Zero Is The New Black

Wind power is the result of converting the wind into a much more useful form, such as electricity. A wind turbine is usually used for this. Wind power is great for locations that have average wind speeds of greater than ten mph. You get free electricity. By following these simple instructions to build a wind generator, you will no longer have to rely so much on fossil fuel for electricity.

Creating homemade electricity is simple in windy areas. It can be produced using your own residential wind generator.

Materials you will need:

- Treadmill motor
- Plastic 2-liter pop bottles
- A steel bicycle frame
- Zip ties

Instructions to build a wind generator:

1. Find a motor from a treadmill. You can often find one in a dumpster at apartments near colleges. Other sources of this motor can be Freecycle and Craiglist. Spinning this motor using an external source can produce electricity.

2. Fuse the motor onto the axle of a bicycle pedal (the pedal should be removed).This involves scaffolding to be built for alignment. Mount the motor housing by fusing a pipe to bridge the area starting at the frame on the way to the motor housing, making sure that the motor is resolutely in position. The housing should not spin while the axle of the motor does.

3. Make the blades by zip-tying plastic from the pop bottles at an angle between the spokes for the wind to make the wheel whirl. The pop bottle plastic is detached by winding a 2-inch strip from the bottle in a spiraling path that permits a long strip to be sliced. The zip ties should be linked through holes in the plastic that can be done by using a hole punch. If there is still a gap that must be filled on the spoke because the plastic is too short, continue filling it with another piece of plastic that is zip tied in place. There must be an area of the wheel that is enclosed with these blades that is 33% of the whole face of the wheel that the wind will shove.

4. Make sure the blades do not come in contact with anything as they turn. Also insure that this device is out of reach, especially by children because the blades could injure them. Save on space by cutting down the rest of the bike. Mount the generator up high. The generator will produce a sound, which could scare away animals, but may also annoy your neighbors (only you can decide if that is good or bad).

5. Place the generator on the highest place possible. Place the wires starting at the generator towards the preferred site for power. Do not charge batteries on this because they might not get charged and run the motor instead. Ask an electrician if you want to charge batteries with the generator.

By following these instructions to build a wind generator, you will find that making your own residential wind generator is fun and easy.

Read our DIY Power System review to discover the many other advantages of diy solar and wind power.