Posts Tagged ‘home wind power’

Reasons We Have To Give Up Burning Coal To Make Electric Power

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

Generate your own electricity with home wind turbines

We all understand that coal and oil reserves are depleted. Fossil fuel reserves are discovered in large deposits deep in the earth or beneath the seabed, however the biggest of these coal and oil supplies have been drawn on and it’s becoming harder to locate fresh sources. And the thing about coal and oil is that they are finite. Once we’ve pulled all the coal and oil we are able to out of the ground then there isn’t any extra.

Classic fuels have become harder to uncover, and eventually it will get to the point where the price of extracting it will become prohibitively high. It won’t be long before they shall no longer be a viable method for powering our cities.

Mankind is little by little realising the very real likelihood of running out of coal and oil before the end of the 21st century. As well as this, the discharge of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere is believed to be causing global warming. Obviously depending on standard fuels just isn’t an option.

The cost of extracting coal and oil is showing up in increasing energy costs, both in the price of refined fuels like gas and diesel, but also in the costs of electrical power. Much of our electric power is produced by burning coal, which is used to create the steam to drive the turbines that create electric power.

There are plenty of alternative energy sources, and these power sources are infinite. The most widespread ones are wind power and solar power.

Solar energy, coming directly from the sun, is one of the most simple power sources. The energy can be used directly as heat, or through the use of solar energy panels it may be transformed into electrical energy. The engineering behind solar power is improving continually and it is starting to turn into a viable alternative.

Wind power has been captured for 100’s of years and utilized by man. For 100’s of years we roamed the seas working with nothing except the wind. Our ancestors also discovered how to utilize the wind to power windmills, and employ that direct motion to smash grain or pump water amongst other assorted uses. In more recent times, since the detection of magnetic induction in the 19th century, wind power is able to be turned into electrical power.

Wind energy is certainly a viable source of electrical energy. Proof of this is seen in the significant sum of cash being invested in windfarms by power utilities and governments throughout the globe.

Having said that, employing alternative sources of energy does not need to take place on a massive scale. Many folks are implementing alternative energy devices in their own homes. Undoubtedly the most widespread method seen nowadays are solar panels being utilized for heating water and providing electricity.

More people today are turning to home wind turbines to produce their own electrical energy. While there are some extremely high-priced options when it comes to setting up home windmills, there are also do-it-yourself options which can certainly help you to produce electric power and lessen your reliance on the power grid.

Wind Power And How It Works

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Wind energy has been a source of power used for many many years. It has been used for various applications such as the sailing of ships, grain grinding and water pumping.

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In modern times, wind energy is used in activities of recreation such as windsurfing as well as the industrial creation of electricity. Recent events have indicated that the use of wind energy has witnessed steady increase amongst many people in the world. Industries all over the world have also considered the transition to wind energy for their power production. So let’s take a look at how wind power works.

The flow of air that embodies the wind releases  kinetic energy while in motion. This energy can be converted into other types of energy, such as electrical power. Wind patterns are widely affected by the actions of the sun which represents another source of green power. Wind is produced in part by the sun’s irregular warming of the atmosphere, the rotation of the earth, and the uneven surfaces of the earth . Example of factors that influence the wind are water bodies, the earth terrain and vegetation. “Wind Power” is a term which is usually employed to describe the process in which mechanical power or electrical power is generated from wind. Wind turbines, wind energy converters, and generators are employed for this exact purpose. In ancient times, systems based on wind energy converters were widely called windmills.

If you are thinking of how wind power works, consider that the principal is basically the opposite of how a fan works. While a fan converts electrical energy to wind energy, a wind turbine employs the use of wind energy to convert electrical power.

Wind Power Systems

Acquainting yourself with wind power systems is the first step towards understanding how wind power operates. This then is how a wind turbine works.

Usually, each turbine is constructed with two to three blades which resemble a propeller. When flowing air runs over the turbine’s blades, it causes them to rotate.

Their rotation is transmitted to a shaft which is connected to them. There are two kinds of shafts which can be used—those of the high speed variant and those of the low speed. Also connected to the shaft is  a generator which creates energy when rotated.

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The machine is started and turned of with a controller. For scenarios where the wind conditions are too strong a brake prevents the machine from damaging itself.

The principles behind the mechanism of  wind energy are obviously uncomplicated.

In deciding which type of wind turbine to settle on, the two most common choices are the horizontal axis turbines and the vertical axis turbine. Widely considered as the most common, the horizontal axis turbine is made up of three blades which face towards the wind. On the other hand, the virtual axis is shaped like an egg beater and can be pointed in any number of directions.

The size of a wind turbine partially determines how much electricity it will be able to produce. But of even more importance of the size of the wind turbine is the required availability of wind. This is why wind energy is sometimes combined with a solar system. Very little beats the merger of solar and wind engine when it comes topower efficiency.

Currently, residential areas are found to contain small wind systems which boasts power levels that are rarely above 50kw. They are also used for the backing up of local supplementary power. With a good wind power system installed, it is possible to reduce the household power requirements by more than 50%.

If commercial wind turbines are connected to the central lines, they can very easily provide power for the local grid. Such installations are widely called wind farms of power plants. Countries like Spain and Denmark already possess such farms which are used for the powering of neighbouring towns. The potential of wind power application  is also being studied by countries like Brazil, South Africa and the US.

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