WindPower Windmill

intro

Michael has built a windmill in his backyard from a recent issue of Make. He is using it to charge a car battery and powers a few lights and his laptop off of it.

I was building him a datalogger to gather statistics about how the 'mill performs. For the short term we have settled on a simpler version and not bother with the logging. The WindLcdMeter will let users check the charge status of the battery so they know how much juice is available.

may 2006

Around the time that MAKE published windmill plans, my brother annouced to the family that he was making a windmill. We have long been interested in green energy (Michael more devout than the rest of us). I sent Mike the MAKE article and he built it up. This is rapidly turning into a fun project for the whole family.

The mill has been moved from Mike's house to a spot with better wind. His friend is excited about it and plans are being developed to wire the windmill up to one of the outlets in his house. At the moment he is lugging the battery back and forth to use the power. Mike, Pop, and I put up the windmill in an hour or so. The timing was perfect because the wind didn't blow until the mill was secured and then it blew like hell. The video doesn't really do it justice but not bad for the money. While this model only produces about 20W it is still exciting to watch it work.

• more pictures

futures

-- ChristopherPepe - 17 Mar 2006