How to build electricity producing Wind Turbine and Solar Panels

I decided to produce this fact sheet because I was getting a little tired of seeing so called wind
turbines and how to build them. The fact is that its not as hard as you may think, but there are
major pitfalls to avoid that others dont tell you. So, I have put this document together using my
26 years of knowledge in the field of electronic engineering and wind turbines.
I will not only cover the building of the wind turbine, but also the building of the controller,
inverter, solar panels and considerations when making one. I will explain these terms later in the
document.
Using this document, and a little skill and patience I will guide you step-by-step to build your
own 1KW wind turbine. I will also provide you with schematic diagrams of the controller and
inverter. This will allow you to build a HYBRID system that you can add solar panels to and
increase efficiency.
Please note that, unlike other claims, this will not power your entire house, however it will be
enough to save you up to 75% off your electricity bill. (Dependant on your usage.)

Chapter 1- Building the turbine.

First, let me set some guidelines:

Automotive Alternators need to spin at a very high rate of speed to produce a

useful amount of power. Most wind turbines will not move fast enough for them
to work. Also, these alternators require permanent magnets to be installed. This
can be done, but it is very time consuming and not cost effective. Therefore,
automotive alternators are NOT ideal for this purpose.

When putting your wind generator in the air, please consider this: It is NOT a
good idea just to stick a big metal pole in the air. WHY? I hear you ask. Well God
in his ultimate wisdom occasionally sends storms our way, accompanied by
thunder and LIGHTNING. So when building your wind turbine please remember
to ground it or you will find that if lightning does strike, all your hard work will
go up in smoke literally.

You cannot just plug your wind turbine into the GRID to offset your electricity
bill. You will need specialized equipment like synchronous inverters and transfer
switches, and a licensed electrician to interface a wind or solar system with your

house wiring safely and legally. Do not attempt to do it yourself unless you really
know what you are doing and have obtained all the necessary equipment and
permits. In some areas some work may have to be done by a licensed electrician.
Check your local codes.

The Voltage output from the wind turbine varies wildly with wind speed. You
would be very liable to damage the inverter or other appliance by running it
connected directly to the wind turbine without a battery bank and charge
controller in the system. The load from the battery bank smoothes out the Voltage
to something the inverter can handle, and provides power during periods of little
or no wind.

What we are going to cover is:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

A generator
Blades
The Mounting
The Tower
Batteries and electronic control system

The first thing you need is a permanent magnet DC motor. There are lots of brands and
models of permanent magnet DC motors that will work well as generators. But some motors are
a lot better than others. When used as generators, motors have to be driven far faster than their
rated speed, to produce anything near their rated voltage. So, what you are looking for is a motor
that is rated for high DC voltage, low rpms and high current. Steer away from low voltage and/or
high rpm motors. You want a motor that will put out over 12 Volts at a fairly low rpm, and a
useful level of current. So a motor rated for say 325 rpm at 30 Volts when used as a generator,
could be expected to produce 12+ volts at some reasonably low rpm. On the other hand, a motor
rated at 7200 rpm at 24 volts probably won't produce 12+ volts as a generator until it is spinning
many thousands of rpm, which is way too fast for a wind turbine. So shop for motors
accordingly. A lot of people seemed to like to use old computer tape drive motors (surplus relics
from the days when computers had big reel to reel tape drives). The best apparently are a couple
of models of motors made by Ametek. The best motor made by Ametek is a 99 volt DC motor
that works great as a generator. Unfortunately, they are almost impossible to locate these days.
There are a lot of other Ametek motors around though. A couple of their other models make
decent generators and can still be found on places like EBay.
I have seen them, used, for around $26.00. They do not go cheap these days, as everyone and his
dog wants to build a wind turbine, so shop around. You will find one.
Ok, so you have been shopping and you have come home with a nice new motor. First we need
to build the blades. I have been asked, on many occasions, how many blades are needed. Well
my answer to this is 3. Any more than that seems to reduce the torque required even though the
speed increases. Under load, any more than 3 blades actually reduce their effectiveness.

What you need to start is some ABS piping, at a length of about 24 and 6 in diameter. If it is a
little shorter or longer its not critical, though the longer the blades the thicker the pipe will have
to be. If you havent got any on hand a piece from your local hardware store is very inexpensive.
Start by quartering a 24 inch long piece of pipe around its circumference and cutting it
lengthwise into four pieces. Now you have 4 pieces. Cut the blades out, see picture below. Once
you have completed the first one it may be used as a template for the remaining 3. This will give
you four blades, 3 to use and one as a spare.

