Build Your Own Wind Turbine

Irish Seed Savers Association, Capparoe, Scarriff, Co. Clare This is a hands-on, practical day. We will be installing a PV (photovoltaic) system to run a few small lights at the cob house. This will be a 12volt, off-grid system running LED lighting. First we will explain what the various components of the system are and how the system will work. Then it's outside where we will be installing the PV panel, running cables, installing the lights, placing batteries in their enclosure and wiring them up, connecting the system up and switching on the lights.For booking click here

On the forum recently people are asking about grid connecting home made wind turbines. This is a post from Hugh Piggotts Blog.The turbine output voltage depends on both the rpm and number of turns in the coils. It increases in exact proportion to both the number of turns and the speed of rotation. For battery chargers we must wind coils that produce 12,24 or 48 volts at the desired blade rpm. For grid connection we need to base our coil design on the input DC voltage range offered by the grid-connect inverter. I do not recommend using a battery based…

WindEmpowerment has launched the "Open Source" R&D platform !Here we collectively setup research projects with volunteers that contribute to make the turbines more attractive to setup in remote area’s.We have currently 4 active proposals and 2 active projects published on the site. These can be respectively found at:http://windempowerment.org/02-research-proposals/http://windempowerment.org/03-research-projects-list/The platform is setup to ensure that:- We keep it simple- We can get an overview of our different technical competences and contact the right people when needed.  - We can reflect collectively at a proposal and make sure upfront we are doing the right thing with the best approach.- We will start with…

Thirty-five years ago, Hugh Piggott built his first wind turbine on the isolated peninsula of Scoraig, Scotland.  Today, more than 1000 Piggott-designed small wind turbines are installed on six continents, the majority of these were built and installed by their owners.A joint Tripalium/EolSenegal training course during the February 2011 World Social Forum grew into the first ever International Locally Built Small Wind Conference.An association, WindEmpowerment, has been created with working groups targeting Technology and Social Economic issues.  The idea of WindEmpowerment is to share contacts, experiences, problems, and solutions. Through joint teamwork, WindEmpowerment aims to give new initiatives a helping hand…