Fun with Science Friday: Building Your own Wind Turbine for Your Home

Following our earlier Fun with Science Friday post about building your own wind turbine on a small scale, we started doing some research into building a real, working wind turbine to help power your home. We found a lot of companies selling wind turbines for home use, as well as a lot of ebooks and manuals for sale on how to build your own. And then we found this free site which shows step-by-step, with pictures, how one man built a wind turbine for $140.62!

For an overview of the benefits of channeling the power of wind energy for home use and determining if it is practical for you, read this.

Fun Fact: Texas accounts for nearly 25% of the total installed wind power capacity in the U.S., with 10,085 MW of installed capacity. (source)

Article by: Alisha K. Ard

Fun with Science Friday - Build Your Own Wind Turbine! (on a small scale)

Whether you are looking to teach about alternative energy sources, searching for a gift for a science-loving kid (recommended for ages 8+), or you just like the idea of building your own wind turbine (there was no upper limit in the age group, after all) - this looks like a lot of fun!

Product description from the Thames & Kosmos website:

"Build wind-powered generators to energize your electric vehicles and charge your rechargeable batteries! The wind spins the turbine, which turns an electric generator, which in turn charges your rechargeable AA batteries (not included). You can then use those wind-charged batteries to power the model vehicles you build. The six models include a glider, sail car, jet car, tractor, racecar, and tricycle."

Wind Power 2.0 kits are available to purchase online (with FREE shipping) through Amazon.com. To locate a local place to pick up one of these great science kits click here. And here is a link for more great alternative energy and environmental science kits (you know, in case you prefer solar or hydropower to wind).

Article by: Alisha K. Ard