Do a little extra smoothing and shaping using a belt sander or palm sander on the cut edges to
make them into better airfoils. It helps if each blade is of the same size and shape. The more
exact you get the blades, the better the balance of the unit.
The next step is to make a hub to bolt them to. Use a 5 disk to attach them too. In the photo
below, I used a toothed pulley that fit on the motor shaft. It was a little too small in diameter to
bolt the blades onto. So, I used a scrap disk of Aluminum 5 in diameter and inch thick that I
could bolt the blades onto, but wouldn't attach to the motor shaft. The simple solution of course
was to bolt these two pieces together to make the hub. How you do this, and what with, are not
important as long as the disc you use is strong.

Shown above are the two discs I used. Much drilling and bolting later I ended up with a hub like
in the picture below.

It is now time to attach the blades you have made. It should look something like below. Be as
precise as possible to get the blades evenly spaced! This is important. If they are off, the turbine
will either not spin or shake itself to bits. So take your time, and get the measurements as
accurate as possible. I have not added measurements or diagrams because I have no idea on the
size of your disk or blades.

You should have professional looking blades and a hub. Now, about spinners. These are center
covers that go over the hub. They add more cost, and they disrupt the air flow unless you get a
cone shape. So leave this part alone, and leave the blades as they are. It adds a lot of work and
the benefits are minimal. But as I have said before, this is your project and it is entirely your
choice.
Now you need a mounting for the turbine. To keep it simple, just strap the motor to a piece of
2 X 4. Just pick the best looking piece of 2 X 4 from the wood pile. Then use a piece of 4 inch
diameter PVC pipe to make a shield to protect the motor from weather. For a tail to keep it
turned into the wind, use a piece of heavy sheet aluminum. This works just fine. The turbine will
turn into the wind every time it changes direction. I have added a few dimensions to the picture
below. These measurements are not critical. Go with what you have on hand and adjust it
accordingly.

Below is another view to help you construct yours.

When you have your platform built, the motor is strapped good and tight, and you have made a
tail it should look similar to the one pictured above. Now we need to attach it to the tower or
pole.
Again it is up to you how you do this, but I will give you some ideas.
One inch diameter iron pipe is a good slip-fit inside 1 1/4 inch diameter steel EMT electrical
conduit. You can use a long piece of 1 1/4 inch conduit as the tower. Place 1 inch pipe fittings at
either end. For the head unit attach a 1 inch iron floor flange centered (picture was 7 1/2 inches
back) from the generator end of the 2X4, and screw a 10 inch long iron pipe nipple into it. The
nipple will slip into the top of the piece of conduit I'd use as a tower and form a nice bearing.
Wires from the generator would pass through a hole drilled in the 2X4 down the center of the
pipe/conduit unit and exit at the base of the tower. (See picture below)

Again I have added a measurement to the picture to give you some idea. For the tower base, cut a
2 foot diameter disk out of plywood, and make a U shaped assembly out of 1 inch pipe fittings.
In the middle of that assembly put a 1 1/4 inch Tee. The Tee is free to turn around the 1 inch pipe
and forms a hinge that allows the tower to be raised or lowered. Then add a close nipple, a 1 1/4
to 1 reducing fitting, and a 12 inch nipple. Then a 1 inch Tee between the reducer and the 12 inch
nipple so there is a place for the wires to exit the pipe. I also later drilled holes in the wooden
disk to allow me to use steel stakes to lock it in place on the ground. (See picture below)

This photo below shows the head and base together. You can begin to see how it will go
together. COOL YES????

I used a 10 foot pole to attach these pieces together. Also it is a good idea to paint the whole
thing to protect it from the elements. If you have used a wooden platform, like me, it will not last
long if exposed to the elements.
Now comes the time when you get your finished hub and blades and attach them to the head unit.
(See picture below) As you can see below it looks good. Now to test to see if it spins. Put the
head unit on the pole and hold it into the wind. It is not a good idea to hold it above your head
and test this. Please DONT. You will find it starts spinning and now your holding a unit with
spinning blades that could well cause you some mischief. Trying to complete the project without
your head, fingers or an arm could prove to be difficult. When using the pole method of testing,
make sure that you stop the head from turning by locking it down. The reason for this is that
when you take it down, you will need to manually turn the head out of the wind so the blades
will not get damaged. If you do accidentally damage a blade, remember you have the spare you
made earlier.

