SolarGizmo

Posts Tagged ‘wind turbine’

If you have been considering a wind turbine for your home but have been put of by the high prices involved in buying one why not consider building your own. This blog brings you the best instructional videos from the internet giving information and instructions on how they are built enabling you to have a go at building your own. As they are built from scratch and provide the lists of parts required you could scavenge most of the parts from skips and dumpsters from around your local area. The costs involved are far lower than buying one from a retailer and it gives you the ability to sit back and say “I did that” a sense of satisfaction in the knowledge you have taken one step closer to self sufficiency. REMEMBER THAT ELECTRICITY IS DANGEROUS AND THIS SHOULD ONLY BE ATTEMPTED BY PEOPLE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO CONSTRUCT THEM SAFELY.

PART 1

PART 2

This is a great example of how to build a small wind turbine in you kitchen using recycled parts for a science class experiment. If you arnt technically minded its very simple to do and will give you good results and satisfaction to impress your friends with what you’ve made.

There are many more videos out there and I will be adding them over the next few weeks so keep your eyes open for more guids and hints.

SkyRota installation for Grand Designs and The Radian Project

The first residential Skyrota vertical axis wind turbine installation by Sitec Infrastructure Services, a Cambridgeshire-based company, is to be featured in a future episode of Channel 4s ‘Grand Designs’.   Skyrota has already been seen at places such as this year’s Glastonbury Festival but this is going to be the first permanent installation for this technology.  It was installed in the garden of Dr Jonathan Belsey’s new home, ‘The Radian Project’ in Boxford, Sudbury.

SkyRota at Glastonbury Festival 2009

Skyrota is a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT), Permanent Magnet Generator (PMG) machine, designed and built in-house by LGC in Limavady, Northern Ireland.

The 5kW rated turbine was installed as one of `The Radian Projects` renewable energy technologies and will provide sufficient energy to help power the privately owned 175sq m single story building. With increased interest in renewable energy production the design of the wind turbine is set to be an important focus in the TV programme.

One of the most impressive features of the Skyrota turbine is the near silent operation at all wind speeds, which enables the turbine to be installed in noise sensitive environments such as nature reserves, schools, colleges, offices, or ,as in this, case a home.

The Blades

The blades have been designed using powerful Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software in conjunction with leading Universities. The blades act as an aerofoil which harnesses energy from the wind regardless of direction. Hence, the turbine does not waste energy endlessly trying to ‘hunt’ for the optimum direction. The blades are made from a polymer Kevlar/carbon composite matrix using innovative moulding techniques.

Electrics

The Skyrota electrics are a clever mix of intelligent control systems, which can be tailored to be site specific, making the turbine produce the optimal amount of power for the wind conditions. Various packages can be added to the base specification, i.e. schools packages and remote monitoring

Safety

As with all wind turbines, there is an inherent risk that the blades can over run if the generator stops producing.  This is a real risk which is taken seriously by Skyrota. To insure this does not happen, Skyrota have fitted an electro-magnetic braking system, which will stop the turbine if it goes past 100rpm. The brake will be applied automatically, even if all power is lost.

More information: http://www.skyrota.com/products_5KW.asp

Photo Gallery: http://www.skyrota.com/gallery.asp

SkyRota 5KW