I have access to this decorative windmill. It’s been in place for decades, spins freely in the wind, and has made millions of revolutions in its lifetime. Its RPM’s are impressive even in relatively low wind.
What are your thoughts on how I should harness this energy?
Replace the base with a solar panel. You won’t get any meaningful power out of that tiny blade setup from wind.
Get any cheap small electric DC motor and attach it somehow (pulleys?). It won’t be as efficient as possible, but it’ll work.
But also: sucking power out of it will create resistance and might stop it from spinning in low-medium winds.
You’re not going to be able to generate much power from that.
Probably need to increase the size of the base, the length of the pole, and the area covered by the blades.
After that, strap on a dynamo and find a battery to capture the energy. Probably need a transformer to regulate how much power you’re putting in and taking out, so you have a steady AC flow that doesn’t wear out or blow up any of the parts.
https://windturbinehome.com/news/how-to-build-1000w-wind-turbine-at-home
Beat me by 2 hours, 59 minutes and 45 seconds!
Here is a tutorial video
Like maybe you can create heat? That could like boil water (or rather som fluid that boils easy under pressure in some closed loop). Then drive the dynamo off that. Im no scientist so i just make shit up, but often steam is part of smart shit
