Learn to Build a Wind Turbine

Mother Nature is great that gives us so many resources and that’s all free, specifically energy sources like sun, wind and water. None of them is charged by nature! As the technology is having advancements, people are looking to harness these free energy sources to convert and use them for their domestic appliances. This is the fact that fossil fuel reserves are decreasing and need for alternate energy sources are getting more. Best way is to harness the solar or wind energy.

The renewable energy technology is advancing rapidly. Use of wind turbines is best way to harness the energy.  It was used in old times in form of windmills.  Many home owners are considering to harness wind energy through the help of certain devices.

What is Wind Energy?

Wind energy is a kinetic energy to convert this energy in form of mechanical energy wind turbine is needed. Wind turbine is a device with large vaned wheels and it rotates by wind. Its rotation converts kinetic energy into mechanical energy which then is converted into electric energy through help of generator. The wind energy can be used to run simple machines at home. This will reduce your electric bill.

How to build a Wind Turbine for Home?

Its easy to design a wind turbine for home. You will need this equipment to build a wind turbine:

1-Rods

2-Magnets

3-Bearings

4-Wood planks to construct a frame

5-Copper wire for winding

6-Nuts

7-Bolts

8-Inverter

9-Battery

You will need this equipment to build:

1-Blades

Wood planks will be used to make the blades, with help of a hammer and chisel you can give the blades finishing touch as you desire. 25 mm thickness would be the best for those wood plank made blades. You will have to make a chart for the dimensions of blades so you can make the blades according to your needs which work perfectly. Power tools designed for homes can make your task much easier.  After finishing the blades you will need to set them on a rotor, for that you can use double sided tape. Little chiseled stumps will support the down side of the blade as you plan to fix them on rotor.

2- Rotors

Initially you will need two magnet rotors to be designed. You will need coil winding copper wire which will be placed between the two magnet discs. To make magnetic discs you will need at least 12 magnets that will be used for each disk. First consider the dimensions of milling cutter before drilling the holes for magnetic discs.  After that place the magnets on the disc with help of a strong resin. To make rotor discs you have choice to choose between, medium density fiberboard, iron, stainless steel, or wood. 

The magnetic rotor then will be needed to be drilled as to accommodate 6004 bearing.  The support bearings must be placed on either side of the shaft. The magnet rotor would be designed in such way that it can hold at least 12 magnets.  The magnetic poles on each rotor should be placed like that they attract the magnets on the opposite side.  It should be made sure that weight of rotors should be carried by the bolts to have proper balancing. The hole in the center of the two rotors will secure the stator.

3-Stator

For making stator you will have to work on number of copper wire which will charge the battery. A 12V standard battery you will need for that. You will have to make the coils with help of copper wire, a series of coils in parallel groups.  Winding coils will take little time of yours, but on whole winding coils is the most fun part of this project and you will enjoy that. While winding coils you must keep 200 turns on each coil. 

After winding position the coils and screw down the stator on the board. Fill the joints with resin in other to secure the joints and let the components work smoothly. Now set this your wind energy harnessing design on a testing stick and see look that your battery and inverter harness the wind energy every time when turbine swings.

Your wind energy turbine is ready it is the most reliable source of energy that cost a lot less.

What is Best Buying or Leasing Solar Panel System?

Whether to buy or lease solar panels depends of certain circumstances. It includes financial capacity and location conditions also! One can decide in better manner about leasing or buying the solar panel system. Right financing options varies from person to person. That’s why it’s hard to say that what is best for you that whether to buy or lease solar panel system.

Here comparative conditions are given which will allow you to know what is best buying or leasing solar panel systems.

You can Lease Solar Panel System If….