Now its time for the electronic part of the project. I should point out, that I am not going to
teach you electronics. All I can tell you is that you can go one of two ways. You can either buy
the completed units cheaply (EBay) or you can build one. It is not a cop out to buy the next
part. You have already saved yourself hundreds of dollars. However if you choose to build the
electronic units, using the schematics I provide it will take moderate skill and knowledge to do
so, but its a hell of a lot cheaper. If your into this sort of thing then you should already have the
tools required.
A wind power system consists of the wind turbine, one or more batteries to store power
produced by the turbine, a blocking diode to prevent power from the batteries being wasted,
spinning motor/generator, a secondary load to dump power into when the batteries are fully
charged, and a charge controller to run everything.
Whether you build your own, or buy one, you will need a controller for your wind turbine. The
general principal behind the controller is that it monitors the voltage of the battery(s) in your
system and either sends power from the turbine into the batteries to recharge them, or dumps the
power from the turbine into a secondary load if the batteries are fully charged (to prevent overcharging and destroying the batteries).

The above schematic shows the simple charge controller circuit. The incoming battery voltage is
divided in half by a pair of 3.3K resistors, so the trip points are adjusted to one-half the desired
levels. The actual trip points will depend on your particular batteries, but a good starting point is
14.5 volts for full-charge and 11.8 volts for discharged. In this case, the trim pots should be
adjusted to read 7.25 volts at TP-A and 5.9 volts at TP-B. You will probably need to monitor
your battery voltage through several charge - discharge cycles to determine the perfect trip points
for your system.
The outputs of the controller are latched, and drive a pair of IFR510 power FETs, which serve as
relay drivers. If you use a double-throw relay, only one output is necessary, since the relay can
switch the incoming power to either the batteries or the alternate load as required. The second
output can be used to switch a small 12 volt DC muffin fan to vent hydrogen gas from the battery
enclosure to prevent the danger of explosion when charging the batteries.
The two push-buttons provide a way to toggle the output manually when the battery voltage is in
the "null zone" between the trip points. By momentarily pressing one of the buttons, the output
state will reverse and latch. A 1K resistor prevents a dead short, just in case someone decides to
press both buttons at once!
Below is what the finished board looks like:

Since the incoming power is produced by several different types of solar panels and homebuilt
wind generators with each producing different voltages, they can't just all be hooked together...
each has it's own blocking diode in series with the positive lead. When the battery is charging,
each source is pulled down to the battery terminal voltage, so each source contributes whatever
current it's capable of producing. Each blocking diode has to be sized for the current that source
can generate. The negative lead from each source is connected to ground.

This is a picture of the controller (see Below).

I just bolted everything to a piece of plywood for testing purposes. Later it was mounted in a
weather-proof enclosure.
The little perf-board in the lower center with the ICs and other bits on it is the actual controller
circuit. The silver bracket below it holds two buttons that allow me to manually toggle the unit
between charging batteries and dumping power to a secondary load. The big black heat sink on
the lower left has two 40 Amp blocking diodes bolted into it. I am only using one right now, but
I could easily add a second wind turbine or even a photovoltaic solar panel to the system using
the second one. The double row of gold rectangles across the top is a dummy load made up of
high-Wattage resistors. It has taps at 2 Ohm intervals. I use it as a secondary load to dump power
from the turbine into, when the battery is fully charged. I also use it for testing purposes to load
test the turbine. Eventually excess power from the turbine will be dumped to something more
useful like a water heater or a second battery bank. Below and to the left of the dummy load is
the main fuse for the wind turbine. The small gray cube is a 40 Amp SPDT automotive relay (the
only part I had to purchase) which sends the turbine power either to the batteries or to the
dummy load. Along the right side is the terminal block, which connects everything together.

In operation, the wind turbine is connected to the controller. Lines run from the controller to the
battery. All loads are taken directly from the battery. If the battery voltage drops below 11.9
volts, the controller switches the turbine power to charge the battery. If the battery voltage rises
to 14 volts, the controller switches to dump the turbine power into the dummy load. There are
trim pots to adjust the voltage levels at which the controller toggles back and forth between the
two states. I chose 11.9V for the discharge point and 14.8V for the fully charged point. These are
best for lead acid batteries. When the battery voltage is between 11.9V and 14.8V, the system
can be switched between either charging or dumping. A pair of push buttons allows it to be
switched between states anytime, for testing purposes. Normally the system runs automatically.
When charging the battery, the yellow LED is lit. When the battery is charged and power is
being dumped to the dummy load, the green LED is lit. I also use my multimeter to measure both
battery voltage, and turbine output voltage. I will eventually add either panel meters, or
automotive-style voltage and charge/discharge meters to the system. We will do that once we
have it in some sort of enclosure.
I used my variable voltage bench power supply to simulate a battery in various states of charge
and discharge to test and tune the controller. I could set the voltage of the power supply to 11.9V
and set the trim pot for the low voltage trip point. Then I could crank the voltage up to 14.8V and
set the trim pot for the high voltage trim pot. It is best you do this on the bench, as trying to do it
in a field environment is a little difficult.
Now below is the final circuit schematic for the controller section.

