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This documentary is the story of an adventure,
That of the construction of a wind turbine
So I am going to tell you step by step and even sometimes backwards
The story of the design, the making
and even the production and the storage of the wind energy.
The sun, the wind, the waves, the trees that move,
it is enormous this energy. I too want to get back a bit of it.
-at least enough to switch on a light.
40 Watt halogen bulb like this one, is more a radiator than a bulb because
95 % of its consuming energy, is heat.
Today, there are led bulbs that are 10 times less energy consuming
for the same light.
Thanks to these led bulbs, the objective will be reached even if the wind turbine produces very little energy.
So I made my first wind turbine,
I took simple things, because I just have a drill, an electric screw driver and some drill bits.
Some pieces of metal, thread stalks, my son’s bike wheel,
some pieces of gutters which remained from my roof.
and I made
my first wind turbine
at the bottom of the workshop, between two wheels, with zinc gutter, on thread stalk.
blades are removable.
no need to go out, a hairdryer will be enough
But there is a problem: the faster it turns and the more the blades open.
I have to change the blades center of gravity.
So I decided to cancel this prototype.
The second prototype does not use zinc gutters
2.06-but a 150 mm PVC gutter
With, this time, springs to regulate the blades orientation.
The wheel is bigger, it is my bike wheel. 80 cms diameter instead of 40 cms diameter.
and in case of strong wind, blades regulate and close.
And we see that with a small bit of wind, the leaves barely move
The wind turbine starts, it does not go very fast but it never stops.
This wind turbine works very well, I am satisfied with it,
if I touch it with the finger, it stops. There is no real power.
So I decided to cancel this second prototype and to go through with the following one.
I decide this time to use transparent PVC sheets
Easy to cut and cheap.
prototype 4: wind turbine on a bike wheel.
I make three blades
I put a weight outside it with a piece of metal.
and also a regulator with springs
another prototype, which enables me to understand
that even if there is a space between the removable blades
it does not decrease the rotation speed at all, this wind turbine works very well
I have a buckle problem, I haven't enough blade surface
to produce electricity.
this wind turbine remains like that but I decide to increase the size.
So I make a fifth wind turbine
blades closed, like that, four blades being here
And when there is no wind the blades are opened like this,
with in the middle a cross which allows to connect together the four blades
wether they are opened or closed, they will always be opened in the same way
I fixed this wind turbine not outside on a mast, but on my own house.
an angle to be able to take advantage of the side effect, it has 4 m² of buckle
2,5 meter high and 80 cm diameter
it is with this wind turbine that I am going to try to produce some current in the following step
As I want to produce current, it is not just a wind turbine which I am going to make
I got back washing machines and a tumble-dryer from the recycling center.
I took a good few apart and I also took some detached pieces.
I understood nothig of the asynchronous engine, there is not even a coil,
there is nothing inside it, there is no magnet, it is incomprehensible.
I dismounted some 12V alternators from different cars, it's perfect
The only thing is that inside a car alternator there is no permanent magnet,
there is a coil, which, when charged creates a magnetic field.
So to obtain current, it is necessary to have some current.
I cannot conceive a homemade wind turbine with electronics because I do not know anything about electronics.
I don’t want to make a wind turbine which consumes even a small amount of current to produce it.
I give up with alternators, and washing machine motors
I decided to go back to basics for two to three things, I'll explain myself:
to produce electric current it is not very complicated.
Some magnets, a brass coil, the magnetic field passing in front of the brass coil,
will create some current, it is as simple as that.
So some recycled magnets which are not very powerful with enamelled wire
means it is insulated.
And I make coils, like this, without iron, so non-magnetic, it is not sticky,
with some brass or aluminium.
More the reel has a high number of cycles more the tension in volts is going up,
to a constant speed of the magnetic field, but it is necessary to realize it in a bigger size.
So I take a bike wheel, I fix 6 magnets like this and with 2 reels I obtain
a 1,2 volt tension, I say to myself that with about twenty reels I would have my 12/14 volts
and I could charge my battery.
that worked, we can see it, it is great.
I go to the following step, I bought much more powerful magnets in néodyme
this kind of object is to be manipulated with precaution.
it sticks, you should not have a heart condition or a pacemaker, and pay attention.
If you're not careful
the object sticks, can move, fly, it is necessary to pay real attention,
each reel of this kind, with 6 magnets like that
gave me a very weak power of a hundredth part of a watt.
to obtain 1 watt I need 100 reels like this.
I considered that to make an engine on my own, it would never work.
I give up making a single alternator by my own means with this equipment.
on the other hand I kept the magnets, which cost a small fortune, at least that serves, for example
to collect the iron filings with no problem at all, it is very practical for that.
be careful not to approach it not to many metal objects with it,
but well, it can be used as a vacuum for metal objects.
not being able to make an alternator, I decide to break into my money box,
and to buy a beautiful alternator with a permanent magnet.
this engine was sold with 650 watts in full power and begins to produce 200 turns per minute
which corresponds to my wind turbine more or less on the condition of having pulleys
with a report of speed 4.
When the wind turbine turns in 60 revolutions per minute, the alternator begins to produce
a sufficient tension to charge the battery. With an incandescent light bulb, halogen,
it is a little bit harder to reach higher power values
we get around 10 volts, for 1.5 amperes. We have 15 watts
Great, it works, I am satisfied, I install it on the wind turbine, and there, I have 2 concerns:
the first one is when this alternator, even disconnected, (there is nothing which is connected,)
there is a certain resistance when it reaches speeds of 250 turns per minute.
These first watts consumed by the alternator, I cannot get them back, result:
this wind turbine starts only in wind speeds of 5 meters per second.
