Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category

After yesterday post, here is a new one with another map but this time for the wind power system. if you are building a wind turbine in order to make your own energy, check this map to know more if your place of living is suited for that.

Check this video on how to build wind turbine at home

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In the current climate of global warming and economic crisis, more and more people are becoming interested in DIY homemade energy alternatives. Of all the various alternatives out there DIY solar power kits are gaining the most popularity.

There are now a plethora of DIY Solar power kits guides available, in particular on the internet and they are proving to be hugely popular as people strive to help the environment out and of course save themselves some money to help get through these tough times.

One question must be answered though; do these DIY Solar power kits actually save you enough money to make them a worthwhile investment?

It was with this in mind I undertook my own project to generate homemade energy and see if it made a noticeable difference in my energy expenditure. After some research I purchased a guide via a web site and set to work following the plans and instructions included. Materials were quickly and easily gathered from my local hardware store for around $220. Assembling the kit was almost child’s play, I even had my son help out.

As for energy savings, I would estimate we are using around 60% less conventional power from the grid and we are even selling our excess back to the company. For our household this translates to savings of around $1200 per year, and as I add more panels I would forecast we could save close to the 80% many guides proclaim. As you can see that is a pretty impressive saving.

One thing I would say is crucial is to get yourself a good guide, after assembling my project a neighbour undertook her own homemade energy project and the guide she got came from a different website, to say it was hard to follow would be a massive understatement, it was junk. I’ve included some links below to help you find a good guide.

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Here is a short post on why to create your own home power system.

DIY solar electricity has become more popular in the last few years. With increasing living costs and huge electricity bills running into hundreds of dollars every month, DIY electricity is not only viable, cost-effective but also environmental friendly. It is an answer in the form of a better solution to electricity grids powered by fossil fuels.

If you’re still wondering if it is possible to generate your own power you should know that it is possible, in fact anyone can build their own renewable energy system right in their own backyard. A DIY solar guide could help you make an up and running solar electricity system.

You only need to make sure that you have the necessary tools and a good DIY guide to walk you through every step. This enables you to efficiently complete you DIY solar electricity project even if you are not the DIY type just as long as you have all the components that you’ll need at hand.

I can recommend a couple of resources to find useful information that will help you in the area of DIY solar electricity and start building your own solar and wind power systems with ease. The web also offers hundreds of tools, resources and even cheap components that you can use.

There are also some scam sites or ebooks that don’t clearly list the information you need to build your own renewable energy system at home. I know a couple of people who have been scammed into buying information that failed to deliver. On the other hand, there are excellent DIY solar guides online but you need to know where to look.

In today’s world the best way to reduce your power bills is to build your own renewable sources such as solar power and wind power systems. You can reduce your monthly bills by 80% or even eliminate them. In fact you can even lease out electricity to your neighbors and even the power company itself. All you need to do is to get hold of the right DIY solar electricity guidebook and you are ready and set to build your solar panels at home.

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Here is a great short post about how to build solar power system for home in 2 easy steps.

1. The first step is to integrate the basic components including the solar plates, photovoltaic cells and semi conductor block. The solar plates should go on top of the photovoltaic cells. Wires should be soldered on the two receiving ends of the two components. 
   After which, the semi conductor block goes underneath the two and is connected by large amounts of conductor wires. This step is very critical since sunlight conversion is the first and most important step to generate electricity
   The first three parts should be attached firmly to each other after wires connecting them have been secured. The plates should be positioned towards a good angle with the sun. This will enable maximum withdrawal of the sun’s energy to occur.

2. The second step is the connection of the converter to enable filtration of the energy in which non electronic components would be removed. This is exceptionally important due to the fact that impurities could cause power surges and disruption. The converted power should only contain a concentrated amount of electrons. 
   The last step is the integration of the battery. The battery absorbs the concentrated electrons. By this time, the sun’s energy is now in the form of electricity. At least 10 to 15 batteries should be used to maximize storage. The electricity contained is now considered the raw power, which could power any electronic device or appliance.

By adhering to these simple steps, anyone could easily establish a reliable do it yourself solar power source. Many books and Internet websites contain all the necessary information regarding instructions on the assembly of this renewable power source. It is not only sensible, but also ecologically viable. It helps pollution and impurities from contaminating the environment, since power plants are very damaging to the different aspects of ecology. You should think about reverting to solar power. It would save not only your pockets but also the planet.