.
It only varies a little bit from the one above. I substituted a few parts I had on hand for ones in
the original design. That way I only had to buy a few things to build the controller. You could do
the same. It is not critical to exactly duplicate this design. I used a different op-amp chip and a
different MOSFET than the original design. Most of the resistor values are not critical. If you
have the knowledge to do so, feel free to substitute.
Also below I am adding a schematic for a 1KW inverter. How long this runs depends on how
many batteries you have in your battery bank. The more the merrier. Also this part can be
purchased from EBay, if you do not feel like building one yourself. An inverter allows you to
convert the power stored in the batteries into useable 120V AC or, if you are located in a country
where the standard voltage is 240V AC. however, the transformer on the diagram needs to be
changed accordingly.

Parts
Total Qty.
Description
Substitutions
C1, C2268 uf, 25 V Tantalum Capacitor R1, R2210 Ohm, 5 Watt Resistor R3, R42180 Ohm, 1
Watt Resistor D1, D22HEP 154 Silicon Diode Q1, Q222N3055 NPN Transistor (see "Notes")
T1124V, Center Tapped Transformer (see "Notes") MISC1Wire, Case, Receptacle (For Output)

Q1 and Q2, as well as T1, determine how much wattage the inverter can supply. With Q1,
Q2=2N3055 and T1= 15 A, the inverter can supply about 300 watts. Larger transformers and
more powerful transistors can be substituted for T1, Q1 and Q2 for more power.
The easiest and least expensive way to get a large T1 is to re-wind an old microwave
transformer. These transformers are rated at about 1KW and are perfect. The bigger the
microwave the bigger transformer. Remove the transformer, being careful not to touch the large
high voltage capacitor that might still be charged. Next, remove the old 2000 V secondary, being
careful not to damage the primary. Leave the primary intact. Now, wind on 12 turns of wire,
twist a loop (center tap), and wind on 12 more turns. The gauge of the wire will depend on how
much current you plan to have the transformer supply. Enamel covered magnet wire works great
for this. Now secure the windings with tape. Thats all there is to it. Remember to use high
current transistors for Q1 and Q2. The 2N3055's in the parts list can only handle 15 amps each.
Remember, when operating at high wattages, this circuit draws huge amounts of current. Don't
let your battery go dead :-).

Since this project produces 120 VAC, you must include a fuse and build the project in a case.
You must use tantalum capacitors for C1 and C2. Regular electrolytic will overheat and explode.
And yes, 68uF is the correct value. There are no substitutions. This circuit can be tricky to get
going. Differences in transformers, transistors, parts substitutions or anything else not on this
page may cause it to not function.
If you want to make 220/240 VAC instead of 120 VAC, you need a transformer with a 220/240
primary (used as the secondary in this circuit as the transformer is backwards) instead of the
120V unit specified here. The rest of the circuit stays the same. But it takes twice the current at
12V to produce 240V as it does 120V.

OK. You have not electrified yourself, the house is still standing and the fire department has
not visited your house. You are doing well and you deserve to be praised. Again the Inverter can
be purchased off of EBay, but if youre confident enough to build the controller, the Inverter is
easy.
Below is how it all goes together, also I have added a further schematic of a controller with
Meters added so that a visual charge and discharge can be easily seen.

Eventually the Dummy load can be extended as a further battery bank. As money becomes
available you should use DEEP CYCLE batteries. These last a lot longer.
Also you can see on the block diagram above that this HYBRID controller is being utilized not
just for a wind turbine, but also for solar panels. I will next go into how to build you own solar
panels which will increase the efficiency of your system.
Before I move on, and I have mentioned this before. When erecting your wind turbine,
REMEMBER TO GROUND THE POLE. You do not want to be touching the pole during a
lightning storm, nor do you want to the surge to go to your controller. SO make sure both are
grounded well with the thickest wire you can. I have used a metal stake; approx 4 foot in length
hammered into the ground and connected the grounding wire to this. I used two, one for the
controller and one for the turbine pole. Also it is a good idea to use tension cables to support
your structure. How you do this is entirely up to you. It may be that your pole is solid and does
not require them. But if it is bending at all in the wind, then you do need them. You can use
metal tension wire. This will double as the grounding as well as give you turbine support. Please
remember that the turbine swings around in the wind, so leave enough room on the tension wire
to allow the head to move freely. I have been asked about the twisting effect on the wire inside
the pole. Well I havent found this to be a problem. If it does become a problem, it is still only a
matter of disconnecting one end and un-twisting it.

