Permanent Magnet Generator
Permanent Magnet Generator
Build a wind or water power system with around a PM Generator
wind | hydroWhile it is possible to build your own
alternator from powerful
Neodynium Magnets and coils of
enamelled wire an amateur should consider purchasing a ready made and tried and tested
Permanent Magnet Generator for their
Wind Turbine. Wind turbine blades (for example, home made DIY
PVC or
carved wooden blades), a
waterwheel (connected through a gear box), or even a bicycle can then be attached to spin the generator and produce
AC electricity.
The generated electricity must then be passed through a suitable
Bridge Rectifier (
35A rectifiers available for sale here from £1.79 each) to produce
DC electricity which can be stored in
batteries and/or passed through a
power inverter for domestic use.
Pictured above is such a
Permanent Magnet Generator (used by Dick Strawbridge in BBC2's
It's Not Easy Being Green on his
Waterwheel) available in 12, 24, 36, and 48 Volt configurations. Gearing wastes energy and generates nuisance noise, so PM-Generators for
wind (and
waterwheel etc) applications are designed to produce high power outputs at low RPM.
This
Futurenergy model weighs in at just 7kg and the main body is just 18 x 7cm. The 12V model generates 662 Watts at 380 RPM, and 53 Watts at just 260 RPM. The 48 Volt model generates just 42 Watts at 380 RPM, but 1472 Watts at 610 RPM.
Higher voltage generators are more suited to locations with high average wind speeds and strong gusts, and the lower voltage generators more suited to locations with lower wind speeds on average and limited gusts.
Buy a Permanent Magnet Generator
The cheapest place to purchase a
permanent magnet generator suitable for use in renewable applications is usually
eBay. Click here to search eBay now for
Permanent Magnet Generator, or here for
Permanent Magnet Alternator. (Far fewer results are usually returned when searching for
alternator rather than
generator although these devices are all technically
alternators since they output
AC electricity.
Article Last Modified: 16:43, 6th Apr 2010Comment on this Article
If you have any comments on this article, please email them to
neil@reuk.co.uk.
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