Wind Power
Wind energy is an environmentally inert, clean, and inexhaustible source of electric power that, as it turns out, is really just another form of solar energy.
The
sun creates wind by its uneven heating of the planet's atmosphere. It's
moderated by the earth's rotation and irregularities in its surface.
The
planet's terrain, water bodies, and vegetation then affect the wind
flow
patterns.
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With the invention of wind turbines, we can now harness the wind's energy and use it instead of purchasing electricity from the utility companies that are derived from non-renewable sources.
The easiest way to understand how wind turbines work is to think of a fan operating in reverse – rather than electricity spinning the blades and thus generating wind, the wind spins the blades, thereby generating electricity.
Breaking it down to it's simplest components, a wind turbine operates as follows: the wind turns the blades the blades spin a shaft the shaft connects to a generator the generator produces electricity
To expand on that simplification, the turbine's blades are connected to a hub that's mounted atop a turning shaft which runs into a gear transmission box that increases the turning speed which, in turn, is connected to a high speed shaft that cranks the generator. If the wind speeds get too high, a brake is deployed to slow the blades down and prevent damage being done to the system.
There are two basic types of wind turbine: horizontal axis wind turbines: the kind most commonly in use today and the focus of U.S. Department of Energy research on wind power, these come in two varieties – 2-blade horizontal axis turbines spin downwind 3-blade horizontal axis turbines spin upwind vertical axis wind turbines
The size of a wind turbine will influence its power generating capacity, with the smaller windmills that produce under 50 kilowatts being the type most commonly used to power water pumps, telecom dishes, and homes.
In an innovative advancement known as hybrid wind systems, these smaller turbines are also being used in combination with solar (photovoltaic) systems, rechargeable deep-cycle batteries, and diesel generators to provide storable, on-demand power in more remote, off-the-grid places.
In most residential situations, a wind turbine is used as a supplemental source of power in combination with local, on-the-grid, utility power.
There is something called a cut-in speed (7-10 miles per hour), below which the wind turbine will cease to provide an output, and the utility grid provides the structure's power. Above the cut-in speed, the wind turbine kicks in and the grid power supply is proportionately reduced (depending on the structure's energy draw at the given moment).
If the output produced by the wind turbine exceeds the draw from the structure (and/or storage devices, like batteries), the excess power is then sold back to the pubic utility company. Use of wind energy can reduce a residence's energy costs by, on average, 50-90%, though these numbers are influenced by a variety of factors and, as such, can fluctuate greatly.
In a typical residence that uses under 10,000 kilowatt hours per year of electric power, a 5-15 kilowatt wind turbine should more than suffice. This type of system can run anywhere from $6,000-$22,000 to install, depending on a variety of factors, including: its size, your intended application, and any service contracts entered into with the manufacturer.
Being that certain situations (such as in the city) make personal wind power use an unviable option, a general rule of thumb is to consider installing your own wind power system if and only if you pay at least 10 cents per kilowatt hour and your location's average wind speeds exceed 10 miles per hour.
The
larger wind turbines have capacities upwards of 50 kilowatts, running
these
days into the several-megawatt range. These windmills, known as utility
scale
turbines, can be grouped together and connected to central lines for
transmitting and distributing in bulk to the local utility grids that,
in turn,
sell that power to homes and businesses across the land. These are
called wind
power plants or wind farms.
By Michelle Bery
Wind Power versus Solar Power
Nowadays global warming and the scarcity of fossil fuels are rarely out of the media.
Some people carry on hoping that government will come up with some sort of solution, others don't really care and then a few people are wondering, "how can I help reduce global warming?"
One of the most obvious answers to this question is to use less power by moving your power source from fossil fuels to a renewable energy source. The two most hotly discussed forms of renewable energy are solar and wind power and this article will pit the two against it each to discover which one is best.
Solar Power.
There are many ways to harness the suns power the most common of these is to use a photovoltaic module to convert the suns ultra violet rays into energy. This is the technology used in solar panels.
Other forms of solar power include using materials with different layers of salt density to capture the suns power and using a super green house style device to heat air to power turbines. In this article we will just examine solar panels.
Wind Power.
Put simply by using the wind to spin a turbine with a magnet on it electricity can be created. This works in a similar fashion to the turbines powered by steam in a traditional power plant.
The Costs
Although these two power technologies may sound like a perfect solution to the world's energy crisis both have their limitations.
Firstly there is the cost, at the time of writing Solar power is cheaper than wind power when implemented on a small scale such as in an family home but wind power is generally cheaper when implemented on larger scale. Efficiency Efficiency is of course a big part of deciding upon a renewable energy source.
For this particular round of wind power vs solar power home advantage will make a huge difference.
If you live near the equator and experience a large amount of sunlight solar power is the clear choice, you should have no problem powering your home from solar panels.
Like wise for wind power if you live on a blustery coast. The fairest question to sort this one out would be; what about if the contest took place in a neutral area with limited wind and sunlight.
In general in an area with roughly the same wind and sunlight I would say you would be better off with solar power for the simple reason that all sunlight will be absorbed by your solar panels but not all wind will be converted to energy by a wind farm this is because the blades on the wind far need to spin at a certain speed if the wind is to fast or to slow electricity wont be generated.
Appearance
In my opinion for this round there can only be one winner and that is solar power I suppose it's a matter of taste but I find wind farms to be very ugly.
The Conclusion
Well it been a tight contest with each energy source a good bet in right environment but overall Solar Power is the winner due to its lower cost on small installations superior adaptability to different environments and more pleasing aesthetics.
That's not to say wind power is a bad option as in the right circumstance it can be a much better solution than solar power.
By Dick Jenson