Chapter 2: Building Solar Panels.

The main stumbling block to building solar panels is acquiring solar cells at a reasonable price.

New solar cells are very expensive, and can even sometimes be hard to find in quantity at
any price.
Blemished and damaged solar cells are available on EBay. EBay and other places at a
fraction of the cost of new perfect cells. These second-rate solar cells can be used to
make a solar panel that would work just fine.

Once I came to the realization that I could use blemished and factory-second solar cells, I started
by buying some solar cells off of EBay.

I bought a couple of bricks of 3 X 6 mono-crystalline solar cells. It takes a total of 36 of these

type solar cells wired in series to make a panel. Each cell produces about 1/2 Volt. 36 in series
would give about 18 volts which would be good for charging 12 volt batteries. (Yes, you really
need that high a Voltage to effectively charge 12 Volt batteries) This type of solar cell is as thin
as paper, as brittle and fragile as glass, and are very easily damaged. Some solar cells are dipped

in wax to stabilize them for shipping. The wax is quite a pain to remove. If you can, find cells for
sale that aren't dipped in wax. Keep in mind though that they may suffer some more damage in
shipping. Notice that these cells have metal tabs on them. You want cells with tabs on them. You
are already going to have to do a lot of soldering to build a panel from tabbed solar cells. If you
buy cells without tabs, it will double the amount of soldering you have to do. So, I recommend
paying extra for tabbed cells.
I also bought a couple of cells that weren't dipped in wax. These cells came packed in a plastic
box. They rattled around in the box and got a little chipped up on the edges and corners. Minor
chips don't really matter too much. They won't reduce the cell's output enough to worry about.
These are all blemished and factory seconds anyway. The main reason solar cells get rejected is
for chips. So what's another chip or two? All together I bought enough cells to make 2 panels. I
knew I'd probably break or otherwise ruin at least a few during construction, so I bought extras.

There are lots of other sizes of solar cells besides 3 X 6 inches available. You could use larger or
smaller cells for your panel. Just keep a few things in mind.

Cells of the same type all produce the same voltage no matter what size they are. So the
same number of cells is always needed.
Larger cells produce more current (Amps) and smaller cells produce less current.
The total power your panel can produce is determined by Amps X Volts.

So using bigger cells produces more power, but the panel will be large and heavy. Using smaller
cells keeps the panel small and light, but won't produce as much power. Mixing cell sizes is not
a good idea. The current your panel can produce will be limited by the smallest cell in the group.
The cells I settled on are 3 X 6 inches in size and are rated at roughly 3 amps. Wire 36 of them in
series to get a little over 18 volts. The result should be a panel capable of delivering almost 60
Watts of power in bright sunlight.
A solar panel is really just a shallow box. So I started out by building myself a shallow box. I
made the box so the sides wouldn't shade the solar cells when the sunlight is at an angle. It is
made of 3/8 inch thick plywood with 3/4 X 3/4 pieces of wood around the edges. The pieces are
glued and screwed in place. This panel holds 36 3 X 6 inch solar cells. I decided to make 2 subpanels of 18 cells each just so make it easier to assemble later. So there is a center divider across
the middle of the box. Each sub-panel will fit into one well in the main panel. (see Picture
Below.)

The side pieces are by and go all the way around the edges of the plywood, and there is a
piece across the center to divide the panel into two sub-panels. This is just the way I chose to do
it. There is nothing critical about these dimensions, or even the overall design. Feel free to
deviate in your own design.

Here is a close-up showing one half of the main panel. This well will hold one 18 cell sub-panel.
Notice the little holes drilled in the edges of the well. This will be the bottom of the panel (it is
upside down in the photo, sorry). These are vent holes to keep the air pressure equalized, and to
let moisture escape. These holes must be on the bottom of the panel or rain and dew will ruin the
inside. There must also be vent holes in the center divider between the two sub panels. I
recommend that the vent holes are at least in diameter.
Next, I cut two pieces of peg-board to fit inside the wells. These pieces of peg-board will be the
substrates that each sub-panel will be built on. They were cut to be a loose fit in the wells. You
don't have to use peg-board for this. I just happened to have some on hand. Just about any thin,
rigid and non-conducting material should work.

