‘Hey, it works’

Becker’s turbine is mounted on top of a 6m-tall galvanised steel pole fixed to one wall of his house, protruding just above the roof, and stabilised with stays similar to those found on yachts.

Says Becker: “Granted, it falls short of the recommended minimum height of 10m, and it definitely doesn’t clear many of the neighbourhood’s obstructions that influence air flow, but hey, it works.”

Practical tweaks abound. Large rubber mounts prevent any vibrations from finding their way down the pole to his home. The electric cable connecting the turbine to the batteries runs through the centre of the pole, and is long enough to cope as the turbine swings on its horizontal axis.

The turbine is blissfully quiet, the only evidence of its operation being a flickering shadow in the garden.

Becker is still experimenting, conceding that his setup is basic and his battery bank still rather small. However, it works, and produces enough electricity to power the compact fluorescent bulbs in his home and workshop.

As he tells it: “I get a huge kick out of using the light generated by wind power to build other wind turbines.”

Becker’s battery bank comprises of two 12-volt 7.2 amp batteries connected in series to give him 24 volts. But he’d much rather have two 100-amp batteries to increase his storage capacity so that he can run his computers.

He’s also heard of a 12-volt camping kettle that’s piqued his curiosity. Because he has not yet built a circuit to protect the batteries from overcharging, he can leave them unsupervised only when they’re very flat. In the interim, he has devised an alarm that screams a warning when the batteries reach their maximum capacity.

He became aware of just how much power was consumed in an ordinary home only after building his wind turbine, Becker says. “When you can see your batteries being depleted, it makes you a lot more aware of your power usage — and that automatically makes you use less.”

Becker believes if everyone with a modicum of DIY skills took the trouble to build and install wind turbines at their homes, the cumulative power savings would be astronomical.

In the meantime, he’s actually looking forward to the next opportunity to switch on all his lights while the rest of his suburb is swathed in darkness.

Peter Becker’s turbine cost about R3500 to build. For more information, visit his website at www.windpower.org.za.