Make it Simple

The way to make cheap electricity is to make a simple windmill for your house.

That is great but all of us need some good reasons – with wind turbines you don’t have to look too deeply to find all the motivation in the world. With Middle East fuel supplies running on empty, we are now learning a new definition for the phrase “finite supply”. It is also clear that our government doesn’t have the political will to act in advance of a crisis.

It doesn’t really matter if the fossil fuels runs out next week or 10 years from now, we need a backup plan. Transitioning to renewable supplies of energy is our salvation as a free society.

The good thing is it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to educate ourselves and be in a position to make a simple windmill at your house and make multiple ones if need be. You don’t have to be a technical expert to do any of this. All you really need is a good set of tools, the ability to use them in around the house projects, and the will and desire to see the completion of the project through.

Also, you can cut power costs and have a good time doing it. You may also be surprised at how many of the parts you already have around the house.

Here is the sequence of actions you need to take to make a simple windmill:

1. Figure out how much energy you really need to make – this is as simple as understanding what your options are. You can power your house or a set of batteries or anything in between.

2. Understand the wind resources at your disposal – do you have wind energy available all over or just in certain places? An anemometer placed in spots you might like to locate a windmill will tell you where the best place to locate it will be.

3. Buy a set of plans – the internet is full of options – most less than $100. The plans will teach you the basics of how the wind turbine parts fit together and what parts you need to make it happen.

When all is said and done, you can make a simple windmill and really make a difference in your power costs forever. Also, this can be a great home project for everyone in the family to make them feel like they are taking a positive step. And a great chance to learn about an area of science that will serve us all well in the future.

Portable Solar Panel – All the Things You Need to Make a Simple Solar Panel

The advantage of a portable solar panel are obvious. You can use it on camping trips, in your RV, even for travel to 3rd world countries. It can be an invaluable tool for recharging your laptop, running a TV or radio, lights and so on.

With a good set of instructions and the right materials you can construct one really very simply. By no means a difficult job for the layman, and it’s a lot of fun too!

Here are the main things you´re going to need;

A box to house your cells: You can construct one of these out of wood or plastic and clear plastic or glass. Try and keep an eye out for weight when selecting your materials, especially if you’re going to be physically carrying it.

Solar cells: Going to need a few of these…These are the things that will convert the sun’s rays into electricity. You´ll have to attach these together with wire and solder.

A battery: This needs to be selected very carefully depending on what you’re going to be using it for. For an RV you can go big, but for a camping trip for example you might have to sacrifice a little storage capability for ease of transport. You’ll have to decide just how portable you want your portable solar panel to be.

An inverter: You may or may not need one of these depending on what you will be running. Most household goods run on AC while the battery will be storing DC. However you can get specialized equipment that runs on DC. If you can get DC appliances, it will definitely cut down on weight somewhat, although an inverter is not a huge item.