Homebrew Wind Power
	Quantity in Basket: None Code: 8121 Price: $39.95 Shipping Weight: 1.80 pounds
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Review: From the North Sea to the wind farms of California and the Midwest plains, wind has been a significant part of the renewable energy landscape on the large scale for several decades. And let’s not forget the little guy—a whole industry has sprung up in manufacturing small-scale turbines for independent residential and commercial use that so far has shown no sign of slowing. But now it’s time for the really little guy—the one who either can’t afford, or refuses to pay for, a factory wind turbine because he or she knows that it’s perfectly feasible to make their own for a fraction of the cost and have a terrific time doing so. Dan Bartmann and Dan Fink, the Otherpower wind gurus who authored BackHome’s four-part series “Build A Wind Turbine From Scratch” four years ago, have just released their new book, Homebrew Wind Power: A Hands-On Guide to Harnessing the Wind. In the span of time between the development of the original article and the present, the Dans have made improvements in both the design and fabrication of their ten-foot turbine, the result being a more lightweight and reliable “bird” . . . and an absolute humdinger of a book. The 320-page text is a true compendium of owner-built wind power, covering everything from electrical theory and application to measuring the wind and turbine siting to designing and building the alternator to making the frame and blades, and fabricating and raising the tower. Wind is a complicated subject, but the authors pull no punches in addressing the issues head-on and pointing out potential problems where they might exist. Fabricating the turbine requires a bit of knowledge in a variety of areas, including electricity, physics, mathematics, metal fabrication, woodworking, welding, and general shop smarts. Fortunately, the authors are skilled at walking even greenhorns through the rough patches and have a knack for turning a complicated concept into a simple description. The book includes 395 photos and illustrations, six appendices covering things such as tools, energy and wind data, and shop charts, a glossary, a resource list, and an index. The book answers a lot of questions that typical off-grid power users would ask, and there’s also a nice section on upscaling and downscaling the turbine to 17-foot and 7-foot versions.