John Mahoney is a freelance author who writes about various technology
realated subjects. For more information about John visit his website
www.techstore.ie.
January 29, 2010
Proven wind turbine used by BP to promote its green image. How does small wind turbines work? – Very well!
Filed under Vertical Wind Generator by on Jan 29th, 2010. 4 Comments. 
January 23, 2010
Lately, advertisements about residential wind turbines, articles about advantages of wind energy, government grants announced for utilising wind energy, opponents of wind turbines, and many more things are flowing into our minds increasingly day by day. Whether you have some basic knowledge about it or you know nothing about it, in this article you will have the chance to know about key facts about wind energy.
We will start from very basics and proceed to more detailed information about wind energy, particularly residential use of wind energy.
What is a wind turbine? How does it work?
A wind turbine is a machine that converts the energy in the wind to electrical energy by means of rotating blades and a generator. Of course the working principles of a wind turbine are much more complicated. They include transmission elements, safety units, controllers etc. The blades rotate by the blowing wind and the rotation is transferred to the generator within the turbine. And this generator is the source of electricity. Then from the generator depending on the configuration of the turbine electricity is fed to the grid or directly to the point of use.
What is the difference between a commercial and a residential wind turbine?
Just their capacities! While a commercial wind turbine can have a capacity of up to 5MW residential wind turbines are generally much smaller, i.e. a few hundred kilowatts maximum.
Why do people consider purchasing them? Isn’t buying electricity from the grid cheaper?
Actually, at the beginning yes. When the investment costs of a wind turbine is considered and reflected over years, for the first couple of years buying the electricity from the grid can be cheaper. However, the aim of using residential wind turbines is not only cheaper electricity. First of all they can be used at places where there is no grid connection. For example, farm houses far from grid connection or special small electrical appliances located in places where no grid exists can make use of small wind turbines for their electricity needs. In addition to these, wind turbines generate “clean energy”. This means that for generating electricity by wind turbines you don’t cause carbon dioxide emission like in many generation processes. Furthermore, in Ireland use of wind turbines for residential needs is also supported by the government and there are grants available for the initial investment. As a final remark, having a wind turbine for part of electricity needs of your house will result in a better Building Energy Rating (BER) report which will eventually increase the market value of your house.
Can wind turbines be used for any house?
No. First of all you have to make sure that there are not much obstacles (other houses, high towers etc.) that block the wind of the turbine. Second, you need to learn how windy your area is. For commercial installations generally measurements are made 6 months-1 year in advance of installation at the exact turbine location but for a small scale turbine you can use the wind statistics published generally by the government offices. Be sure to choose the measurement location closest to your area. For relatively less needs, such as a single appliance, roof-top wind turbines can be also used. Prior to installing a turbine always take the necessary permits that are required in your area.
What if a turbine generates more electricity than required?
Residential wind turbines can be either standalone systems or grid connected systems. If you have enough space to build a larger wind turbine then you can have it grid connected and you can get paid for the electricity you supply to the national grid.
How much can someone save with a residential wind turbine?
Actually, this all depends on your consumption and the capacity of your wind turbine as well as the wind conditions in your site. To give a rough estimation; some studies show that you can decrease your electricity bills up to 80 percent with a residential wind turbine of appropriate size.
What about maintenance of turbines?
Many small wind turbines have a small number of moving parts which make them suitable to use without maintenance for a long time. A wind turbine is expected to have an economic life of 20 years.
Where can I get detailed consultancy about residential wind turbines?
Windturbines is the largest retailer of micro turbines in Ireland, selling and installing over 100 turbines nationwide in 2008. You can visit their website or contact them to get more information about their products and your needs.
Filed under Vertical Wind Generator by on Jan 23rd, 2010. Comment.
January 19, 2010
Are you getting frustrated with rising energy costs? Have you been thinking about building a small residential wind turbine? You’re not the only one. Given the increased price of conventional power sources, many people are considering the benefits of making their own wind generator or turbine. Before embarking on this venture however, there are a few things you should educate yourself about.
Determining how a home turbine works, what you’ll need to build one, and where to get those items from ahead of time will save you money, time and frustration. It is important to make sure you understand the basics of a home wind power generating system long before you get started. Familiarizing yourself with the individual components that make up a home wind power system will decrease the likelihood that you will lose time and money to problems that could easily have been avoided by doing your homework ahead of time.
One of the first and most important things to consider is where you’re going to build your turbine. Of course you need to have the room on your property, and in addition you need to determine the most optimal spot in terms of being able to capture the largest amount of wind power. Typically this will involve being far enough away from any obstacles that could block wind flow to the turbine. Another important aspect of locating a site for your wind generator is that the location must meet the local zoning requirements of your town or municipality. You don’t want to skip checking on zoning rules and end up making a mistake that will cost you money and time. So first, contact your local or state zoning agency and then within those confines determine the optimal site in terms of wind and the features of your available property.
The next thing to consider is the tower that will support your wind turbine. The tower needs to be tall enough to place your turbine in wind that is strong enough to generate sufficient power and the higher you go, the more power you’ll generate. However the higher you go, the stronger your tower will need to be and the greater the cost will be. Remember you want your wind turbine to remain standing even in the face of hurricane force winds. Another reason to limit the height of your tower is that as you go higher the increase in wind power won’t pay off for the increased cost of your tower. The tower can end up being the most expensive part as it the biggest. Thus you can see that it makes good sense do your homework ahead of time. This is true whether you build your own and purchase a tower. Keep in mind that if you build your own, there may be liability issues so consider this drawback and weigh it against any extra cost of simply buying a manufactured tower.
