Sunday 1 May 2011

The Positives And Negatives Of Wind Turbine Power Generators

In case you haven't heard of homemade wind generator electricity turbines, here is a brief description. A regular wind turbine is a tall tower that has blades connected to a rotor. Whenever the wind blows the turbine the blades make the rotor whirl and the movement of the rotor forces the generator within the turbine crank out power. As with most types of power generators, magnets and copper wires are arranged to create a charge any time the rotor spins. This process has been applied for many years in some other types of homemade wind generators.

Clearly for the turbine to work there must be wind. Wind is much more powerful higher up in the sky, and that is why wind turbines are rather tall, at close to 30 meters. The result of the stronger wind at that elevation is that the turbines yield more electricity. Obviously there must be enough wind to generate electricity from the outset. This is the reason why extensive research is done on areas for potential wind turbines to make sure that there's enough wind to produce energy. This has a tendency to mean they are located along coastlines where it is usually very windy. Of course, the wind can adjust its direction which creates another problem for wind turbines. A time tested layout, adapted from the early wind powered water pumps, makes use of a tall fin to point the propeller straight into the wind, regardless of the direction it emanates from.

Because of their reliable design, turbines can generate a lot of power that can be utilized for domestic or conventional applications. You can also store the electricity into batteries for times when there is no wind. Due to the high initial investment, which will require many years to recover, wind turbines require a long term perspective. Unlike some other green energy methods, wind turbines will always work 24/7, providing that there is wind. Wind turbines can produce as much electricity at night as during the day, reducing the battery storage demands in some cases. With so much anxiety about pollution today, turbines are a great option because they are so clean. The standard sources of hydro, including nuclear reactors, create incredible pollution that could be eliminated by turbines. Harnessing the strength of the wind is using a truly green resource. This suggests that turbines will invariably be able to produce power if they are located in high wind locations.

As with anything there are some down sides of utilizing wind turbines for energy. Many men and women don't want to be looking at a tall tower with a propeller at the top outside their window. Large installations, with dozens, or even hundreds grouped together, create visual pollution in coastal areas, as outlined by critics. They are also very noisy due to the rotor creating sound as it goes. While excellent for meeting the needs of human beings, they can be unsafe to birds and bats. The justification stated for bats flying into wind turbines is that the movement in the air disrupts their proficiency to hear and see with sonar. There are no data on how frequently this happens, nevertheless.

Wind turbines certainly seem to be a excellent source of energy, but of course there are drawbacks like with anything. They can play a primary role in our long term energy plans if they are applied carefully.

You can quickly learn building wind generator tips.