By James Bratley
You may have seen the many different small home wind
turbines you are able to purchase in the shops, yet you
may be undecided whether one of these small scale wind
turbines is for you. Before purchasing a turbine, you
should do some research regarding; can your environment
make a turbine efficient enough, what alternative energy
sources can you harness, and which technology is the
best value for money.
Below we shall discuss each of the three points
explained above in more detail, outlining the factors
relating to each.
Wind turbines only generally work to their full
potential in very few areas. To gain an efficient use of
a turbine, you should do some in depth research and a
site survey into how sustainable your environment is to
support a wind turbine. For efficient placement of a
wind turbine, you need to look into the average annual
wind speed and direction. There are many references
available to explain what speed the wind must be for
different sized turbines. Wind direction is only a
factor which relates to which position your place your
turbine in, yet many modern small home turbines are very
mobile and you can usually twist them to face the
direction you prefer.
It will be well worth your time to browse the market
looking for alternative renewable energy sources. This
mainly depends on your budget, but solar panels are a
very popular choice as either an addition, or a total
replacement for a wind turbine. Solar panels generally
offer you a greater pound per watt, and are also
generally more efficient for home power production.
Deciding which technology is the best value for money,
also ties in with the environment factor. You need to do
research and decide which of the renewable energy
sources is most in abundant in your region, for example
if you live on a small island off the coast of northern
Scotland, then you would more than likely choose a home
wind turbine as you are exposed to strong winds, but if
you live in the center of England (where wind speeds are
usually quite low), you may opt for a solar panel.
So, as we can see here, many factors will decide on the
right natural energy source for you. If you can afford
to integrate renewable energy production methods into
your home, it is strongly suggested, considering the
current situation with global warming, that you make an
attempt to install these more environmentally friendly
appliances.
http://www.clean-energy-ideas.com/wind_turbines.html
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Improve Your Home With A Residential Wind Turbine
By Richard Chapo
What if I said you could cut your electric bill by 50
to 90 percent? Well, you can by installing a small,
residential wind turbine on your property.
Improve Your Home With A Residential Wind Turbine
When you combine the cost of fossil fuels with the
pollution and climate problems they create, it can all
get a bit overwhelming. It is easy to find oneself
wondering where to start when dealing with these
problems. Given the state of fear attitude portrayed in
most media, this is hardly a surprise. Surprisingly, the
answers are fairly simple if you wade through the hype.
Wind power is a renewable energy source with a lot going
for it. It produces electricity by converting the
inherent energy in wind through a generator in a wind
turbine. It produces no pollutants of any sort and will
be available to us for as long as wind exists, to wit, a
very long time. Given this fact, you are probably
wondering if you are supposed to build a bunch of
turbines in your yard. Nope!
As a conscientious person, you can do your part for the
environment while saving some serious money on your
utility bill. Residential wind turbines are the answer.
Often given the nickname “small wind”, these turbines
are designed to work on a per home basis. Given the
right conditions, a residential turbine can produce all
of the electricity you need and more. In fact, the
generator will be hooked up to the utility grid and you
can actually sell power to the utility if you produce
more than you need.
Now, the word turbine can be a bit intimidating. When I
think of a turbine, I picture something large and loud.
In the case of small wind, this is not the case. The
machinery makes a bit of noisy, but nothing substantial.
Although sizes vary, your little power producer will be
roughly three to five feet wide from the tip of one
propeller to the other.
The one area where residential wind power may be a
problem involves height. To make electricity, your
turbine needs to get 10 miles an hour of wind. This may
sound like a lot, but it often is not if you go 20 or 30
feet up in the air. To this end, you can do a search for
small wind information to find out the statistics for
your area.
Assuming wind power makes sense for your home, you
should be able to greatly reduce or outright eliminate
your electricity bill.
Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com Visit us to read
more articles on wind power.
What if I said you could cut your electric bill by 50
to 90 percent? Well, you can by installing a small,
residential wind turbine on your property.
Improve Your Home With A Residential Wind Turbine
When you combine the cost of fossil fuels with the
pollution and climate problems they create, it can all
get a bit overwhelming. It is easy to find oneself
wondering where to start when dealing with these
problems. Given the state of fear attitude portrayed in
most media, this is hardly a surprise. Surprisingly, the
answers are fairly simple if you wade through the hype.
