Wind turbines provide electricity through the power of the wind.
Electric wind generators represent an alternative energy resource for residential settings. Setting up your wind generator system correctly dramatically reduces the required maintenance. Once you construct the turbine, connecting it to your home electricity system is the next step of the process. A bank of batteries help to store up the energy for use as needed. A word of caution, working with electricity carries with it inherent risks and hazards, which are very much present in this job.
Instructions
1. Mount the wind generator on a used television tower. The way in which you mount the generator depends on the generator's design. Some pre-built generator assemblies come with mounts already installed on them. Otherwise, secure home-made mounts by drilling a hole into the hub and bolting the hub to a clamp. Fit the clamp onto the top of the tower. Zip ties represent an alternative means of securing the generator. Weld a bracket onto the bottom of the hub if it is made of metal.
2. Run 12-gauge electrical wiring from the top of the tower to the deep-cycle batteries. Connect the electrical wiring to the turbine. Some turbines may have screw-on connections that tighten with a screwdriver, while others may require soldering. Connect the black wire to the positive terminal and the white wire to the negative terminal. Connect the green wire to the generator's hub to ground the system.
3. Raise the television tower by using a winch, ropes and pulleys. Freestanding towers need footers poured for their posts, while other towers require the installation of guy wires or cables.
4. Connect the 12-gauge electrical wiring to the charge controller, which controls the amount of electricity flowing to the battery bank. Charge controllers have screw-in input ports for the negative and positive wires.
5. Link the charge controller's cables to the battery bank. Most battery circuits for renewable energy systems are connected in a series, which adds the voltage of each battery together. Alternatively, a parallel circuit construction adds the amperage.
6. Wire the batteries into a series circuit with 8-gauge electrical wire by connecting the opposing terminals, positive to negative. Wire a parallel circuit by connecting like terminals, positive-to-positive and negative-to-negative.
7. Connect the power inverter to the battery bank using the thickest AWG cable trimmed to the shortest possible length. Smaller inverters usually connect with terminals by using positive and negative clamps. Larger sized inverters may require installing wires to connect the inverter to the battery banks. Consult with the inverter's manufacturer for exact connection specifications.
8. Turn the inverter on. Plug an extension cord and power strip into your system. Plug appliances into the electric wind generator system.
Tags: battery bank, electrical wiring, wind generator, 12-gauge electrical, 12-gauge electrical wiring