7/1/08

 

 

 

Why would anybody want to build a windmill? The question is simple enough, if not a little obscure. The truth is, windmills are popping up across the globe to help cover the costs of skyrocketing electric bills. They are giving energy to villages in Africa and powering cities and towns in America and Europe. Most of these windmills power part of the electric grid, but it is also economically viable to have one for your personal energy needs. Personal windmills can power anything from a cell phone to an entire house. U.S. electric companies are also required to buy any excess energy from you (if the windmill is tied into the electric grid).

I'm not quite sure what possessed me, but once I thought of making a windmill, there was hardly anything else I could think of doing. I was in the Bahamas over spring break, and after hearing about the costs of energy, I started thinking of ways that could reduce the living costs down there. Solar panels would work, but the initial cost versus the energy savings would take a long time to balance out. Geothermal might work, but is not something just anybody could do since specialized machines are required to install it. The only viable option left was windmills. I figured if I could design and make one myself, almost anybody could.

 

My original design was extremely detailed and larger than the one I built at Phelps. It might seem to defeat my original purpose since the one I built cannot power a house, but I still have plans for the original blueprints. The new, smaller model charges a boat battery (there are tons of these in the Bahamas) that could be tapped for power later, so you are not depending on the wind speed to have lighting in your house. For me, this was the best part of the whole thing.

 

Designing this was an amazing experience; I finally got to apply some of the math I had learned over the years. I also had a great time learning new things, such as some basic principals of electro-magnetics and some of Betz's equations when it came to designing the blades (unfortunately, I was not able to shape them out of wood the way I wanted, I ended up using cut-out sections of PVC).

 

The final product was easy enough to build, but time consuming, especially when you have just revised your blueprints and have to get your supplies on other people's schedules. All of the materials the windmill consists of is steel pipe, steel cable, some scrap metal welded together, some PVC pipe and a pre-made alternator, charge controller and battery (the alternator and charge controller are possible, and preferable, to build by yourself). Oh, and don't forget the nearly 800 pounds of cement I used! This part was very fun, also. I went from using my knowledge to design it, to actually seeing the knowledge take action in the 'real' world. It worked beautifully.

 

If you would like to learn more about how the windmill functions, I will be sending Mr. Chirieleison all the details; I am sure he would be more than happy to share them with you. Building this thing was just as fun as designing it, and I hope everyone gets a chance to experience something like this at some point in their lives.