Building a Wind Generator Guide

How Much Power?

Ahh, the first step on a new journey. Before we jump into building a wind generator you'll need to do a little background work first. The most important is to figure out how much energy you want your wind generator to produce. First though, we have to check and make sure that wind energy is right for you. Read more »

Do You Need Permits?

Now comes our favorite part of building a wind generator. Do you need permits? Are you allowed to put a wind generator up in your municipality? These questions are very easily answered and the good news is that the people you will be in contact with actually want to help you (which is great for us). Read more »

Finding The Grants

Before we start building a wind generator it's always best to see if we can find some free money from the government. The United States has been really on the ball with renewable energy grants, and I'm sad to say that Canada hasn't been quite so proactive. Read more »

Wind Generator Motor "Cogging"

There is a little known effect in electric motors know as "cogging". If you're selecting a motor for your wind generator you need to know what cogging is and how it will affect which wind generator motor you should buy. Read more »

What Type of Motor To Use?

The motor is the heart of your wind generator and with all the different kinds of motors available to you what type is best for your purposes? In this step we'll be covering the different types of motors and the pros and cons of using them. Read more »

What's Tip Speed Ratio (TSR)?

I've had a couple people ask me what tip speed ratio is and why it's important in wind turbines. The tip speed ratio is simply a number from 0 - (theoretically a huge number, but usually 8 - 10) which tells you how fast the blades are moving in relation to the wind speed. Read more »

Building The Blades (if building your own)

Alright, so you've decided to take the plunge and build your own blades. This page will cover building pvc and wooden (coming soon) blades. You'll need some tools for this step which we'll go over, but you'll feel a real sense of accomplishment when you're finished... I know I did. Read more »

Finishing Touches To The Blades

Now that your blades are all measured and cut out we need to make some finishing touches before we mount them on the hub. This step will make your blades more aerodynamic as well as pretty up your blades. Read more »

Making The Wind Generator Hub

Well, we've finished making the blades, and now we need some way to connect our blades to the motor. There's actually two things you need to do before you can attach the blades to the motor. In this step we're going to be making a hub that we can attach our blades to. Read more »

Mounting The Blades On The Hub

Now that you've got your hub and blades built you can attach them together. After this step it's going to start looking like a wind generator. This is the step where you'll start to feel like you've accomplished something because up until now we've been building parts... now it's time to put them together! Read more »

Starting The Wind Generator Body

Well, now that we've attached the blades to the hub we need to build the body of the wind generator so we can attach the hub. In this step we're not going to be building the entire body we're only mounting the motor so we can attach the blades and balance them. Read more »

Balancing PVC Wind Generator Blades

Arguably one of the most important steps when building a wind generator using PVC blades is balancing them. If you don't balance the blades your wind generator will 'wobble' and can cause serious damage to it or you (if a blade breaks). Balancing PVC wind generator blades is easy so let's get at it. Read more »