How Wind Turbines Turn Wind Into Electricity

Have you ever wondered where wind comes from and how wind turbines turn wind into electricity? Wind energy is actually closely related to solar energy in that wind is formed from the heating and cooling of land and bodies of water. There are many factors that come into play when speaking about the variances between how quickly land and water are heated. Land typically warms faster than water and how quickly water warms depends a lot of the size and depth of the body of water. These temperature changes create high and low pressure areas causing air to flow from high-pressure areas towards low-pressure areas. This flow of air creates wind.

As with solar energy, it is possible to collect the energy found in wind and convert it into power. The machinery commonly used to collect the energy from the motion of the wind, and turn it into mechanical energy that we can use, is called a wind turbine.

Most of us are familiar these days with the look of a windmill, be it the beautiful windmills of Holland, or the more modern windmills sprouting up on wind farms. Power or energy from the motion of the wind is used to turn the blades of a windmill, which in turn rotates the shaft to which the blades are connected. The shaft is connected to a generator and as the shaft turns, it spins the rotor inside the generator. Large electro-magnets are attached to the rotor located within coils of copper wire. When the generator magnets are spinning, a flow of electrons is created in the copper wire coils. This flow of electrons we more commonly call electricity.

The design that we are most familiar with when it comes to wind turbines is one that is called the horizontal axis design. Those large wind turbine farms use turbines in this design. Another design that is becoming better known is the vertical axis design which looks a bit like a pair of egg beaters that can be either vertically or horizontally placed. The horizontal axis design is better suited to urban environments than large the bladed horizontal units, which require a significant amount of space to operate efficiently.

The main concerns with wind turbines are the space they require, noise they tend to generate, and the fact that they are not very pretty to look at. These characteristics make them unwelcome in many areas, particularly where people live closely together. Some of the earlier residential units proved to be harmful as well when mounted on a roof. The constant pressure of the unit led to damage to roofs. Therefore, wind turbines are generally only found in areas where sufficient space is available for them to operate efficiently and so that they are not causing neighborhood annoyance. These issues are being addressed by the scientific community and will hopefully be overcome in the future.

Even with the obvious drawbacks associated with wind turbines, they remain a popular means of generating non-polluting, renewable electricity. As long as the sun shines, the earth will continue to heat and cool and produce wind. While the initial investment may be a bit daunting for some, it is very cost efficient and should pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time. Maintenance requirements are small as wind turbines are powered by the wind and operating costs are said to be relatively low.

Part of the initial investment costs for a wind turbine system will be the cost of batteries for storing the electricity produced should you choose to do so. Many systems are set up in a grid-tie manner where excess energy can be sent back to the area’s power company should more be produced than is required for the home and battery storage.

One of the biggest benefits with a grid-tie system is that should your electrical production fall short of your needs, you are still able to use electricity from the local power company. Many installations are setup in a manner where the value of the excess electricity produced and sent into the power grid, is credited against possible future needs where the owner must draw power from the grid, producing a win-win situation for both parties.

While wind turbines continue to be improved, you should educate yourself on the availability of wind in your area and use this information to purchase a unit that is best suited to your area’s wind conditions. Pay close attention to the specs of any wind turbine you are considering.

Now that you know where wind comes from and how wind turbines turn wind into electricity, you are also aware that this is one energy alternative available to you as a means of lowering your energy bills and doing something nice for Mother Nature at the same time.

Need Help With A Green Project?
US Homeowners, Call 888-880-6039 Today
For Referral To An Experienced Contractor In Your Local Area!

May all your tomorrows be warm and bright,

SherryD
http://energyoldandnew.com

Exercise Your Mind and Change To Green Habits

So hows that 2010 new years resolution coming along? In any case, for those whore like many of us, you may have already given up. It can be extremely difficult to change one habit. In fact, we might proceed year after year making the same pledge to ourselves to break a foul practice. Then we tend to break the vow of breaking that routine (sound familiar smokers, regular soda drinkers, or fast-food eaters?). Its a vicious cycle! How can we smash it?

I propose we adopt a technique of adjusting a variety of uncomplicated things in our lives, immediately, as opposed to having just one objective for adjustment. What if varying in only one approach isn’t enough? Because we tend to formulate decisions to vary, even in little ways, we gain momentum and assurance in our ability in making helpful changes concerning some of the more difficult things like working out frequently and eventually losing that extra weight. So lets start building with the aim of gaining confidence!

I perceive two uncomplicated yet significant ways I know how to change our planet in addition to myself. To begin with, Ill employ eco friendly reusable or recycled bags rather than plastic one use bags as well as paper bags whenever I go to the grocery store. Secondly, Ill bear in mind to utilize stainless steel water bottles. You might be shocked as a result of what a helpful inspiration these two easy habits will surely have on the world.

These practices are straightforward, painless and affordable. Additionally, in spite of accepted perspective, plastic containers and bags aren’t enslaving (we swear, no withdrawals or cravings)! Numerous arent heedful of how our consumption of these products affect our planets future. Once upon a time not way back, we werent aware of the detrimental effects of cigarettes. We accepted cigarette smoke as the status quo. A number of us still smoke or live in cities where smoking is permissible inside public spaces. Using reusable shopping bags and reusable water bottles can be fresh healthy routines and so easy compared to something like quitting caffeine, high fructose corn syrup or removing fast food from our diet programs. Stash a reserve of eco bags in your car or your knapsack. Make a small investment in a stainless steel reusable water bottle and carry it with you everywhere you go. You won’t merely reduce the harmful affects of disposable bag and disposable bottle litter in the environment, additionally you will encourage people to produce these easy transformations in their lifestyles as well. The best part is how you’ll feel with yourself if you realize you are now a part of the solution, as opposed to the crisis. Take a look at the stats in addition to the facts:

Disposable bag usage:
Plastic bag waste pollutes our lands, trees, ponds, rivers, lakes, as well as oceans.Just since year begun (as of March 1st, 2010), it’s estimated that over 82 Billion plastic bags are consumed in the USA.
According to the EPA this contributes towards the deaths of hundreds of thousands of marine mammals (who ingest and subsequently strangle or die of hunger because of this). In California alone, an estimated 19 billion plastic bags wind up within landfills each year. Although there’s dispute regarding which one (plastic opposed to. paper) is worse for our eco systems, there is no arguments that the widespread adoption of eco friendly reusable shopping bags is by far one of the best resolution for this major environmental problem.

Plastic bottle usage:
According to the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), more than 21 billion beverage cans and bottles have been land-filled, trashed and burned so far this year (yes just since 2010 started). CRI also reports that Americans purchase an estimated 34.6 billion single serve plastic bottles every year and hundreds of millions end up in the same places that disposable bags end up.

We all dream of a day when we finally break loose of our bad habits: stopping smoking, eliminating fast food in our diet, or just getting off the couch and working out! You know you can do it! Determine what you can simply change right away, and take action on it. So compose a simple change within your desire today: Adopt a reusable shopping bag and stainless steel water bottles habit and begin building momentum designed for bigger improvements that are beginning as part of your destiny today!

Need Help With A Green Project?
US Homeowners, Call 888-880-6039 Today
For Referral To An Experienced Contractor In Your Local Area!

This has been a Guest Author Submission.
Opinions expressed by Guest Authors do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of the owner/operator of EnergyOldAndNew.com

Next Page »