Windmill Electricity – Does it Really Work?

August 2, 2011 By

Fuel isn’t the only resource that you can use to generate energy, and we all know it. With so many different alternatives springing up daily, there are much better things that can be used as energy. One of these things is what mother nature provides us with: the wind. The wind can provide lots of energy to power up your home as well!

How do you use wind energy to power your home? You build your own windmill to generate that energy into electricity! And you might be surprised to find out that you can actually build a windmill easily, with very little investment in supplies. In fact, you can buy all of your supplies from a local hardware store for less than a couple hundred bucks! Heck, you could even use recycled material to build your wind generator as well!

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What supplies will you need exactly, you may wonder? Some of the basic supplies for building a windmill:

- Sheet metal

- Metal tubing (for the frame of the windmill)

- A 24 to 48 volt battery (a car battery usually works great for windmills)

- Electrical wiring

- And some elbow grease!

You might be surprised to find out that building your own windmill is fun and can save you money in the process! Most people that use windmills to power their homes can save up to 80% on their power bills each and every month! Add that to the fact that a windmill will generate power for years on end, and you’ve got yourself a piece of equipment that will you will truly value!

Are you in search for instructions on how to build your own windmill? How to Build a Windmill is a complete guide that provides full, detailed instructions on how to build your own windmill!

Filed Under: Home Made Windmills Tagged With: , , ,

How Do Wind Turbines Actually Work?

July 10, 2011 By

Many households and small businesses are turning to renewable energy solutions in order to lower electricity bills and help the UK lower carbon emissions. There are a number of options available, with solar PV panels and ground source heat pumps growing in popularity throughout Britain. However the UK is the windiest country in Europe, and wind power is the natural choice for many individuals considering an investment in green technology.

The UK government already generates significant energy from offshore and onshore wind farms, but generally businesses, farms and country estates are not situated in typical high wind speed areas. For sites in moderate wind speeds, most villages and small towns, a small domestic wind turbine could significantly lower energy bills while owners could benefit additionally from the government’s Feed-In Tariff scheme.

Small, domestic wind turbines operate in a similar way to the giant wind turbines in large wind farms. Large rotor blades rotate around a central hub, which is connected to a gear box that drives a generator. These are located inside what is known as the nacelle, which can be seen behind the rotating blades. All electrical components are housed inside the nacelle which sits on top of either a cylindrical tower or a lattice tower, depending on the manufacturer. This type of turbine is known as ‘horizontal axis’.

Tower height can range from 10m to 30m, with 18m being the most popular for small businesses, farms and country estates. Tower height is important to performance: there is a 10% difference in energy production between a 15m tower and an 18m tower. It is always recommended that anyone considering a wind turbine contacts the local authority before installation as some councils impose height limits depending on site location.

Site location is another factor that is crucial to the performance of a small wind turbine. It is important to consider the surrounding area and how the landscape could affect wind flow. A domestic wind turbine will operate best when there are very few obstacles in the surrounding area. An exposed location without many buildings, trees or hills is the perfect area for a wind turbine. It is possible to successfully install a wind turbine with good results in areas that contain wind flow obstructions, however results will not be quite as impressive.

Wind technology is improving all the time and with a growing number of suppliers in the market the costs of installing a small wind turbine have fallen dramatically. The UK government has set a number of energy targets to achieve over the next decade, and expects a large increase in domestic renewable energy installations throughout the country.

The introduction of the UK’s Feed-In Tariff allows owners of wind turbines to benefit from a payment for all clean energy generated. For example if a small domestic wind turbine with a rating of 11kW was installed on a site then the owner would benefit from 26.7p per kWh generated. On average an 11kW turbine would be likely to generate between 15,000 and 40,000 kWh per year, depending on wind speed (for example the difference between an average wind speed of 4.5 m/s and 6.5 m/s). In order to be eligible for the tariff the manufacturer and product must be listed on the Microgeneration Certification Scheme’s list of accredited suppliers.

It is important to understand how small wind turbines work and consider their suitability on a site by site basis. However there are a number of benefits to owning a small wind turbine, and after the initial investment there is the potential to earn significantly in a number of different ways.

Question by Courtney: Government policy concerning wind turbines and birds?

I am writing a paper for my college english class and it has to be about energy. The only interesting topic that I can find is how wind turbines are killing birds. Are there any government policies concerning wind turbines killing birds? Also, any other good ideas for a paper about energy? It can be any type of energy, I just have to have an arguable thesis statement.

Best answer:

Answer by Gertrud S
energy is too much of a problem to deal with here in this forum.

as for birds and turbines – jet planes kill birds, too. any kind
of turbine, or any kind of “machine” sucking in air may kill
birds.

the government cannot pass laws on all detail problems.

What do you think? Answer below!

default How Do Wind Turbines Actually Work?

Reno County Kansas explores wind energy during a visit to the Elk River Wind Farm near Beaumont Kansas

Filed Under: Wind Turbines Tagged With: , , ,

How Ddoes Wind Power Work

June 26, 2011 By

Start electricity saving today with solar power generator as scientists predicted that the energy and electricity prices will rise by up to 50% by end of this year. The cost of electricity is growing and there is greater emphasis on finding renewable energy sources .If we consider the impact that electricity generation is having on the environment, then the case for solar power is all the more compelling.

