understanding how to wire the individual cells together. 5. How to build a protective case. 6. How to run this power into your house directly to certain appliances or to hook up to the current household wiring.
The simplicity of capturing the sun’s daily gift of free energy to reduce or even eliminate your electric bill is almost unbelievable. Equally amazing is the fact that we live in an age of abundant free and low cost used solar cells. Don’t you think that it is time to solve your own energy crisis instead of waiting for our Government or the Power Companies to fix it? Take the easy first step and grab a set of plans for building your own solar panels.

How to Build Own Wind Turbine – Step by Step Instructions

Step by Step Instructions for making your own 4/6 foot Wind Turbine

To build own wind turbine from used materials is something useful and very environmental oriented. It shows how much we care about our environment. Most of the tools and materials you need, can be found in your local hardware shop or junk pile. We highly recommend you search your local dump and/or junkyards for the materials required. The wind turbine built with these instructions, used the motor on eBay for $10 plus shipping and the PVC pipe for the blades from a junk pile. The tail is made from an old roller paint pan.

Safety should be your highest priority. Human life is more important than electricity, so please work safely.

SUPPLIES

build own wind turbine

A 260 VDC, 5 A continuous duty Treadmill Motor with a 6 inch threaded hub is best suited for a small wind turbine. These motors are available from most motor surplus stores and on eBay. You can get about 7 amps in a 30 mph wind. In other words, it is a simple, cheap little machine to get you started.

You may use any other simple permanent magnet DC motor that returns at least 1 V for every 25 rpm and can handle upwards of 10 amps. If you do, there will be certain changes to this supply list, for example, you may need to find a hub – a circular saw blade with a 5/8″ shaft adaptor will usually work well as a hub.

Tools

• Drill & Bits
• Jigsaw with a metal blade
• Wrench
• Flat Head Screwdriver
• Crescent Wrench
• Vise and/or Clamp
• Wire Strippers
• Tape Measure
• Marker Pen
• An extra person helps a lot!

Mount

• Square Tubing or “L” tubing
• Floor Flange – or a rotating dolly wheel with a hole in the centre (picture the wheels on a grocery
• 4 inch Nipple
• 3 X 3/4 Self-tapping Screws
• Note: if using a dolley wheel, you won’t need the nipple and flange as the dolley wheel bolts to the tower and to the DC motor directly.

Motor

• 260 VDC, 5 A continuous duty Treadmill Motor with a 6 inch threaded hub
• 30 – 50 Amp Blocking Diode (one-way)
• 2 – 5/16 x 3/4 Motor Bolts
• PVC Pipe – to cover the motor

Tail

• 1 sqft (approx) lightweight material (metal) – used roller paint tray will work
• 2 – 3/4 Self-tapping Screws

Blades

• 24″ length of 8″ PVC Pipe (if it is UV resistant, you will not need to paint it
• 6 – 1/4 X 20 Bolts
• 9 – 1/4 washers
• 3 sheets A4 paper and tape

Cutting The Blades - makes 8 blades (or 2+ blade sets) and a thin waste strip.

Read through the instructions a couple of times. I have created a separate page, with pictures, and expanded on this process for making the blades as itcan be difficult to understand these instructions without the illustrations. See the link at the bottom of this article.

1. Place the 24″ Length of PVC pipe and square tubing (or other straight edge) side by side on a flat surface. Push the pipe tight against the tubing and mark the line where they touch. This is Line A.
2. Make a mark near each end of Line A, 23″ apart.
3. Tape 3 sheets of A4 paper together, so that they form a long, completely straight piece of paper. Wrap this around the section of pipe at each of the two the marks you just made, one then the other. Make sure the short side of the paper is straight along Line A and the paper is straight against itself where it overlaps. Mark a line along the edge of the paper at each end. Call one LineB and the other Line C.
4. Start where Line A intersects Line B. Going left around Line B, make a mark at every 145 mm. The last section should be about 115 mm.
5. Start where Line A intersects Line C. Going right around Line C, make a mark at every 145 mm. The last section should be about 115 mm.
6. Mark each line using a straight edge.
7. Cut along these lines, using the jigsaw, so that you have 4 strips of 145 mm and one strip about 115 mm.
8. Take each strip and place them with the inside of the pipe facing down.
9. Make a mark at one end of each strip 115 mm from the left edge.
10. Make a mark at the other end of each strip 30 mm from the left edge.
11. Mark and cut these lines, using the jigsaw.

Sanding the Blades

You should sand or grind the blades to achieve the desired airfoil. This will increase the efficiency of the blades, as well as making them quieter. The angled (leading) edge wants to be rounded, while the straight (tailing) edge wants to be pointed. Any sharp corners should be slightly rounded to cut down on noise.

Cutting The Tail

The exact dimensions of the tail are not important. You want about one square foot of lightweight material, preferably metal. You can make the tail any shape you want, so long as the end result is stiff rather than floppy.

Drilling Holes in Square Tubing – using the 5/16″ drill bit

1. Place the motor on the front end of the square tubing, so that the hub part hangs over the edge and the bolt holes of the motor face down.
2. Roll the motor back so you can see the bolt holes, and mark their position on the square tubing.
3. Drill a 5/16″ hole at each mark all the way through the square tubing.

Drilling Holes in Blades - using the 1/4″ drill bit

1. Mark two holes at the wide end and along the straight edge of each of the three blades. The first hole should be 3/8″ from the straight edge and 1/2″ from the bottom. The second hole should be 3/8″ from the straight edge and 1 1/4″ from the bottom.
2. Drill these 6 holes.

Drilling and Tapping Holes in Hub - using the 7/32″ drill bit and 1/4″ tap

NOTE: You may want to modify these instructions. Try replacing the hub with an old, used 7 1/4 inch skill saw blade. The larger surface area will give you more space to screw or bolt the blades to. I also used 1/4 inch bolts rather than tapping holes. I’ve also see old aluminum frying pans used for this purpose. They are light and solid!

1. If the Treadmill motor comes with the hub attached, take it off, hold the end of the shaft (which comes through the hub) firmly with pliers, and turn the hub clockwise. This hub unscrews clockwise, which is why the blades turn counter-clockwise.
2. Make a template of the hub on a piece of paper, using a compass and protractor.
3. Mark 3 holes, each of which is 2 3/8″ from the center of the circle and equidistant from each other.
4. Place this template over the hub and punch a starter hole through the paper and onto the hub at each hole.
5. Drill these holes with the 7/32″ drill bit.
6. Tap the holes with the 1/4″ x 20 tap.
7. Bolt the blades onto the hub using the 1/4″ bolts. At this point, the outer holes have not been drilled.
8. Measure the distance between the straight edge of the tips of each blade. Adjust them so that they are all equidistant. Mark and punch each hole on the hub through the empty hole in each blade.
9. Label the blades and hub so that you can match which blade goes where at a later stage.
10. Remove the blades and then drill and tap these outer three holes.

You now have all the parts you need. For final assemble instructions (and a review of the above instructions with lots of pictures) please take a look at this website: http://www.greenterrafirma.com/DIY_Wind_Turbine.html.

It includes several more pictures to aid with the final assembly and an additional section on Towers. These plans are provided free of charge.

Enjoy!

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How to Build a Small Wind Turbine – Step by Step Instructions

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Footnotes:

If you find above instructions not so clear then for much easier Do It Yourself Guide to make green power in your home please visit Green Power Easy DIY Guide. This is so far the latest and easiest DIY Guide available online. It provides you with a lot of video guides. Not only explaining build own  wind turbine but also homemade solar panels. Go check  it now. Green Power Easy