Posts Tagged ‘Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power’
How Much Does A Wind Turbine Cost?
December 1st, 2009 | 
Author: Electricity-generating wind turbines have been widely used for about a century now, and they’ve been improving all the while. Perhaps more importantly, their cost has steadily decreased. Wind turbines generally fall into a few basic categories, each of which is intended to serve a specific need and will likely be more or less appropriate in relation to the prospective buyer’s requirements.
Large, commercial wind generators, which have been in use since about 1930, are one category which has developed significantly in recent years. Some of the areas in which they’ve improved include: blade design, which makes perhaps the biggest difference in terms of how a wind turbine operates; dependability, which is important for a machine you intend to have active 24/7; and efficiency, generating more output even with less wind. This variety of wind generator is different from residential-use turbines in that it’s built from stronger and heavier materials, as it’s normally used to handle higher winds.
As the strongest and most consistent winds are usually in remote areas such as shorelines, large-model wind turbines normally need to be located in these areas. Being “out of the way” like this means that it would be expensive to have to repair them all the time, so it’s necessary that these models are built to last. Large-scale turbines often exceed 0,000 in price, which is due in large part to these factors.
Wind turbines for residential use have become more popular in recent years. The main problem encountered by early wind turbines for residential use was that they couldn’t adjust smoothly to shifting wind patterns, which are particularly common due to the buildings and other obstacles that are typical of residential settings.
Early models were also prohibitively heavy. It would usually be necessary to have a special support structures in order to use them. Most homeowners found these early models too costly and limited in function to meet their needs.
Micro turbines, the most recent phase in the development of residential-use wind turbines, rectify the problems that plagued earlier iterations. The most welcome improvement with these units is their capacity to produce power from lower winds, which makes them effective even without being mounted on towers. Some owners even set up micro turbines directly on the roof. Although compact units like these aren’t able to generate the same amount of power as large-scale turbines, they make up for this by turning constantly. With a price range of about 0 to ,000, these micro turbines are also relatively inexpensive and are well within the range in which the electrical bill savings they provide will almost immediately justify the investment
The price of a wind turbine is generally contingent upon factors like size and capacity. By building your own wind turbine, you can bring the cost down even more. Though it might sound like a big project, anyone can learn to build a wind turbine with the right instructions, and this will allow them to save a lot of money and get free electricity for life.
To read about the advantages and disadvantages of wind power, visit Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power.
For the best guide to making your own wind turbine, including step by step videos, go to Earth4Enegry Review.
For another guide to building your own solar panel, go to How to Build a Wind Turbine.
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Different Wind Turbine Blade Designs
Wind turbines are one of the oldes known devices used for generating power. Although the basic idea behind wind generators has always remained more or less the same, wind turbine blades in particular have changed drastically over time, from the easily broken windmill blades of yore to the sleek blades of today. Today, wind turbines produce much more power from much less wind than ever before, which is largely due to these advancements.
Early wind turbine blades were essentially nothing more than large mats made from reeds. While they functioned reasonably well under the right conditions, they broke easily. If the winds got too high, these blades would often be broken.
Cloth sails were the next step in the development of wind turbine blades. In combination with an improved vertical axis style design, many early windmills utilized this type of blade in order to use wind energy for grain processing purposes.
The next major type of blade to be introduced was the wood blade, which was often used in conjunction with a horizontal axis configuration. This development reflected those seen in the world of aviation, as improving rotors often had these characteristics. The crucial advantage of wooden blades over previous models was that they could be both lighter and stronger, and therefore they were much more appropriate for generating energy in a wider variety of conditions.
Electricity was generated from wind turbines for the first time thanks to these designs. The first wind turbines of this type were fairly small in size, but it wasn’t long before they were scaled up and used in commerical settings.
From this period on, wind turbine blade development branched into two distinct paths: horizontal axis blades, and vertical axis blades. The following horizontal axis blades would differ in their shape and pitch, materials, and the number of blades used per rotor.
In most cases, 3-blade designs are the norm for horizontal axis wind turbines, as they have the best balance of stability and rotor speed. In most modern turbines, composite blades are used, which have great strength and flexibility in addition to being lightweight, which makes them perfect for both residential and industrial uses. Composite blades give wind turbines the ability to spin faster and generate more energy as well as pick up low-speed winds, making them significantly more efficient.
Furthermore, vertical axis wind turbines have seen a number of improvements which have made them appropriate for a wide variety of applications. Vertical axis wind turbines, too, can provide serious power, as they are usually engineered to take advantage of either wind drag or wind lift.
Vertical axis turbines can harness the power of the wind regardless of its direction. In this respect, they offer a more constant supply of power than the majority of horizontal axis turbines. Their capacity to produce power even without the need for a tower makes them especially appropriate for residential use.
To learn about the pros and cons of solar energy, check out Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power.
For the best guide to building your own wind turbines complete with step-by-step videos, For a step-by-step guide on building your wind turbines, check out Best DIY Solar and Wind Guides.
For another guide to building a diy wind turbine, visit Homemade Wind Turbine.
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