Alternative sources of energy are currently being developed worldwide as a response to the rising prices of petroleum which is used to produce electricity as well as the dangers that continued use of gasoline can pose to the environment. Efforts are generally aimed towards exploiting natural sources of energy. With natural sources of energy, there is no need to worry about supplies running out since these sources are virtually renewable.

The two sources being looked at for alternative power are the Sun and the wind. Efforts have already been exerted in the past to find ways to harness these two sources along with water (hydroelectric dams) but such projects have been large-scale. These days, small-scale solar houses and wind-powered households are becoming more and more common every day. If the momentum is maintained, we can soon see every house producing its own electrical power within the next few years.

Compared to solar power, wind power is much more attainable. It is more economical, and is very easy to set up. You don’t need a very large budget in order to create your own wind power system, you can use relatively inexpensive materials to build it. Here are some information on how to make a wind turbine.

The Materials

Central to the wind turbine assembly is the electric motor. The motor creates the electricity that you distribute to the household or whatever establishment receives your harnessed power. You don’t just get any motor for your wind power system. What you actually need is one that can produce power in a small number of rotations per second. Why is that? It’s because the wind does not blow in gusts or gale-force winds all the time. You need to be able to harness power from wind blowing in comfortable levels, so you need a motor that works in low RPM.

Of course, the motor does not work by itself. It needs the help of turbine blades. These blades are the ones that interact with the wind. As the wind blows, they also spin in response. The resulting movement also causes the motor to spin. As it spins, it produces electrical energy which you capture and feed to your power supply. You can create turbines out of materials like wood, PVC pipes and many others. The motor and the turbines should be put into one assembly in order to work. You can then mount the turbine on a tripod outside your home or on a long pole. You just have to make sure it doesn’t get uprooted or torn down by strong winds that come every now and then.