Are You Windy Enough To Power Your Own House?
Posted by Bart Forcey | Filed under Home & Family
Wind is created by air in motion. It is caused by the uneven heating of the earth’s environment by the sun. Because the earth’s environment is made of several types of materials such as land and water, as well as the things that make up these surfaces, they absorb the sun’s heat at differing rates.
Daytime is when the air above the land heats up more quickly, and it heats the air over water more slowly. Warm air that is above the land expands and rises, and cooler air quickly comes in to fill the gaps, and this creates wind. In the evening, the winds reverse, because air cools more quickly over land than over water. This is why you have the differing temperatures of land near bodies of water.
Nowadays, we use the wind to create energy to produce electricity for homes, businesses or communities. Wind is an earth friendly renewable energy source; we know that as long as the sun shines on the earth the winds will continue to blow.
Just like the windmills, turbines also use blades to capture the wind and turn it into energy. If there is no wind, then the turbines will not turn, this means that you must have a back up source of energy. Turbines are more sophisticated than windmills and they can use even the slightest breeze to turn the blades.
The turbines used today are based on the direction of the rotating shaft for example; one type is a horizontal axis wind machine, and the other is a vertical axis wind machine. Wind machines (turbines) come in different sizes depending on the amount of electricity that they need to generate. There are small turbines used for homes and businesses, and they will have a capacity of less than 100 kilowatts. The larger sized turbines have a capacity of 5 million watts, or even as high as 5 megawatts these are used for commercial purposes. The large turbines can be used to make up wind farms that provide power to a large electrical grid.
The blades on turbines typically are about 200 feet across, but can be as wide as a football field. These blades are made much like an airplane propeller, and can be made of fiberglass, or a lightweight metal or plastic. The towers or bases have to be wide and tall in order to efficiently harness the wind. This is a great power source for the world of today.
Critics of electric wind power point out that the windmills which are essential to power generation are extremely large and make a lot of noise. Ordinarily, they can only be used in rural areas, where the open spaces and elevated terrain essential for their use can be found. Because of these limitations, they are not usually practical for more densely populated areas.
Is wind electricity the solution for everyone to be electricity self sufficient? Many parts of the country have sufficient reliable wind to generate sufficient electricity to serve everyones requirements.
Tags: alternative energy, diy, electricity generation, energy saving, Home & Family, Home Improvement, save money
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