Roll Your Own Wind Turbine Course

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 Finished Rotor Blades and Class

How would you go about gaining an understanding of wind power and wind turbines? Maybe take a degree course and get to know the maths and physics involved? Or maybe you might start learning with practical hands-on training taking very basic materials, wood metal, magnets wire etc. and build a capable fully working wind turbine from scratch.

There is now an opportunity to do just that at a unique privately owned training facility on a farm called ImEcoFarm.

The owner of  ImEcoFarm is a very brave visionary called Eddie Connors. Eddie has sunk A LOT of money into his pet project. He is a renewable energy enthusiast and a competent DIY man. Eddy has set up his farm at Clarecastle, Co. Clare as both a training facility and a lecture and exhibition centre.

The centre offers a range of hands-on practical training courses and fun demonstrations etc, for both young and old in renewable energy and eco topics. It is set in 100 acres of beautiful landscape along the Fergus estuary.

The course that takes my imagination is the:

Roll You Own Wind Turbine Course, (my title)

(the following is adapted from Eddies on-line information)

The course will run every week on Tuesday nights 7pm - 10pm. (28th Sep to 16th November.) It costs €320
The course is completely practical and hands-on, building a highly robust Wind Turbine with auto furling and electric braking to suit the Irish Climate. The machine is highly efficient and the only successful home built turbine for such a large size of machine.

 Wiring the Coils for the Generator

The course will focus on a 2.4m rotor diameter turbine. Participants will learn how this machine can be connected into the home for free hot water. This turbine can be connected easily and gives constant hot water from the wind. The different-sized machines, up to 5.2m rotor, are all similar to make, and we have detailed drawings for all machines.

 Coils detail

The Wind Turbine’s efficiency is due to:

1.    No Gear Box  - speed of propellers is the generator speed.

 The Resin Encased Coils being finished

2.    No Friction - Most wind turbines, including this design, use permanent magnets.  This means brushes are not needed as magnets travel close to the stator, without touching, so there is no power lost, due to friction.

 Working the Wood for the Blades

3.    Tried and Tested: This design is being built throughout the world for the past 30 years and even Military in Afghanistan have built this machine, due to its simplicity and robustness.

Attendance Certificate and Full course notes and Drawings for 2.4m, 4.2m, and 5.2m turbines are included.
The course will include all the practical phases of construction from very basic materials right up to a fully working machine. Even including the design and carving of the propeller blades.

 You can find out more here: http://www.imecofarm.com/

Good Luck Eddie. You are a brave man taking on this brilliant and interesting project in these difficult times.

UPDATE:

I was just talking to Carmen Cronin, on email a while ago, who works with Eddie, and she tells me that the September "Roll you own Wind Turbine Course" is fully booked out.

I am very happy that this is the case. Carmen said that there is a new calendar of courses and events just published on the website - so go have a look.

The link is above.

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