• You are only interested in using renewable energy and don’t want maximum financial benefits from solar panel system.
• The maintenance responsibility of solar panel system you want to take.
• You don’t want to invest your cash in buying solar panel system.
• You are a low tax payer and you know that you won’t get any benefit from the federal investment tax credits resulting from your investment in solar power system.
• You are not willing to wait for whole one year so that you can have the benefits of tax credits.
• You are having your credit score below 700

Cost for Leasing Solar Power System

Cost of leasing solar power panels is about $3000 that you can get from anywhere.

Maintenance

The maintenance of your solar PV system is always done by the solar power leasing company. Most of companies had developed mobile apps that help you to monitor the performance of you solar PV system.

Drawbacks

The drawback of solar power leasing is that you will not qualify for any tax credits, rebates, depreciation and incentives.

Benefits

In benefits you can have 10 to 50% savings over your utility for electricity and that depends on your location, state incentives or property characteristics.

You can Buy with Cash or Finance with Solar Loan If….

1. Your primary interest is to maximize financial benefits of installing a solar panel system.
2. You can take advantage from reducing the amount of federal and state taxes which you pay have a tax liability. This larger than the amount of credits you can receive.
3. You have enough cash capital that you can borrow or can pay for the solar PV system.
4. You are having a business and know well tax benefits through treating the system as a depreciable asset.
5. You are planning to sale out your home and want to increase its overall value. The solar photovoltaic system will instantly increase the net worth of your house or property.

Cost of Buying Solar Power System

Solar power system’s cost ranges between $15,000 to $ 30,000 without any rebates and incentives.

This cost can be reduced through cash rebates and tax credits. This can take down the whole cost up to 50%. Most of solar installers offer to manage all that paper work regarding incentives and rebates for you.

Tax credits reduce the amount you owe for federal and state taxes. You can reduce your tax withholding or you can claim credit while you file your next tax return.

Maintenance

While you buy the solar PV system so responsibility of its maintenance is on you! But fact is that solar PV systems are highly durable and they have life span of 25 years and solar inverters carry a 10 to 25 years warranty.

There are some little additional costs like tracking the performance of your solar power system online through smartphone or tablet. Those additional costs are round about $100 per year.

Terms & Conditions for Solar Loans

You can get solar loan to purchase solar PV system. These loans are available for 5 to 20 year terms. The interest rates vary from 4% to 8% for credit scores higher than 700.

Benefits

By having solar power system of your own instead of leasing you will qualify for all available cash rebates, federal investment tax credits, state tax credits and other incentives like SRECs.

You can get back 10 to 30% of your investment annually but this depends on your location, state incentives, property and characteristics.

Biggest advantage is that you will get free electricity for 25 to 40 years.

How To Find Best Solar Installer Company?

Solar energy is not anymore an unpopular technology. As of now thousands are using this technology and saving their electric bills. You can go solar by leasing the system or you can buy also. Many states in United States give incentives for going solar.

Buying or leasing is initial part the real thing starts afterwards that how to mount solar panels at your home?  This you can do yourself or you can have services of a professional solar installer company. Ofcourse by doing yourself solar mounting wont cost you any charges. But this do need better skills to do it in perfect manner.

In other case you will have to hire solar installer company’s services. Now the question is that how to find a best or good solar installer company to do the job.

Here are some tips for choosing a best company:

1-Customer Caring  

First of all you will have to see the company is customer caring or not! That you can inquire by the people who already got the services of the solar installer company. A little research about a better company can save you many problems afterwards.

2- Efficient

The company you choose should have to be efficient in its work with better professional approach. Visit different companies and compare them. You will come out with a better result.

3- Professional 

A solar installer company with better professional skills means better return of your money. Because if they are professional then you wont have to tell them more how to mount solar panels. It will be them to tell you that what and how to do it in best way!

4- Knows Better Solutions  

You will have to compare the companies that which one is providing better solutions. Because a solar installer company with better solutions keeps you away from future technical problems regarding solar panels. This will save you future time and worries.

5- Cost Effective & Affordable 

Yes! This is the thing which counts more, you will have to compare their rates. So that you can know which company in best affordable rates is providing services according to your requirements. Utilizing money and your time is better manner is called wisdom.