Getting started on building your own wind turbine system can seem daunting but with proper preparation you can avoid running into trouble by addressing issues such as those discussed above before you begin.
D.R. Smith has been involved with alternative energy for over 20 years. For more information visit his site to learn about wind turbine blades, wind turbine motors, and DIY Wind Turbine and Solar Panel Plans
Filed under Vertical Wind Generator by on Jan 19th, 2010. Comment.
January 18, 2010
ezhomeenergy.com My Homemade DIY Wind Energy Windmill Generator. One step closer to living off the grid. Eliminated my electricity accounts too! Like my residential wind energy … “diy homemade” “wind turbine” “do it” yourself “home wind” generator homemade “wind power” small “wind electricity” how
Filed under Vertical Wind Generator by on Jan 18th, 2010. Comment.
January 14, 2010
Thera are basically two major area’s of information required to have an essential knowledge of domestic wind turbines. The first is understanding energy yeild and energy consumption. The second is choosing which type of turbine wind generator best suites your needs and situation.
Understanding Energy Yeild and Energy Consumption A simple way of puttings things is
An average modern homes requires 4,500kWh. per year.
A domestic wind turbine with a 5 meter rotar diameter provides 4000 – 4,500 kWh, per year in good wind conditions.
A domestic wind turbine with a 2 meter rotar diameter provides 500 kWh, per year in good wind conditions.
Which type of Turbine Wind Generator? Lets begin with a quick overview of the different types of turbine wind generators available and some of the pros and cons with each.
Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT)
These are far and away the most common type of domestic wind turbines. HAWT’s also have a long history, being the principole behind the famous Dutch Windmills. Advantages: An obvious key advantage is that they are easily available. In addition the blades of HAWT’s can be changed in pitch so as to more fully catch the wind. Secondly they are easiy mounted on high towers which maximises their access to wind shear. Lastly HAWT’s have had the most research and development backing and use in the field. In simple terms at the low end they are easy to build and at the high end there is some pretty complex wind turbine management systems build in. Disadvantages: HAWT’s don’t operate well at ground level. All other disadvantage relate to large installation HAWT’s – such as difficulty with installation of the towers, signal clutter if installed near radar installations, and cost of shipping and the tower system. For use as domestic wind tubines we only recommend micro-HAWT installation. For micro-HAWT installation and how easy it is an advantage, details on easy building and installation of turbine wind generators can be found here.
Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT)
There are a few subcategories of (VAWT)’s.
They are:
Darrieus (or eggbeater) wind turbine
Giromill
Savonius wind turbine
“H” vertical wind turbine
Although many would argue long and hard about the various merits of each design (and the do have them) fundamentaly the advantages of VAWT’s are the same regardless of design.
Advantages: They can be built on the ground making installation and maintenance easier, they generate power at a lower RPM rate than HAWT’s , they integrate better into an urban environment and some claim they are quieter and easier for birds to avoid.
Disadvantages: They generally produce power at 50% of the efficency of HAWT’s. A great deal more stress is placed on the tower structure reducing relaibility and maintenance costs can be high. This is due to the whole structure being under it’s own weight, so to change a component at the bottom of the structure may require you to dismantle almost all of it.
Large vs Small Turbine Wind Generators
Both HAWT’s and VAWT’s com in large configurations. A very simple way of understanding the whole arguement regarding large and small turbine wind generators is to simple say “The larger they are the more efficently they generate electricity but the less flexible they are to manage.”. Almost all of advantages and disadvantages related to the size of a wind turbine fall into this area. Since we have already summed up our view on them, here are a few advantages and disadvantages that don;t fall under the above mentioned umbrella.
Advantages & Disadvantages: Large wind turbines have been blames for bird deaths, they cost much more to build and require much more approval than micro-wind. They are also much more noticable in the immediate environment. Small turbines are have more moving parts and are less efficent. However they are easy and cost effective to build at home and are more fleixble, being accessable enough to move or upgrade.
Basically electricity provided by micro-turbine wind generators will be more expensive on a per kWh. basis, however you will be in control and able to manage your supply and use of energy.
Building Integrated Wind Turbines.
Lastly a word on a recent innovation on integrating wind turbines. New plans are underway for the Bahrain World Trade Center to include wind turbines in its superstructure. These turbines will provide 11-15% of the buildings needs.
So if you build a new home in future, considering engaging an architect who can offer integrated wind turbines. Like with all alternative energy solutions, look into the return on investment (ROI). Will these integrated wind turbines pay for themselves in energy savings…? Will it take 2 years or 10?
However if you just want advice on how to best integrated you domestic wind turbines into yourcurrent housing structure then “Wind Energy Basics” is a good place to begin.
In Conclusion. Turbine wind generators come in many variations, with many advantages and disadvantages for each. The fact that domestic wind turbines are overwhelmingly HAWT configurations suggests they must be working. However a wind only approach to homemade electricity generation is not an effective strategy. Any attempt at energy independence must include multiple energy sources. The most common are solar and wind. Excellent information on running your own successful energy independence project can be found here
Dr Self Help is an internet researcher, specializing in the area of alternative solutions to common physical and mental health challenges. He spends his time tracking down the best information on the web…so you don’t have to.
To further your understanding of Candida and its solutions he has found some quick reviews on Natural Cures for Thrush here and a homeopathic and probiotic solution for Thrush that will help you.
Wishing you great success with destroying the Candida in your system. Be free of Candida forever and stop that itch you just can’t scratch – well not in public anyway.
Filed under Vertical Wind Generator by on Jan 14th, 2010. Comment.