To protect the solar cells from the weather, the panel will have a plexi-glass front. Here two
pieces of scrap plexi-glass have been cut to fit the front of the panel. Glass could also be used for
this, but glass is fragile. Hail stones and flying debris that would shatter glass will just bounce off
the plexi.

Next I used several coats of paint to protect the wood from moisture inside and out. The type of
paint and color was scientifically chosen by shaking all the paint cans I had laying around in my
garage and choosing the one that felt like it had enough left in it to do the whole job.

Dont forget to paint all the wooden parts. Be sure to paint them on both sides or they will curl
when exposed to moisture. Curling could damage the solar cells that will be glued to them.
As I said above, getting the wax off the cells is a real pain. After some trial and error, I came up
with a way that works fairly well. Still, I would recommend buying from someone who doesn't
dip their cells in wax. The first step is a bath in hot water to melt the wax and separate the cells
from each other. Don't let the water boil or the bubbles will jostle the cells against each other
violently. Also, boiling water may be hot enough to loosen the electrical connections on the cells.
I also recommend putting the brick of cells in the water cold, and then slowly heating it up to just
below boiling temperature to avoid harsh thermal shocks to the cells. Plastic tongs and spatulas
come in handy for teasing the cells apart once the wax melts. Try not to pull too hard on the
metal tabs or they may rip off. I found that out the hard way while trying to separate the cells.
Good thing I bought extras.

Here are some separated and cleaned solar cells drying on a towel. Once separated from their
wax stabilized brick form, they are amazingly fragile and difficult to handle and store. I would
recommend leaving them as bricks until you are ready to install them in your panel. That way
you won't wreck them before you get to use them. So build the panel first. Now it's time to start
installing them in the panel.

I started out by drawing a grid pattern on each of the two pieces of pegboard, lightly in pencil, so
I would know where each of the 18 cells on them would be located. All 18 cells on each half
panel need to be soldered together in series, and then both half panels need to be connected in
series to get the desired voltage.
Solder tabs onto the backs of all the solar cells. Then glue all the cells down in their proper
places and solder the tabs together.
Soldering the cells together was tricky at first, but I got the hang of it fairly quickly.

I used a low-Wattage soldering iron and fine rosin-core solder. I also used a rosin pen on the
solder points on the back of the cells before soldering. Use a real light touch with the soldering
iron. The cells are thin and delicate. If you push too hard, you will break the cells. I got careless a
couple of times and scrapped a couple of cells. Thats why its important to purchase extras, this
will happen!
The three strings of cells need to be wired in series. So the middle string needs to be rotated 180
degrees with respect to the other two. I got the strings oriented the way I wanted them (still
upside-down) on top of the pegboard panel before the next step of gluing the cells in place.

Gluing the cells in place proved to be a little tricky. I placed a small blob of clear silicone caulk
in the center of each cell in a six cell string. Then I flipped the string over and set in place on the
pencil line grid I had laid out earlier. I pressed lightly in the center of each cell to get it to stick to
the pegboard panel. Flipping the floppy string of cells is tricky. Another set of hands may be
useful in during this step.
Don't use too much glue, and don't glue the cells anywhere but at their centers. The cells and the
panel they are mounted on will expand, contract, flex and warp with changes in temperature and
humidity. If you glue the cells too tightly to the substrate, they will crack in time. Gluing them at
only one point in the center allows the cells to float freely on top of the substrate. Both can
expand and flex more or less independently, and the delicate solar cells won't crack.

Here I used copper braid to interconnect first and second strings of cells. You could use solar cell
tabbing material or even regular wire. I just happened to have the braid on hand. There is another
similar interconnection between the second and third strings at the opposite end of the board. I
used blobs of silicone caulk to anchor the braid and prevent it from flopping around.
Now, time to build the other half.
Once I had two half panels complete, I could install them in their places in the main panel frame
and wire them together.
Each of the half panels dropped right into their places in the main panel frame. I used four small
screws (like the silver one in the photo) to anchor each of the half panels in place.

Wires to connect the two half panels together were run through the vent holes in the central
divider. Again, blobs of silicone caulk were used to anchor the wire in place and prevent it from
flopping around.
Each solar panel in a solar power system needs a blocking diode in series with it to prevent the
panel from discharging your batteries at night or during cloudy weather. I used a Schottky diode
with a 3.3 Amp current rating. Schottky diodes have a much lower forward voltage drop than
ordinary rectifier diodes, so less power is wasted. Every Watt counts.
My original plan was to mount the diode in line with the positive wire outside the panel. After
looking at the spec-sheet for the diode though, I decided to mount it inside since the forward
voltage drop gets lower as the temperature rises. It will be warmer inside the panel and the diode
will work more efficiently. More silicone caulk was used to anchor the diode and wires.