Photovoltaic Systems and Solar Water Heating

Solar energy is basically the energy which is extracted from sun. Solar energy or sun’s energy can be used for heating, lighting, electricity, cooling, businesses and industries. Day by day energy needs are growing as the human development goes on! Solar energy is not unknown to anyone now. There are different ways to extract and use the sun’s energy. As sun is free source of energy so it will be more beneficial for mankind. Here we will discuss about Photovoltaic systems (Solar Cells) and solar water heating.

1. Photovoltaic Systems (Solar Cells)

Photovoltaic systems or solar cells coverts the sunlight into electricity, these are made of semi conducting materials. They absorb the sunlight, and solar energy lets the electrons loose from their atoms. This process allow the electrons to flow through the photovoltaic cell, in result electricity is produced.

This process of converting sunlight into electricity is called photovoltaic effect (PV).

2. Solar Hot Water

If we check any lake where sun shine perfectly we will judge that shallow water of the lake will be warm, while the depth water temperature will be less. That’s nature’s way of heating water. This tells us that we can use solar energy to heat the water also.

The sun can be used to heat the buildings and swimming pools. The most common water heating systems for buildings have two main parts:

• Solar Collector
• Storage tank

Solar Collector

Flat plate collector is most common solar collector. Flat plate collector is mounted on roofs. Flat plate collector is a thin, flat, rectangular box with transparent cover.  The transparent cover faces the sun which collects the solar heat directly.

There are small tubes which run through the box carrying water or fluid to get it heated. There is an absorber attached with the tubes painted black. The absorber heats up and makes the water heat up in the tubes. 

Storage Tank

After that the liquid is passed to storage tank which hold the liquid. The storage tank is perfectly insulated to keep liquid hot.

Solar water heaters can be active or passive. But most common are the active systems. In active systems usually pumps are used to move the water between tank and collector. On other side the passive heating systems rely on gravity and tendency of water to move as it heat up.

Solar Water Heating for Swimming Pools

Solar water heating systems for swimming pools are simple. Filter pump of the pool pumps water from the solar collector. Solar collector is made of black plastic or rubber. The water from solar collector is pumped into the pool.

Buying Wholesale Solar Panels

Solar power use has become more pronounced in the last few years owing to many factors. An aversion from fossil fuel resources, because of price hike and environmental concerns has prompted many people to shift to renewable energy. To complement, a sharp decline in solar panels prices has attracted many people to solar energy market. The ease of installation and minimal maintenance are other advantages, resulting in the solar panel demand to shoot up.

In particular, home owners are using solar power, for it is usually more economical than the utility power supply. It is ideal to invest in this growing market time. Before you start this business you need to have knowledge of the market and there are a few formalities which need to be fulfilled when you dive into this business.

Below are mentioned a few basics you need to know before buying solar panels:

1. Registration with Internal Revenue Service

Before you embark on to the business of solar panels it is very important that obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service. To buy solar panels in bulk from whole sale dealers you have to be a legitimate business owner. Whether you are a sole business owner, a proprietor ship or a public limited company; this EIN number serves as a business owner identity. This EIN number serves many other purposes for any business. You can get this EIN number free of cost.

2. Obtain Required Solar Licenses

Usually you will need a license to sell solar panels in your area. This is because other regulations have been put into practice for providing incentives to the solar panel consumers. Contact the office of your secretary of state or attorney general’s office for obtaining this license. However there are some states where you don’t need this license but it is better to have precautionary measures taken.

3. Know your Financial Resources

You should be completely aware of what you have in the pocket when negotiating a deal for whole sale solar panels. There are many dealers who will give you the solar panels at retail price by pretending it as a wholesale price. It is very important that you get quotes from several dealers in order to get an idea of the wholesale price. When you know your budget you can negotiate better deals. A legitimate wholesale dealer always asks for bulk supply of solar panels.

