Archive for July, 2010
Wind turbines expected to be generating power in the near future
Dennis Geherman hopes one day to receive a big fat cheque in the mail. Two years ago, the county resident started thinking about ways to save a few bucks on his power bill so he installed a couple of wind turbines on his land along Highway 43 just west of Grande Prairie.[...]
Published Jul 28, 2010.
Read more: Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune
Home Wind Power – Hardly An Option?
Building Home wind power is an important part to our global efforts to explore renewable energy sources. The big picture behind it is the big challenge to us brought by the depletion of traditional sources of energy supply. Much like the solar energy, the source of wind energy is not just clean but renewable. And, once the windmill is put up, there is almost no additional cost for power consumption. Unsurprisingly, the average growth of wind usage has been at about twenty-five percent in the last ten years.
A good wind power system for a home is made up of at least one tower, with a turbine turned by five blades. These blazes rotate as a result of the pressure difference caused by the air moving over their surfaces, and they turn a rotor which drives an electrical generator.
For those who have been using home wind power systems, they usually store the electricity produced with batteries and use it as a backup to their solar system or their traditional grid system. If you are new to the wind power technology, you may find it difficult to understand why, compared to solar power, wind power has not yet been widely used for home power supply. To answer to that, let us examine the conditions that need to be met for a wind power system to work efficiently:
1. Wind power works best in larger areas of at least an acre in size, as this gives wind a chance to flow freely.
2. Wind generally needs to be above ten miles per hour. In other words, there has to be a heavy flow of wind, otherwise your system is not going to work.
These are very strict conditions, and obviously there are more families who are ready to accommodate solar panels than those who are qualified to build a personal wind mill. In fact, there are more factors to hinder wind power from being the number one source of alternative energy:
1. Wind system is more visually intrusive. In order for the wind turbines to stick up into the air and catch the wind, they have to stand on a tall tower. In fact, the taller the tower, the more efficiently the turbine works.
2. Wind turbines can produce noises and vibrations, and therefore are not regarded as a completely “clean” energy solution. This, coupled with their visual intrusiveness, has been the major causes for home owners not getting the permission to install windmills for personal use.
3. Any system with moving parts is more prone to breakdown, which is a big headache for home owners who are less technical savvy.
Now, there is little doubt why home wind power is not as widely employed as solar power. Having said that, wind power is still a big part of the renewable energy mix, and is a perfect supplement to those who have largely turned to solar energy as a home power solution. If you feel like to give it a try, do remember to check out your zoning requirements in the first place.
Originally published here.
Click here for an excellent resource about using alternative energy for home power supply. Don’t worry if you are technically-challenged, all topics are explained in simple plain English.
Click here to find out how to make a windmill.
Wind Power For Dummies®
The consumer guide to small-scale wind electricity production! Maybe you’re not T. Boone Pickens, but you can build your own home-sized wind-power empire right in your back yard. Wind Power for Your Home For Dummies supplies all the guidance you need to install and maintain a sustainable, cost-effective wind generator to power your home for decades to come.
This authoritative, plain-English guide walks you through every step of the process, from assessing your site and available wind sources to deciding whether wind power is the solution for you, from understanding the mechanics of wind power and locating a contractor to install your system to producing your own affordable and sustainable electricity.
- Guides you step by step through process of selecting, installing, and operating a small-scale wind generator to power your home
- Demystifies system configurations, terminology, and wind energy principles to help you speak the language of the pros
- Helps assess and reduce your energy needs and decide whether wind power is right for you
- Explains the mechanics of home-based wind power
- Shows you how to tie into the grid and sell energy back to the power company
- Offers advice on evaluating all of the costs of and financing for your project
- Provides tips on working with contractors and complying with local zoning laws
Yes, you can do it, with a little help from Wind Power for Your Home For Dummies.