Winds of 5 meters per second at my home are rare, it is thus a crippling inconvenience.
The second problem also: we hear the noise of the blades.
There are vibrations which are not very strong, but as the wind turbine and the alternator
are fixed to the home and anchored well,
It creates an echo which is rather unbearable. This great engine, I'm happy to have it,
but I put it in to the museum!
I did not know at the time how I was going to find an alternator.
If I can't make one or buy one, I'm in big trouble.
The project "wind turbine" put almost 6 months before evolving to the next stage.
Often late at night, my wife asks me, is it normal that the light power varies?
There are voltage drops, is it not dangerous for the installation that we have?
Do not worry, it is the generator that I'm making, we are going to get back all this energy a hundred times over.
I did not make a mistake, it is just that I did not specify when.
So I didn't lie.
It just has to be done.
- and what's the use? - It's here that we'll use the ball bearings recovered from a car.
That is magnetized, it is necessary to pay attention. This is stainless steel so it is not magnetized,
on the other hand that is.
So there are 8 magnets, positioned NORTH and SOUTH
On top there is one element of rotation, which we are going to put like that,
then we put the stator with 6 reels.
Here is the stator, which will be fixed like that.
later, on top will come another similar disk Again, 8 magnets
I can't get too close, magnet on magnet I risk to get my fingers stuck in it
but it will go like that and will be fixed above.
And all these parts did you make them yourself?
- yes I made them in a workshop followin the fact that the engine did not work.
I made these parts in Roman with an association which works specifically with wind energy, which is called Ti éoles,
according to a method of a guy from the North called Hug Pigot.
In the manual, there were calculations already made to make these.
So a disk of metal, on which we stuck 8 magnets
and then we poured the whole lot into the resin.
Your reels, how are they connected? In series or in parallel?
- there are 6 reels which are connected 2 by 2. I do not know if we see the joints
because they are hidden inside.
So the first one is connected with the fourth one, the second with the fifth and the third with the sixth,
neutrals are all bound together.
and on the other side the 3 reels end up here, so we end up with a three-phase.
And your two disks with magnets, do the polarities have to be face to face?
it has to be NORTH / SOUTH so that the field can cross the reels.
Did you see that there was no magnetization on the other side of the disk?
- No! - The magnetic field takes the plate,
and there is nothing behind.
We are going to be ready to try the power.
YES, I am very happy, the alternator is finished, with its small cog.
Now we can say that there is no resistance.
with empty values, of almost 50 volts, with nothing connected, it turns,
and turns well!
I take this chance to speak of this small device which is the bridge of diode, the three-phase arrives here,
from the alternator, in alternative and with the bridge of diode, it is transformed,
and I come out in continuous current.
we are going to make the same trials as earlier, with the other machine.
Here it is a small LED bulb, of 3 watts, and we are going to see.
it starts alone, effortlessly, I managed to get 10 volts,
we are even going to surpass it, it is easier.
ok so we have 20 volts for 0,1 amperes so we have 2 watts. It works well, very well.
Now we'll try with an incandescent light bulb, a halogen using 20 watts
It is a little bit harder, I find that it shines a little less
but we are going to reach the 10 volts for 1,5 amperes.
I multiply the 2, so 15 watts. Great, I hope it is going to work!
We just have to put i on to the wind turbine and we shall see how it works.
it seems to work, but it is so complicated for a small bulb that flashes.
- No, not at all, the energy arrives here
in this device.
and then, it is transformed to arrive to the battery which is going to store the energy which is produced.
There are some instruments, this one indicates the value in volts which comes out of the wind turbine
and here is what goes in intensity into the battery.
Here is the tension of the battery, we see that it is almost charged.
Does it need a lot of wind to work?
- when there is wind it works well but today there is hardly any.
look, it flashes? Ye, the numbers are going up.
As soon as there is more energy in intensity which is supplied by the wind turbine that what is inside well it charges the battery.
Then why does the light flash? - it flashes because the motor is in alternative current.
when magnets pass in front of the reels it makes some alternative current,
but the bridge of diode transforms it into continuous current so that it is compatible with the battery.
And after that what do we do with it? - We can switch on a light
in 12 volts, it works very well.
A lamp yes, but could I run my washing machine with it?
- A washing machine is more complicated because it requires more power,
I would need a more powerful battery.
Otherwise, if I unload too much the battery, I risk damaging it.
Then, when it is very windy, can we store some energy?
- yes, the more there is wind, the more there is energy. But if the battery is full,
and that there is too much energy which can go into the battery
What happens? Does it explode? Yes, it can explode,
so to avoid it, there is a regulator.
An entry for the wind turbine, one for the battery and an exit towards the devices.
Here, it is a 100 watts regulator. I can put 20 bulbs like that,
but not a washing machine.
19.50-The regulator is also not to drain the battery too much, nor to overcharge it.
20.00-A gel battery special for wind energy, can last me for ten years,
contrary to this car battery.
20.10-It looks like there isn't a lot of wind here?
- I live here, and I wanted a wind turbine, but I would have preferred to be in the Rhone valley.
20.20-If I move one day, it will be one of the reasons, because there is not enough wind here.
- Did you make this for your home
or just for the experiment?
20.30-Not, I took it out for the explanation
but all the equipment is in the house.
The battery goes in to the cellar. The regulator is visible inside because
there are little lights to see if the battery is charged or not. This is my bedside lamp to read at night,
with the free energy of the wind turbine.
So you supply your bedside lamp with the wind turbine?
- Yes exactly. It was the goal, and I achieved it, I am happy.
Is it not complicated? - It is simple and effective