Wind power electricity is the ideal modern power source – it’s free, it’s plentiful and it does not harm the planet. Many people think that generating their own electricity at home is expensive or complicated. When we talk about renewable energy, normally we will relate it to the power from sun, or better known as solar power. But, other than the sun, wind is another source to generate renewable energy. Let’s explore how does wind power work in generating energy that can be used to replace the non-renewable fossil-fuel energy.

How Does Wind Power Work?

Wind power is definitely not new. It has been utilized for hundreds of years to pump water from The earth and process grain Most of the self-made turbines can provide a capacity of between 150 to 500 watts . As their running capability is always irregular, you would need batteries to serve as regulators and cache any surplus reserves. Wind turbine is the opposite of the electric fan that you use in your home to produce wind; wind turbine uses wind to generate electricity. On a wind turbine, the propeller blades move in rotation as the wind pushes it into motion. The blades are specially designed to produce a rotating motion as the wind passes through it. These blades are connected to a hub which turns the shaft connected to the gears found in the transition box. These gears could be used to increase or decrease the turning speed of the turbine. A generator is utilized to be able to convert the energy from the wind into electrical energy

Build A Wind Turbine–Free Wind Power:

Owning a residential wind turbine is a reality for many people. Small wind generators can generate all or part of the power requirements of the average home Home wind turbines are low cost to install and will pay for themselves fairly quickly in power bill savings. As the cost of power continues to escalate this is even more the case. In most cases in homes, a wind turbine is used as an additional source of energy, and energy in combination with the network. Wind energy is a domestic source of energy, produced in the United States. The nation’s wind supply is abundant Wind energy is fueled by the wind, so it’s a clean fuel source. Wind energy doesn’t pollute the air like power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas. Wind turbines don’t produce atmospheric emissions that cause acid rain or greenhouse gasses .

Click Here To get your Free Report How Does Wind Power Works and discover how you can reduce and potentially eliminate your home electric bill once and for all.

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How Wind Turbines Work – 3D Animation

June 6, 2011 By

Cel shaded animation of how wind turbines make electricity out of the wind. Created by yonatan frimer using 3ds max and adobe after effects cs3

Video Rating: 3 / 5

Question by Divine Error: Wind Turbines.?

Governments in england are saying they want to build wind turbines out to sea where it is aparently windiest.
What i’ve been thinking though, in geography we’ve been learning about hurricanes, and one of the things we learnt is that hurricane produce like million of megawatts of energy or something.
So what i thought is why don’t government build these wind turbines near hurricane prone zones? Make a use of all these natural disasters, convert them into energy! If a hurricane produces so much energy why don’t we try and obtain that energy, make hurricane have some pro’s and not just destructive cons.
What do you think?

Best answer:

Answer by Fire_God_69
Easier said than done!

What do you think? Answer below!

Article by Vern Beatty

Home wind turbines produce electricity from a free, renewable, clean source of energy, the wind. Using this alternative energy resource, wind turbines are becoming a popular method of producing free electricity for homeowners and business owners alike. The advantages and benefits of using wind turbines to generate electricity far outweigh the negatives. Many homeowners choose to build their own DIY wind turbines from kits that are available online. For those who are not so mechanically inclined, there are over 200 varieties of home wind turbines that are available online today.

In a typical residential application, electricity is provided simultaneously by the wind turbine and the local electrical utility. If the wind speeds are below cut-in speed (7-10 mph), there will be no output from the turbine, and all of the needed power is purchased from the utility. As wind speeds increase, turbine output increases, and the amount of power purchased from the utility is proportionately decreased. When the turbine produces more power than the home needs, the extra electricity is sold to the utility. All of this is done automatically. There are no batteries in a modern residential wind system. The two types of home wind turbines include Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT’s) and Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT’s).

Horizontal axis wind turbines are by far the more prevalent type of wind turbine in use today. Windmills, for example, use a horizontal axis wind turbine to power themselves, as do most modern wind-farm turbines. Horizontal axis wind turbines work by facing propeller blades into the wind on a horizontal rotor shaft. The action of the wind causes the blades to spin, much like a pinwheel. The blades are fixed, and are connected to the rotor shaft, which rotates with them in the wind. The motion of this rotor shaft can then be used to do work of some kind or, in more modern applications, to generate electricity.

Vertical axis turbines work on very similar principles to horizontal axis wind turbines, but with several key distinctions. To begin with, the rotor shaft of a vertical wind turbine is arranged in a vertical fashion, with the wind-catching blades arranged around the rotor shaft. Vertical axis wind turbines do not need to be facing into the wind to operate. This is because the blades are arranged uniformly around the rotor shaft, and can catch the wind from any direction. The blades catch the wind, spinning the entire apparatus in a circular motion. The energy created by this kinetic effect can then be used to either do work or to create electrical energy.

Wind turbines are ideal for homeowners, communities and small businesses to use for on-site electrical power generation. The actual wind speed at your site will be influenced by the local topography and any nearby obstructions, such as trees or other buildings. Wind movement around buildings themselves is variable, so seeking expert advice can be a valuable option for the property owner. There are a range of different types of small wind turbine models, and thanks to their flexibility, these turbines can be installed in most locations. Your individual site specifics (such as location, wind speed and local landscape) will eventually determine the best turbine type and size for your application.

To learn more about home wind turbines, please visit http://whatiswind.com

About the Author

Vern Beatty is an engineer that writes articles about energy and technical issues.

Filed Under: Wind Turbines Tagged With: , , ,