Tag → homemade wind turbines

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

12 July, 17:19, by homemadejoe Tags: , ,

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Usage:

Because of the environmental concerns and energy issues facing by the world today, many countries have been trying to utilize renewable sources of energy. Wind, being a clean and plentiful source of energy is now setting a new trend in renewable energy sources.

Wind turbines systems are the most efficient way to generate electricity from wind energy. They vary greatly in size from homemade wind turbines to commercial scale wind farms.

Wind had already been used by people even in early times. Sail of ships utilizes wind to travel in high seas. Early American dwellers used wind mills for grinding corn, cutting woods and pumping water. Originally, mills were invented to grind corn. As men tried to find more efficient way to operate them, they led to an earlier version of today’s wind turbines. It featured large blades set in vertical wheel shape.

Several gears were connecting the wheel’s axle and the mill stone. As the wind turns the blades, it causes the mill inside to move and grinding the corn or wheat into flour. The present version replaces the mill with a generator that in turn produces the electricity. From these concepts, modern homemade wind turbines had been developed and are now being widely used to reduce households’ electric bills.

Wind turbines are generally classified into two types. These are horizontal axis wind turbine and the vertical axis wind turbine or the HAWT and the VAWT respectively. Both designs can be adapted for homemade wind turbines but HAWTs are more common. This is because horizontal axis wind turbines are found to be more efficient in generating electricity than vertical axis turbines.

The design of the horizontal axis turbines features three blades moving in horizontal circle similar to a clock’s hand. Besides the increased efficiency, HAWTs can also transfer the power generated from rotor to gearbox in much smoother way than VAWTs. Most of these turbines are mounted on top of towers being exposed to higher wind velocities. Unlike VAWTs that are designed to operate near the ground where there could be too many wind interferences.

However this set up offers the VAWTs an advantage over HAWTs. With HAWTs setting up HAWT system would require tall cranes and a yaw system. The periodic necessary maintenance has also to be done on top of those towers.
At the present, there are also two different designs of a vertical axis wind turbine – Savonius rotor and Darrieus model. The first type is similar to anemometer. But these are very inefficient offering an efficiency of about 5 to 10 percent. The Darrieus model on the other hand looks like an egg beater. This design makes use of an airfoil that operates as the airplane wing.

Though vertical axis turbines are about less than 40 percent efficient than HAWTs, they offer benefits in low wind situations. Also, because they are mounted close to the ground, they are safer and easier to build. They can also handle wind turbulence much better than HAWTs. Another important feature of vertical axis turbines is that they can operate using winds from any direction.

Wind Turbine Questions and Answers

07 July, 17:17, by homemadejoe Tags: , , ,

Wind Turbine Questions and Answers:

Homemade wind turbines are becoming a widespread solution to cut off the cost of consumption of traditional energy generators. Wind turbines are considered to be environmental friendly and sustainable method of producing electricity. If trying to install or even build a wind turbine, it is important to know some basic knowledge about these devices.
How does wind turbines work?
There are two most important parts of wind energy systems that allow them to produce electricity. These are the rotor or collector and the generator. The rotor is made up of blades that utilize wind energy to rotate and thereby power a generator. The generator electronic system converts this energy into the form of electricity compatible for household use.
What are the advantages of using residential wind turbines?
Wind turbines are considered to be a renewable source of energy.  The electric current produced by these systems is environmental friendly. They provide pollution free and environmentally sustainable electricity. Also, wind energy is available for free day and night, all year round unlike solar panels that can only operate during day time.
Wind turbines can reduce a household energy cost by about 50 to 90 percent depending on the type, size, design and location of the system. But it will definitely lower energy bills.
How much energy does a wind turbine can provide?
This depends on the size of the turbine itself. Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs), which are the most common type of wind turbines, are about 25 feet long and have an average weight of about 30 pounds. These systems can produce around 300 to 10,000 watts of electricity. Another type is the vertical axis wind turbines or VAWTs. They are considered to be less efficient in energy production compared to horizontal axis systems. They are about 30 to 40 percent less efficient than HAWTs.
Those Homemade wind turbines usually placed on rooftops can generate only about 1,000 kilowatts or less. Thus, if more amount of electricity is needed more wind turbines have to be installed. Those set up in clusters like in wind farms, can produce above 100 kilowatts enough to power hundreds of household.
Are these wind systems noisy?
No matter what the size of a turbine might be, it has the potential of producing noise, though smaller ones produce lesser amount of noise. These can either be aerodynamic noises or mechanical noises. Aerodynamic noise refers to the sound caused by the air flow over and past the blades of the turbine that seem to increase with the rotor speed. Mechanical noise on the other hand is produced by components of the system such as due to wear and tear factors.
What happens when a lightning strikes?
Anything put on top are prone to damages caused by lightning. However, most of the wind turbines have full protection installed by manufacturers. Considering these when purchasing a system is thus necessary.
Can I make my own Residential wind turbines?
Homemade wind turbines are not hard to build. It just take some amount of money and a little of your time to create one and enjoy the benefits it can offer. Proper selection of location, correct choice of size and materials are important for DIY systems. Also, a good blue print to follow as guide is necessary to have an efficient wind turbine.