The demand of alternative sources of energy has risen considerably in the last few years, corresponding to a progressive awareness of the threat of global warming. Wind has always been used as a source of power generated by windmills. But now it is considered to be an effective source of power at homes as well. The inherent speed of the wind has a kinetic energy which is tapped and converted to electricity. This process is done through a wind turbine, a machine that uses rotational motion to generate power. If you think that building a wind turbine at home is a difficult task, you need to have a look at the Power4Home guide to make a home wind generator.

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In order to produce electricity form wind energy the wind needs to be of a certain speed. You will be better off if you stay at a place which is windy all through the year. Also, the area where you stay has to have a fair amount of open space so that the wind is not blocked or its speed is not hindered by any structure whatsoever. Once you have ensured these criteria, you can resort to building your own wind generator with the help of Power4Home.

Making a home wind generator need not be an expensive process. The tools and equipment that you require for this are quite simple. If you have Power4Home to guide you through the process, you are likely to get your own power supplier sooner than you think!

What Do You Need?

To construct a wind generator, a device that can successfully convert wind energy to electricity, you need the following:

o A bicycle frame made of steel

o A treadmill motor

o Zip ties

o 2 liter pop bottles made of plastic

With ingredients as basic as these you can start off in your endeavor to make your home wind generator. You can get hold of most pf these in your garage or from a store that sells spare parts. As far as the treadmill motor is concerned, you can look for it in trash containers outside colleges or you can run a search for the same on the Web. It shouldn't be too difficult to obtain a treadmill motor. When you have all these items at your disposal you can start with the actual process of making a home wind generator. Power4Home will be your constant guide.

How Do You Make a Wind Generator at Home?

Building a wind turbine at home is not as daunting a task as it may seem. Once you understand the concept and the principle on which it works, you will be able to do it pretty easily. Basically there is a shaft that is rotated by propellers to convert the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity. The crux is to fix the shaft in a way that it is easily moved by the speed of the wind. For this you need to place the turbine at a stipulated height, preferably on a tower so that it is completely exposed to the wind. The higher you place the turbine, the more electricity you produce. Let's have a quick look at how you can make the wind generator:

o Weld the treadmill motor onto the axle of the bicycle frame after you have removed the pedals from the same. This will enable the shaft to rotate.

o With the zip ties and the plastic bottles you can make the blades. But make sure that you fix these at an angle where the wind speed can easily spin them.

These are the two main steps that you need to follow while you make your home wind generator with the help of Pwer4Home. This is simple, easy and convenient, isn't it?

Although wind energy is not yet being utilized to its full potential, the growth of this industry has led to a marked decrease in energy generation costs over the last couple of decades. While its cost effectiveness is increasing with maturity, it is still important to note that there has already been a substantial eighty to ninety percent reduction in the cost of installed wind power over the last twenty years. Innovation and growth in wind energy generation over the years will ensure continuity in the trend of falling costs.

Even though it is still not considered a mainstream source of power, there has been an approximate increase in wind power capacity of more than 30% per capita, in the last five years in the United States alone. It is also important to note that by the end of 2008, the United States overtook Germany as the country with the most wind power capacity installed globally. Moreover, wind power was second only to natural gas in terms of new power capacity, amounting to about 42% of the total new power capacity added in the US in 2008. Nations around the world are now striving to develop and understand the full potential of wind energy, both economically and environmentally.

The development of wind energy is not only proving to be a financially viable option, but also one that can be highly beneficial in windy areas as well as to self-reliant small scale farmers, ranch owners and the like. A growth in this industry will also help generate more employment opportunities. A number of factors need to be taken into consideration, in order to understand what affects, contributes to, or detracts from the cost effectiveness of wind farming.

Financing and Ownership: One of the most important factors in determining the cost efficiency of wind power generation is finance. Since most wind farming projects tend to be owned by individual energy suppliers, financing could run higher than mainstream power sources. This is because utilities and investor owned set-ups obtain provisions for lower cost financing and interest rates. Therefore, when projects are utility owned they tend to be cheaper. Also, since wind energy generation is still not considered part of the norm by many, these stakeholders are not offered as many financial benefits by lenders, unless utility owned. To provide an idea of cost, a wind farm currently costs anywhere from 1.8 to 2.3 million dollars per installed megawatt (MW). While these costs are still higher than constructing a coal or natural gas fired generation facility, there are numerous incentives and long term benefits as explained further below.

Inflation: Wind power is one of the few energy sources that does not depend on oil or fuel for production. Therefore, the ups and downs that affect fuel prices do not affect this industry. Once the plant is built, and the costs are known and fixed, fuel prices that rise due to inflation do not affect the cost of energy. This makes wind power almost immune to inflation. Additionally, due to the huge savings from the non-dependence on fuel, the amount of capital employed and expenditures on new technology get adjusted over time.

The speed of wind at a given location: The speed of wind varies at different geographical locations. The energy harnessed at any given wind power site is dependent on the cube of the wind's speed; so when there is an increase in speed, there is an exponential increase in energy generation. Therefore, a wind turbine faced with a faster wind velocity would be more productive with the same infrastructure costs, making the operation considerably more cost effective.

Turbine design: The height of the turbine tower as well as the span of its rotor blades affect the output generated. The taller the tower and wider the area covered by the blades, the higher the productivity. Keeping these factors in mind, developments in blade design, electronic systems as well as other components have helped reduce costs. Also the bigger, newer turbines found today generate a lot more electricity as compared to older models, and at a reduced cost.

The scale of the project: Large scale wind farms are now being offered many incentives (such as grants, subsidies, loan guarantees etc.), which help lower energy costs. Also, transactions and management costs can be covered by the sheer number of kilowatts of power produced per hour as compared to those in a smaller wind farm project. Large scale wind farming puts this sector in the same competitive sphere as other power generation industries.

Policies: Various policies including tax and environmental policies have varied impacts on wind power generation. These policies do affect market access, transmission, incentives and the basic economics of wind farming. Since, it is not possible to give an accurate number of an hourly delivery of electricity due to wind variability; providers are sometimes penalized, irrespective of whether they actually affect the utilities costs of obtaining power. Also they are often faced with the lack of proper standardization or varied demands from utilities. However, a rebuilding of the electricity markets and extended power purchase agreements will continue to contribute to improving the cost efficiencies of wind power projects. The federal tax code also has provisions for a production tax credit for wind power. However, these policies and credit provisions need to be consistent and long-term to have any real positive impact on this industry.

Environmental benefits: Wind power compared to other conventional sources of power is extremely environmentally friendly. It does not depend on fossil fuels nor does it produce any harmful by-products. The economic and environmental costs incurred during the initial set-up period is somewhat nullified over a few months of operation. While producing the same amount of energy in a given period, 샌즈카지노 fuel emits copious amounts of pollutants into the air creating a very dangerous carbon footprint. In turn, wind farming does not adversely affect the quality of life of people or wildlife, thanks to the lack of harmful wastes. Also, as mentioned earlier, since it does not depend on fuel or lack thereof, it will be a lot more cost friendly in the long run both ecologically and financially.

Wind Integration: In order for wind energy to become a major player in energy supply, there needs to be an efficient integration of wind power into the main power grid. Due to the variability