sunpuppy wrote:I would love to build my own wind turbine but don't know the first thing about mechanics/engineering so it needs to be for complete muppets.....
That's the sort of project I'd like to have a go at one day. I've just dug these out of my bookmarks:
http://www.scoraigwind.com/
http://users.aber.ac.uk/iri/WIND/index.shtml
http://www.otherpower.com/17page1.html
http://www.andrew.h.lohmann.btinternet. ... dMill.html
If you really have no experience at mechanics, you migh find it a bit of a learning curve, as there seems to be a fair bit of Garden Shed Technology(tm) involved. But don't let that put you off - we need more such technologists.
The trouble with small scale generation is storing the electricity that you don't use. Generators are generally fairly efficient, but sorage devices aren't. The easiest is the lead-acid battery (like a car battery), but it will only store a small amount of the juice you put into it, so much of what you generate is lost.
I'm trying to fathom out a way to use the windmill to pump water from a low tank (possibly underground) to a high tank, and using this to generate electricity through a water turbine. Not at all sure it is a practical idea, though. In the end, that is why most people opt for batteries, I reckon.
'Sides, I happen to think personal wind is highly amusing (Mr Sunpuppy doesn't seem to share the same opinion, but it makes me chuckle mightily!) 