I drilled a hole in the back of the panel near the top for the wires to exit, and put a knot in the
wires for strain relief. Then, I anchored them in place with yet more of the silicone caulk.
It is important to let all the silicone caulk cure before screwing the plexi-glass covers in place. I
have found that the fumes from the caulk may leave a film on the inside of the plexi-glass and
the cells if it isn't allowed to thoroughly cure in the open air before screwing on the cover.

I added a polarized two-pin Jones plug to the end of the panel wires. A mating female plug will
be wired into the charge controller I use with the controller I made earlier, so the solar panel can
supplement its power production and battery charging capacity. If you have built you own or are
using a ready- made controller then use the appropriate fittings for connection.
The reason I used the male plug on the solar panel is because there is a much greater danger of a
short circuit on the cable going to the charge controller and battery bank. The solar panel can
only supply 3 Amps to a short circuit at most. The battery bank though could pump hundreds or
possibly thousands of Amps through a short circuit. That is enough energy to do serious damage.
So I put the female end on the cable to the charge controller. Still, I agree that it is dangerous to
have a male plug on the solar panel. On a recent trip to Radio Shack I found this sort of plug. It
only cost a few bucks and will solve the potential short circuit problem. When unplugged,
neither end can short out.

Here is the completed panel with the plexi-glass covers screwed into place.

The Aluminum tape makes the panel look a lot more professional.

So there you have it. All you have to do is connect this alongside the wind generator and you
have a good system. There is no reason why this cannot be expanded and you should consider
doing the following upgrades.

Mount the electronics in a weather-proof enclosure.

Add meters to monitor battery voltage and charge/discharge current.
Add a tachometer so I know how fast it is spinning.
Add more batteries to increase reserve storage capacity.
Add a second wind turbine or solar panels to increase power production.
Get a higher Wattage inverter.
Some method to automatically furl or brake the unit in high winds.
A concrete foundation for the tower.
A taller tower with steel stakes and steel guy wires.

I have added a picture below of the Controller in its housing:

OK. Well done!!!! Now youre on the way to saving this planet. I hope this guide has helped to
be confident enough to construct your own. Just remember, ELECTRICITY CAN KILL so be
safe with your tools and be safe when handling any live circuit.
Well, thats it for this book. I hope that you have enjoyed finding out that its easy. Just please
remember before connecting to the grid, check local codes and regulations. Make sure you have
a qualified electrician to do the job in hand.
I will not be held responsible for any injury or damage to property from the use of the
information contained in this book. It is your responsibility to take the proper safety precautions
when building any structure or using any tools of any kind. STAY SAFE!! Its the only way to
LIVE!!!
Any reproduction, retransmission, republication, or other use of all or part of any document found
on this book/CD/e-book is expressly prohibited, unless prior written permission has been granted
by the appropriate copyright owner. All other rights reserved.

EXTRA STUFF
Here is some bonus information for those of you who are a little more technical.
Basic BLADE DESIGN
With this rather simple method we over the years have made very efficient blades (Cp-max
measured = 0.46). Do not be afraid of the mathematics. There are only 6 formulas and a couple
of curves. All Calculations can be performed by hand or by the means of a pocket calculator, a
spreadsheet or another small computer program.
In this case we start with known generator data. Alternatively you can also start with known
wind, rotor or profile data. The formulas are all there.
1. INPUT DATA
The metric (m) system is used.
1000 meter = 0.625 US miles
Power is measured in Watts (W)
1 HP = 736 W
PM-generator.
220 W at 700 rpm (revolutions per minute)
2 bladed rotors (approx)
VELOCITIES IN THE ROTOR PLANE

The wind speed "V" is slowed down in the rotor plane. Energy is extracted. The wind speed after
the rotor is approximate. 1/3 x V (max. efficiency).The blade, however, does not "see" the wind
from the direction, it actually comes, because the blades rotates through
the air with a tip speed "V tip". This creates the resulting wind

speed "V res". You can construct "V res" as shown in the vector drawing above
We start by selecting a value for the Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) which is defined as
(Formula 1) :
TIP SPEED RATIO (TSR) =
(tip speed of blade)/(wind speed).
The tip speed ratio is a very important factor in the different formulas of blade design.
Generally can be said, that slow running multi bladed wind turbine rotors operate with tip speed
ratios like 1-4, while fast runners use 5-7 as tip speed ratios.
Ian Cummings wants to cut a two bladed rotor. This rotor type usually runs very fast, so let's
choose a tip speed ratio of 7.

