The Basics of Homemade Electricity
Building your own electric generator seems to be a far fetched idea. We all consume electric energy from handy MP3 players to high powered water heater. Yet, most of us have not considered making “homemade electricity.” But how do we start making homemade electricity? Is it even possible to build such project? Of course it is. We just need to know the idea how electricity is generated.
Electricity is a form of energy just like heat and light. However, naturally occurring electric sources are hard to find, and most only produce very little power. Take for example the static electricity that makes your arm hair stand in an air-conditioned room. Fortunately, one basic law about energy is that it can be converted from one form to another. Therefore, our electric energy is just a product of converting any energy sources to electricity. And because of that, we can miniaturize electric power generation.
The most common way to produce homemade electricity is through the use of a solar panel. Solar panels consists photovoltaic cells, or in simple terms, light energy to electricity converters. Light rays from the sun activate the photovoltaic cells which produces voltage. The voltage produced from each cell is relatively small. Because of this, cells are either connected in series or parallel in order to produce the desired voltage level. Of course, solar panels have drawbacks. First is that it is very expensive to buy. Second, it has a low efficiency rating compared to other electric generators. So if you plan to produce your homemade electricity using solar panels, just prepare your wallet.
Another common way to produce homemade electricity is to convert wind to electricity. A wind generator is used for this method. Basically, a wind generator is just a dynamo (the general name for any motor or generator) connected to a turbine that is rotated by the wind’s force. The turbine collects the wind energy, while the dynamo converts the mechanical force of the wind to electricity. Actually, as I have stated above, a dynamo is the general term of a motor. If the dynamo converts electrical energy to mechanical energy, it is a motor. If it converts mechanical energy to electricity, it is a generator. Compared to solar panels, wind generators provide a relatively higher efficiency. However, the wind turbine must be oriented where there wind is strongest for better electric production.
Both solar panel and wind generator will not produce electricity if there is no sunlight and wind respectively. Storing their generated energy to a battery is the solution to this problem. Care must be properly observed when using batteries especially those with high “mAh” rating. When short-circuited, they could produce fatal levels of current. Also, do not try to attempt charging non-rechargeable batteries.
Now that you have an idea on how to make your homemade electricity, it will be just a matter of a little research, a little trial-and-error, and of course a little patience before you can generate practical amounts of electric energy. Again, it is very important to have safety precautions when dealing with electricity. You don’t want to fry your Ipod, or worse burn yourself!