4. Ratings of the Equipment

It is very important to know what sort of equipment is required in your area of sale. Some solar panels are capable to supply large amounts of electric power and are costly enough, but may not be required by the majority of consumers. Some solar panels may be too small to pick an electric load of a typical home. Make sure your whole sale supplier provides a variety of solar panels.

5. Search the Internet

In order to get the best deals visit different selling websites. You can also consider the option of importing the solar panels in bulk if feasible. Ask for samples in order to ascertain the quality of panels and the delivery standards of your whole sale dealer.

Best Ways for Solar Panel Mounting

Solar panel is actually used to generate energy. The greatest problem of this century is no doubt the energy crisis so the need of such alternatives automatically increases rapidly. Some types of solar panel mounting systems for homes specifically, are discussed here. They are also known as residential mounting systems.

Checking Your Roof

Before starting off with these systems and getting them installed, you must check the undercarriage of your roof. This can be done by any qualified structural engineer so do get their services prior to the installment. It is not required by every country to have an engineer’s stamp on the building but for a Vibrant, a structural engineer is must.

Building Codes

UBC mandates the techniques and the building materials. It actually stands for universal building code. Codes are given after every few years. When any city or a country decides for adopting a new UBC version, the efficiency varies.

Local buildings code usually has some variations from the standard techniques. People must also consider the fire department and electrical code regulations before the installment.

1. Flush Mount

Flush mount is a standard mounting system. The benefit is that a less space is taken by them and it has the lowest visual impact. If you want to install it, your roof will be penetrated into the joists by using a 5/8” long bolt. A standard roofing sealant is also used. There is a metal of L-shaped foot which is fixed by the bolt. Vents, pipes, and other structures are also used accordingly.

2. Tilt Mount

Metal legs are added to the flush mounting for tilting the tops of the panels. It is done in order to gain a better angle towards the southern horizon. This increases the cost in labor and material but you have a benefit that the output is better. The sun hits the mount at an appropriate angle. Thus the maximum solar energy can be used and utilized.

3. Fin Mount

It is specifically for the slopes which face east or west. So this mount is fixed to get a better angle to the south. Legs of varying lengths are installed and this system is comparatively higher than the other ones.

4. Shadows

There are more than one row in tilt and fin mount system. A separate shadow is cast by each row. That’s why each row must be placed at a reasonable distance so the shadow couldn’t be cast by the southern row on the next one. The slope of the roof and the tilt of the planes determine the distance of the rows.

5. Side Mounts

Cantilevered window can be mounted to almost every building side. But prior to the installment the structural engineer must check the condition of the wall, design process and other factors.

6. Ground Mounts

They normally require digging holes for pouring concrete in them. It is done to secure the poles, rack bases etc.

7. Parking Canopies

It is better to have a covered parking area. So install the solar panels and get the shade.

Top 20 Countries with CO2 Emissions

Every country in the world contribute different amount of heat trapping gases to the atmosphere. The following list of 20 countries for CO2 emissions is compiled by the Energy Information Agency (Department of Energy) that estimates carbon dioxide emissions from all sources of fossil fuel burning and consumption. 

Here is the list of top 20 countries in the world with highest carbon dioxide emissions.  A graph of the top 20 carbon dioxide emitters is also available.

	Country	Total Emissions (Million metric tons of CO2)	Per Capita Emissions (Tons/capita)
1.	China	6017.69	4.58
2.	United States	5902.75	19.78
3.	Russia	1704.36	12.00
4.	India	1293.17	1.16
5.	Japan	1246.76	9.78
6.	Germany	857.60	10.40
7.	Canada	614.33	18.81
8.	United Kingdom	585.71	9.66
9.	South Korea	514.53	10.53
10.	Iran	471.48	7.25
11.	Italy	468.19	8.05
12.	South Africa	443.58	10.04
13.	Mexico	435.60	4.05
14.	Saudi Arabia	424.08	15.70
15.	France	417.75	6.60
16.	Australia	417.06	20.58
17.	Brazil	377.24	2.01
18.	Spain	372.61	9.22
19.	Ukraine	328.72	7.05
20.	Poland	303.42	7.87