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How do Wind Turbines Work

Wind turbine is a common view in some landscapes. When you tavel acroos NEvada toward Las Vegas or in Scandinavian countries you will be able to see huge wind turbines generating electricity.

 Making power  from the wind is a clean energy source for many years now. The technology is simple and requires basic understanding of how it works.

Many home owners added small scale wind turbine  at their premises and by that they are generating homemade electricity.

Here is a great article about how wind turbines work 

Wind turbines convert kinetic energy in wind to mechanical energy that can be utilized for many purposes. Read on to know how wind turbines work.
How do Wind Turbines Work

There are two types of wind turbines, classified based on the axis in which the turbine rotates viz. horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT) and vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT). Among these two, turbines that rotate on horizontal axis are more popularly used than vertical-axis wind turbines. Both the wind turbines work in the same fashion. Let’s take a look at the machinery and working of wind turbines.

When we see a wind turbine, the most significant component is the tower that holds the blades. The efficiency of wind turbines to some extent depends on the height of the tower. In other words, the tower height should be such that the blades can make use of the available wind energy to maximum amount. Following are the machinery of wind turbines:

• Blades or rotor (either two or three)
• Brake (to stop turbine rotation in emergencies)
• Anemometer (for measuring wind speed)
• Controller (regulates the turbine)
• Gear box (to start the machine)
• Generator (for producing electricity)
• High-speed and low-speed shaft (to drive generator)
• Nacelle (houses the turbine and is placed on top of the tower)
• Pitch (for controlling the direction of blades)
• Tower (houses the rotor)
• Wind direction (upwind turbine)
• Yaw drive (required for upwind turbine and is used to regulate rotor direction)
• Yaw motor (powers the yaw drive)
• Wind vane (to measure wind direction)

The working mechanism of wind turbines is very simple. In a wind turbine, the blades are positioned at 45-degree angle, so as to capture maximum kinetic energy from wind. As the broad surface of the blade faces the wind, it creates a positive pressure on the front when the wind hits the blade. This pressure creates a suction behind the blade, which turns the rotor. When wind accelerates and reaches a certain speed (four meters per second), the blade gradually rotates and produces mechanical energy.

The energy produced is then converted into electricity via the generators and stored in batteries for further use. The amount of energy production depends on the rotational speed of turbine, which in turn is directly proportional to the speed of wind. The turbine speed can even reach to about 250 kilometers per hour. However, at very high speeds, the rotation of the blade is ceased with the help of brakes; otherwise, there are chances that strong winds may rip off the turbine blades.

As we have discussed, wind turbines make use of renewable energy source to produce electricity without the emission of greenhouse gases. One can install smaller wind turbines at home to supply power for air conditioner (AC) or inverter. In recent times, wind turbines are gaining popularity to combat global warming and carbon dioxide production in the atmosphere, yet providing energy to meet our lavish lifestyles.

You can watch this great video on  how wind turbines work 

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How To Build Diy Solar Panel!

These days plenty of people are moving to renewable energy sources like the power of the sun. You can also utilize great and free energy thorugh solar panels. the only problem is that the solar panels cost a lot of money and this is probably why a lot of people choose to build it alone in a DIY method for new solar panel!

Probably the best reason to do it yourself solar panel  is the money. IT can actually save you thousands of dollars per year. A good and solid built solar cell can cover your entire needs for home energy consumption. Just envision: you do not have to pay for electricity anymore because you make enough of your own and the nicest thing is that the source which is the sun, is free. All you need to do is to build do it yourself solar panel  !

To build a solar panel  you’ll need two main things (beside the desire to do it but if you are reading this it means that you already have this) and that is components and good guide.On the components part you will need simple materials like plywood, glass of sheet,copper wires and the photovoltaic cell. The photovoltaic cell is the small component and its role is to convert the solar energy into electricity.

The second important component is a good guide on how to build it yourself . A good guide will make the proccess a lot easier. with a good guide all you need to do is to simply follow up on the instructions and the videos. Great guide will take you step-by-step through the entire process. the thing that you’ll never beleive is that you can complete it all in 2 days !!! And it only costs you less then two hundred dollars. So when you make the cost vs. the benefits the message is clear – GO BUILD YOUR SOLAR POWER.

If you are interested, Check this guide to know more on how to build homemade solar panels !

Watch this great video about solar panels and what they can do for your pocket and to our environment

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