Homemade V10 Savonius Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

If you are looking at building a homemade wind turbine, there are certain advantages you can get out of building a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine).  One of these advantages is that they spin rather easily, even in wind that you can barely feel (albeit the tradeoff is that they do not produce as much power as a horizontal, in fact a VAWT will produce about one third the power of a HAWT).  However, the volume of energy produced isn't always the biggest consideration.  A VAWT is more handy when you are dealing with a consistently lower volume of wind, as they spin easier.

Here is an example of a homemade 10w Savonius Vertical Axis Wind Turbine.  It will be rated at 100 watts and cost around $124 to $314 to make, depending on the quality of wind turbine motor you use.

The list of materials you will need to make this VAWT:

• 5 PVC Tube that are sized 3" x 10'.  Buy them at your local hardware store for around $48.
• 3 bike wheels that are 12".  (salvage old junky bikes from a garage sale) around $5.
• Ametek 38 volt turbine motor alternator.  What you need to look out for when getting a wind turbine is the highest voltage for the lowest RPM.  Specifically, you want a motor that will produce 1 volt per every 25 RPM.  Here is a motor buying guide that will let you compare different Ametek motors in order to receive the best one for a homemade windmill.  You can pick up a 38 volt Ametek alternator for around $60.  This cheaper alternator will need to hit at least 500 RPM in order to produce 14.1 volts.
• Alternatively, you can get a Windblue alternator on ebay for around $250 and it will only need about 200 rpm to reach 14.1 volts.
• A 1" square piece of plywood or any wood that is 12 inches in diameter.
• 3 pieces of 2x4 at 12 foot, you can get them from a lumber store for around $11.

Before we get into how to make this VAWT, lets discuss the alternators.  The Ametek is $60 and the Windblue is $250.  Which one should you get?  The answer
depends on how much wind you receive at a consistent rate.  If you have enough wind that can consistently give your VAWT 500 RPM, then you can save yourself quite a bit of money and produce the same amount of power with an Amtek (when it spins).  If the amount of wind at your location will not give it a steady supply of wind that will give it 500 RPM, then the Windblue is a better solution.  If you have slower winds that can give it a consistent 200 RPM 3 times as often as your VAWT reaches 500 RPM -- then your system will produce 3 times more power with the Windblue than with the Ametek.

This is a picture of the finished Savonius. To learn more about how to cut the PVC pipe, assemble the bike wheels and hook it up to the alternator, check out this in-depth Savonius VAWT guide at instructables.

How well does this Savonius vertical axis wind turbine work? Check out this video of it in operation below.

By the way, this particular VAWT uses the cheaper Ametek alternator.