Articles

How to properly fuse a solar PV system

NOTE: If you are unsure about this area, consult an electrician. Proper use of fuses and breakers are important to maintain safety. The first thing to know is that fuses...

How to Configure a Battery Bank

When connecting multiple batteries together to create a larger battery bank, it is important to configure the bank so all batteries are charged and discharged as equally as possible. This...

Choosing the Right Wire Size

Choosing the right wire sizes in your PV system is important for both performance and safety reasons. If the wires are undersized, there will be a significant voltage drop in...

Introduction to Solar Photovoltaic Electric Power

Discovered in the 1880s, solar photovoltaic (PV) electric power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Modern PV cells are capable of converting up to 15% of the sun’s energy...

How Much Power will a Wind Turbine Produce

How much power will your wind turbine produce? In this article, we discuss the three factors that determine output from your wind turbine and talk about some simple design considerations...

Where to Place an Anemometer for Small WInd Dep...

Measuring wind speed accurately is critical to determine the true performance of your wind turbine. The placement of the anemometer is important so that it reflects the true wind speed...

Sizing Your Wind Turbine Tail

The length of the tail-boom and the surface area of the tail vane are critical factors in having a wind turbine remain facing into the wind during normal and turbulent...

Open Circuit Voltage and Short Circuit Current

Numerous kinds of alternators and generators are often sold which might not be appropriate at all for use in a wind generator. Most often, the real power capabilities of an...

Case Study: The Windtura 750

Kevin is a proud WindyNation customer who recently deployed a Windtura 750 Complete Wind Turbine Kit. See Kevin's rig and see how you can start producing clean, practical power! Kevin...

Wind Turbine Grid Tied Divert Load Sizing

He we discuss how to choose a proper divert (dump) load set-up for a wind turbine grid tie system. Different grid ties divert/dump at different voltages and the dump loads...

Getting Started Building a Wind Turbine Generator!

Thousands of people around the world are building practical and cost-effective wind turbine systems. If you're new to this, then you might be wondering, "Where do I begin?" What do...

Wind Turbine Wire Size Guide

Voltage and power can be lost from the turbine to the rectifier and from the rectifier to the load. Selecting the right wire size is critical to a good wind...

Solar and Wind Power for RVs

The use of solar panels, and to a lesser degree wind turbines, has taken off in the recreational vehicle community. There is interest in renewable energy to charge batteries for...

Grid Tie Inverter Pricing & Reviews

Few things are as much a source of confusion for DIYers as whether a small-scale DIY system merits a Grid Tie Inverter. The interest in Grid Tie Inverters appropriate for...

Everything you ever needed to know about Grid T...

There has been a lot of discussion about using grid tie inverters (GTIs) with wind turbines to connect to the grid. Here we go trying to do our best to...

Comparing the Windtura 750 and a Delco

There is a reason the Windtura 750 weighs 25 pounds and many of the "500 to 1500 Watt" Delco PMAs that our competitors sell weigh about 10 pounds. To produce...

How to Assemble the Windtura Complete Wind Turb...

Assembling the Windtura 500 Complete Wind Turbine Kit is something just about anyone can do. By designing an easy-to-assemble system, the only difficult decisions left to you are proper tower...

Wind Turbine Dump and Diversion Loads: What The...

We get a lot of questions about why dump loads must be used on wind turbines and how to figure out the proper dump load(s) that’s required for a particular...

Teacher's Guide to Wind Energy and Wind Turbines

Learning about wind power introduces students to variety of fundamental and advanced concepts. Understanding how wind power works and how we harvest it introduces concepts in physics, electricity, environmental studies,...

Connecting the Slip Ring

Connecting your slip ring to your tower is kind of like skinning a cat... there are a lot of ways of doing it. Here we share a few ideas and...

Positioning Your Battery Bank

One of the first challenges many DIYers face when beginning the process of constructing a battery bank-coupled wind turbine is where precisely to locate the battery bank. There are a...

All About Delco-style Alternators for Use in Wi...

If you're new to idea of building a wind generator out of re-purposed components, then you've probably asked yourself a few of the following questions: Why are car alternators appropriate...

Tip Speed Ratio: How to Calculate and Apply TSR...

The Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) is used by wind turbine designers to properly match and optimize a blade set to a particular generator (i.e. the permanent magnet alternator). This is...

Blades: Choosing the Right Material

A lot of people that come to us asking how our blades compare to homemade wooden blades, PVC blades or even other commercial fiberglass blades. The answer is involved and...

Distributed Energy and the DIY Movement

DIYers around the world are using the web and the recent availability of high-quality components for making efficient, durable wind generators. But can one small wind generator really change the...

Making Wind Power: How to Choose the Right Motor

It’s obvious that the motor you use is the most important part of your wind power generator. If you’re new to building a small wind turbines, then you’ll find that...

Sizing a Solar Panel System

INTRODUCTION Whether you simply want to generate your own clean energy or save money on your electric bill, investing in a solar power system is a smart choice. Once you...