Micro-Wind Turbine System

Residents of Least Developed Countries (LDC) can extend the useful portion of their day by gaining access to reliable electrical energy. Currently, some residents rely on 12- Volt automobile batteries to provide electricity to their households. Current charging sources include fossil fuel generators, micro hydroelectric systems, and photovoltaic systems. However, these options are problematic because fossil fuel systems are cost prohibitive, photovoltaic systems are difficult to produce, and micro hydroelectric generators require flowing water. The primary objective of this project was to produce a build manual for a micro wind turbine to charge 12-Volt batteries. For this project, the build manual details the fabrication process of a micro wind turbine utilizing readily available materials. A car alternator was reconfigured into a permanent magnet generator to charge a recycled marine or automobile 12-Volt battery. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) piping was cut to produce the turbine blades using the design specified in the build manual. A prototype was built to verify that this design will provide 200 watt-hours per day, which is the average household electricity demand for LDC’s. The micro wind turbine produced using this build manual enables impoverished communities to extend their productivity via a low cost and sustainable solution.