The list and the graph compiled by Energy Information agency shows that major carbon dioxide emission are made by developed countries and major emerging economy nations lead in total carbon dioxide emissions. Developed countries are having typically high carbon dioxide emissions and some developing countries lead in the growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions. Obviously these major carbon dioxide emissions by big developed and developing countries are at the core of the challenges the world community faces in finding effective and equitable solutions.

Build Your Own Wind Powered Generator

The modern world mainly relies on fossil fuel energy. But the fact everyone knows fossil fuels have limits and fossil fuel resources are decreasing. They will end, though not now may be in next some hundred or more years they will end. That’s why all developed countries are looking to alternative sources of energy. Renewable energy forms like solar energy and wind energy. Though these forms are yet not in full practical mode but in future they will be having major role in meeting energy crisis.

Wind energy is a renewable energy type and it doesn’t have any emissions. Wind energy is being used by human from centuries in form of windmills and for sailing ships.

Wind power is still used to generate electricity on large scale. But, how you can produce electricity on small scale through wind power? To produce electricity through wind power a wind generator is needed.

What is Wind Generator?

Wind generator is a device which produces the electricity by harnessing the wind. Wind powered generator produces the electricity with the help of wind turbines. Difference is only that in windmills large wind turbines are used while of wind powered generator small size wind turbines are needed. Wind generator harnesses the wind power through wind turbines and that produced electricity is stored in batteries, which is then used to power the electrical appliances.

You can buy a wind generator and you can make your own wind generator also!

Required Material for Making Wind Generator

Components which are needed to build wind generator are:

• Blades
• Generator body
• Motor
• Hub
• Tail
• Batteries
• Wind Generator Diode

Tools which you will need to build wind generator are:

• Saw
• Bolts
• Hammer etc.

The blades which will be needed to make a small wind turbine for the generator you can buy from market or you can make them in home. If you make them in home then probable you will make those blades of wood or PVS pipe. If you choose wood then use cedar wood as it’s strong and flexible.

Making Body and Tail of the Wind Generator

You can make the body and tail of the wind generator from recycled double-wall stainless steel chimney pipe. Double wall stainless steel chimney pipe will work as the body of your generator and it can resist the rough weather.

Building Your Own Wind Generator

You will need following things to build your own wind generator:

1. Motor

To build your own wind generator you will have to get the motor which is rated for high DC voltage, low RPM and high current. Size of motor can vary as it depends on the size wind blades of your made up wind turbine. Usually a motor above 40 volts is considered good for making of wind generator. Construct the hub of generator from a circular piece of steel. Blades and motor will be attached with the hub with help of bolts. Batteries are needed to store the electricity which is produced by the generator.

2. Batteries

Batteries will be attached with generator by a thick wire. Batteries are very sensitive to excessive heat or cold so place them on a place where weather doesn’t have affect on them.  The best place will be such place for the placement of batteries where you can keep an eye on them for monitoring.  You will also need a wall meter so that you can know whether batteries are getting charged or not.

3. Wind Generator Diode

The wind generator diode will be attached with the generator as it will allow you to monitor the current flow. You can monitor the wind generator current flow by the help of generator   diode which will show that current flowing is on right direction which is towards batteries and toward generator.

4. Inverter

You will also need a good quality inverter which you will have to attach with the batteries. The inverter will convert the DC current into AC so that appliances in your home can use that power.

Bottom Line

Though yet wind energy is having major part in meeting energy challenges of world. But use of wind energy is growing rapidly around the world. Statistics of last five years shows that use of wind energy had got doubled in these past 5 years.  It is a solid fact that wind energy is environment friendly.