What is your first impression of wind turbines? Do you imagine that the people who make them must be highly qualified technicians who have studied for donkey’s years?

What would you think, if one of your neighbours said that they were going to make their own wind turbines in order to produce their own electricity?

The fact is that it is not actually very hard to make a wind turbine. You definitely do not have to have been to university to do it and you do not have to be an amateur electrician either. You will, however, need a good set of plans in order to put up an operational wind turbine.

There are different sources of plans for wood turbines. You could go to a hobbyist shop, a DIY warehouse or the Internet. If you search on the Internet, search for a web site specializing in alternative energy technology.

Once you have you manual, handbook or drawings on making wind turbines, you should study it well and get any queries you have answered on forums on the Internet.

If you believe that I am exaggerating how easy it is to build a wind turbine, do not forget that people have been building windmills and water pumps for hundreds of years without the advantage of power tools or modern materials.

The only difference between those early devices and a wind turbine for making electricity is the addition of wiring and a coil, which you will buy anyway.

The basics of building a wind turbine involve building a tower to place it on; installing batteries to receive the generated power; the fan and the tail assemblies. The tools that you will require to accomplish this are pretty basic too: bricklaying tools, carpentry tools and a few spanners, but that really depends on how much you sub-contract out.

You will almost surely have to buy the turbine, fan and tail section yourself as one element, because, if you want a high-powered unit, this section will have to be professional, not that it cannot be manufactured locally.

You will be able to maintain it yourself as well, if you want. These fan blades can be 1.2 metres (4 feet) in length each, which is something that you will have to bear in mind when constructing your tower.

You may need a spot of professional help when you build your first wind turbine, but use the experience to learn as much as you can, so that you will be able to be more independent on your next one. You could even turn the experience into a profession, because there is a dire shortage of people who know anything about wind turbines.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with a favourite subject – alternative power sources. If you are interested in Sustainable Energy At Home, please click through to our site.