MATCHING FORMULAS
The task is now to fit the known generator capacity and revolutions to the wind speed and to the
swept rotor area. Two formulas are needed:

(Formula 2) :
Power (W) = 0.6 x Cp x N x A x V3
(Formula 3):
Revolutions (rpm) = V x TSR x 60 / (6.28 x R)
Cp = Rotor efficiency
N = Efficiency of driven machinery
A = Swept rotor area (m2)
V = Wind speed (m/s)
TSR = Tip Speed Ratio
R = Radius of rotor
Rotor efficiency can go as high as Cp = 0.48, but Cp = 0.4 is often used in this type of
calculations.
This concept works without transmission. If a transmission with an efficiency of 0.95 was to be
included this means that
N = 0.95 x 0.7
Tip speed ratio "TSR" = 7"
Wind speed "V" = 8.6 m/s
Rotor efficiency "Cp" = 0.4
Generator efficiency "N" = 0.7

Swept rotor area "A" = 2.11 M2

Radius of rotor = 0.82 m
Revolutions = 701 rpm
Power output = 226 W
It took about 20 minutes to perform these calculations and make them match on the pocket
calculator. A simple spreadsheet can also be useful.
5. SELECTING BLADE CHORD AND PROFILE
The width of the blade is also called the blade chord. A good formula for computing this is:
(Formula 4):
Blade Chord (m) = 5.6 x R2 / (i x Cl x r x TSR xTSR)
R = Radius at tip
r = radius at point of computation
i = number of blades
Cl = Lift coefficient
TSR = Tip Speed Ratio
As can be seen from formula (4) we need to know the lift coefficient "Cl " in order to compute
the blade cord. This means that we have to select a profile. A lot of good profile data can be
found in model airplane (gliders) literature
NACA 2412 Profile

The side facing the wind is flat, which makes the profile easy to construct. It is an effective
profile with a good thickness, which makes the blade strong.
In order to determine the lift coefficient we must have a look at the profile curves.
By checking the NACA 2412 profile curves Cl is determined to be 0, 85. Ian Cummings
formula now looks like this:

"Chord" = 5.6 x 0.82 x 0.82/(2 x 0.85 x 0.82 x 7 x 7))...(m)

..Tip
"Chord " = 55 mm
..Tip

Now, calculate blade chord at 2/3 x R. On a paper choose a center line at distance 1/3 from the
leading edge. Connect the two blade chords, and you can measure all the cords of the blade.

The closer you come to the hub you might choose thicker profile to increase strength. Close to
the hub you should also consider an extra increase in chord in order to make the blade start
easier.
ANGLES

Solar panels are usually set up to be in full direct sunshine at the middle of the day facing South
in the Northern Hemisphere, or North in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore morning and
evening sunlight hits the panels at an acute angle reducing the total amount of electricity which
can be generated each day.

During the day the sun appears to move across the sky from left to right and up and down
above the horizon from sunrise to noon to sunset. This is shown in the schematic above of the
Sun's apparent motion as seen from the Northern Hemisphere.
A solar tracker is a device onto which solar panels are fitted which tracks the motion of the sun
across the sky ensuring that the maximum amount of sunlight strikes the panels throughout the
day. When compared to the price of the PV solar panels themselves, the cost of a solar tracker
is relatively low.
In terms of cost per Watt of the completed solar system, it is usually cheaper (for all but the
smallest solar installations) to use a solar tracker and less solar panels where space and
planning laws permit.
A good solar tracker can typically lead to an increase in electricity generation capacity of 3050%.
How Do Solar Trackers Work
There are many different types of solar tracker which can be grouped into single axis and
double axis models.
Single axis solar trackers can either have a horizontal or a vertical axle. The horizontal type is
used in tropical regions where the sun gets very high at noon, but the days are short. The vertical
type is used in high latitudes (such as in the UK) where the sun does not get very high, but

summer days can be very long.

Double axis solar trackers have both a horizontal and a vertical axle and so can track the Sun's
apparent motion exactly anywhere in the World. This type of system is used to control
astronomical telescopes, and so there is plenty of software available to automatically predict and
track the motion of the sun across the sky.

I
will not be held responsible for any injury or damage to property from the use of the information
contained in this book. It is your responsibility to take the proper safety precautions when
building any structure or using any tools of any kind. STAY SAFE!! Its the only way to LIVE!!!
Any reproduction, retransmission, republication, or other use of all or part of any document found
on this book/CD/e-book is expressly prohibited, unless prior written permission has been granted
by the appropriate copyright owner. All other rights reserved.