Posts Tagged ‘advantages and disadvantages of wind energy’
Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power
November 2nd, 2009 | 
Author: Residential wind turbines are a great way to generate energy, thanks to advancements seen in recent years. New materials and technologies have enabled newer designs for residential wind turbines, and these in turn generate even more power from less wind than ever before. Furthermore, there are all kinds of styles and sizes of residential turbines on the market now, and homeowners are certain to find one that meets their requirements in terms of size and power.
Benefits
Endless energy
The wind will never stop. There’s no limit to the energy the wind can provide. Fossil fuels can’t make that claim. Non-renewable sources of energy including oil, coal and natural gas are just that – non-renewable. Once they’ve run out, there won’t be any choice but to start using other sources of energy. Decreasing reserves mean increasing costs, and the endless nature of wind means that its price remains constant, and therefore more and more attractive by comparison.
Energy without the bills
If you’re using wind energy, you won’t have to worry about kilowatt hours or anything like that. After the one-off cost of installing a wind turbine, you have permanent, free power. The previously impossible goals of going off the grid and saying goodbye forever to electric bills are now widely available with the use of residential wind turbines.
Clean energy
In addition to financial costs, you can also eliminate environmental costs by using wind power. The same can’t be said of fossil fuels, which constitute a serious threat to the environment in current usage quantities. You can reduce your carbon footprint significantly by using wind energy instead.
A truly domestic energy source
It’s often said these days that dependence on foreign oil is a serious problem for our country in terms of both security and economics. Electricity produced by wind turbines directly replaces energy that is derived from foreign oil, and therefore it can have a significant effect in terms of lowering dependence.
Energy at all times
One of the advantages that wind power has over solar power is that it can generate electricity for the home day or night and in any weather. As useful as solar panels are, they have the disadvantage of requiring sunny conditions. On overcast days, or at night, you’ll need an additional energy source, such as electricity stored in batteries or purchased from outside providers. These restrictions don’t apply to wind energy.
Any home configuration works
Solar power systems are held back by the fact that they require significant sun exposure in order to work at peak efficiency. For homes that have a lot of shade, or lack sufficient southern exposure on the roof, this can be a problem. A wind turbine isn’t affected by the same restrictions. Furthermore, a wind turbine takes up less total space than solar panels, while producing the same amount of power.
Disadvantages
Startup cost
There’s no doubt that the installation cost of a wind generator can be very high. In the long run, though, the free electricity that comes from a wind turbine will more than offset the initial cost. If you’ve got the know-how, some common tools, and some free time, you can even put together your own wind generator, which will make the entire process even more sensible from a financial standpoint. If you’re interested take a look at wind Generator Plans.
Height requirement
If you’re using a larger type of wind generator, you’ll need to be certain that it’s set up high enough to experience consistent, strong wind. Depending on the surrounding tree line and buildings, this can be very high. Wind generator users who are located in areas with many tall buildings or trees occasionally need to mount the generators on towers. The HOA permits or approvals that may be necessary in order to carry this out can add to the overall cost of installing a wind generator. Though, again, building a homemade wind turbine will help lower the cost.
Wind needed
Wind generators work best in areas with consistent wind. Of course, the more wind, the better. In other words, the fewer buildings and trees are present in the area, the better it will be for wind energy generation. Even though you can deal with these difficulties by making use of a tower, it is most efficient to produce wind energy in areas without these obstalces. A DIY guide will teach you how to build a wind turbine.
These are the benefits and drawbacks of wind power. For most people, the disadvantages end up being pretty insignificant in comparison to the advantages. Even solar power can’t compete with wind power when it comes to generating consistent power. Where solar power may suffer somewhat, wind power truly shines. Solar and wind power do share the common drawback of being costly to install. Perhaps the best way to deal with this problem, if you find the expense is discouraging you from moving forward, is to build your own wind generator.
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