Wind Power Electricity
Having the energy requirements of a home being met by wind powered turbines is a great idea. However, it may not be very practical. Wind is one of the cleanest renewable sources and is relatively easy to harvest. You could have wind powered generators supplying free electricity to your home within no time! All you need to do is go down to your local hardware store or online store and have a contractor come and rig up the device for you.
Wind energy was first used by sailors to propel ships and in the form of windmills to pump water for irrigation and to grind grains. The huge stretches of land in the US which do not have ready access to water depended on these irrigational windmills to do their farming and ranching.
Wind was used to generate electricity for the first time in 1888. The first wind turbine was created to generate hydrogen in the 1890s but was soon converted to be used as an electric generator. Even today small turbines are used to provide electricity to rural homes and larger wind farms to produce electricity for larger networks. The modern wind industry began in effect from 1979 when wind turbines began to be produced on a regular basis.
The prospect of having free electricity is heartening indeed. This can be achieved if we are able to harness wind energy properly. Wind energy can be produced when the earth’s surface gets heated unevenly, for instance, the poles remain colder than the area around the equator. When the earth gets unevenly heated the winds over the heated area become warm and expand and rise. Cooler air from the poles rushes in producing wind. It is estimated that wind energy properly harnessed can alone take care of all the electricity requirements of the world.
The amount of power produced by wind depends on the speed at which the wind is blowing. High wind speed is not required all the time to produce energy. Energy can be produced sufficiently even with 15 mph wind speed. Doubling the wind speed can actually increase the amount of power produced eight fold. But the only drawback is that the wind turbines can only rotate so fast and produce so much energy.
Wind energy needs to be consumed immediately upon generation and cannot be stored for future use. Researchers and utility companies have experimented with various types of batteries trying to store it within the energy grid. Surplus energy from domestic turbines can be fed back to the electrical grid and utility companies will be only to happy to purchase the power from you and you will have made financial gains in the bargain.
A wind turbine usually has a rotor shaft, gearbox and brake assembly. Within a wind farm the various turbines are interconnected through communication networks. Induction generators are used to convert the wind energy to electricity.
You need to be aware of the pitfalls like the dynamic behavior of the generators, the power factor and frequency constancy should you be faced with any issues or faults. The best types of generators are those that are doubly fed and have battery back-ups to work even when errors occur within the grid.
Incoming search terms:
- gearbox for wind turbines fundamentals