Wind power is a renewable energy source with a lot going
for it. It produces electricity by converting the
inherent energy in wind through a generator in a wind
turbine. It produces no pollutants of any sort and will
be available to us for as long as wind exists, to wit, a
very long time. Given this fact, you are probably
wondering if you are supposed to build a bunch of
turbines in your yard. Nope!
As a conscientious person, you can do your part for the
environment while saving some serious money on your
utility bill. Residential wind turbines are the answer.
Often given the nickname “small wind”, these turbines
are designed to work on a per home basis. Given the
right conditions, a residential turbine can produce all
of the electricity you need and more. In fact, the
generator will be hooked up to the utility grid and you
can actually sell power to the utility if you produce
more than you need.
Now, the word turbine can be a bit intimidating. When I
think of a turbine, I picture something large and loud.
In the case of small wind, this is not the case. The
machinery makes a bit of noisy, but nothing substantial.
Although sizes vary, your little power producer will be
roughly three to five feet wide from the tip of one
propeller to the other.
The one area where residential wind power may be a
problem involves height. To make electricity, your
turbine needs to get 10 miles an hour of wind. This may
sound like a lot, but it often is not if you go 20 or 30
feet up in the air. To this end, you can do a search for
small wind information to find out the statistics for
your area.
Assuming wind power makes sense for your home, you
should be able to greatly reduce or outright eliminate
your electricity bill.
Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com Visit us to read
more articles on wind power.
Wind Energy – USA
By Richard Chapo
One of the world's fastest growing types of renewable
energy sources is wind energy. While most of the Earth
is still reliant on different types of fossil fuels
(such as oil, natural gas and coal) for their energy
supply, many countries are trying to come up with
alternative methods of obtaining energy. Much of Europe
has begun to build and use wind farms, which are
groupings of wind turbines that harness the energy of
the wind in order to create energy and electricity.
Also involved in using wind energy, USA has started to build their own wind farms.
Wind turbines are the individual components of wind
farms, and they are machinery composed of several main
parts. The first part is the rotor, also known as the
blades or the propeller, and this is the part of the
turbine that actually collects the wind energy and
converts it into drive energy, which then turns a shaft.
This shaft actually creates the energy that is then
stored or converted into electricity. Wind farms are
groupings of many of these turbines, usually 10 or more.
The wind energy USA had capacity for in the year 2004
was 6,740 MW, with a prediction that the wind energy
capabilities of the United States will be increased by
5,000 MW in the next five years. The US Department of
Energy has a goal of obtaining 6 percent of the
country's electricity needs from wind energy by the year
2020, which is a fair goal judging by the current rate
of growth seen in the wind energy industry. California
is the state in the US that produces the most wind
energy, with 2,096 MW of wind generating capacity per
year.
As one MW is enough energy to supply energy to 240 to
300 average US homes, the amount of wind energy USA
currently produces is enough to energy 500,000 to
620,000 homes per year. The United States is currently
ranked as the third highest wind energy producing
country in the world, behind Germany and Spain. The
business of wind energy in the US is also monetarily
significant – it costs about $1,000 per kilowatt (KW) of
installed wind energy capacity. When multiplied by the
US's capacity of 6,740 KW, this makes wind energy a $7
billion industry.
Wind energy is a growing energy source in the United
States for many reasons. Wind energy is cleaner, cheaper
and more renewable than many of the current sources of
energy used in this country. Additionally, the capacity
for expansion of wind farms and ways to harness wind
energy means that as the US's energy needs grow, there
will continue to be enough energy to provide for all of
our energy needs.
Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com - providing
information on wind power as an alternative energy
platform.
One of the world's fastest growing types of renewable
energy sources is wind energy. While most of the Earth
is still reliant on different types of fossil fuels
(such as oil, natural gas and coal) for their energy
supply, many countries are trying to come up with
alternative methods of obtaining energy. Much of Europe
has begun to build and use wind farms, which are
groupings of wind turbines that harness the energy of
the wind in order to create energy and electricity.
Also involved in using wind energy, USA has started to build their own wind farms.
Wind turbines are the individual components of wind
farms, and they are machinery composed of several main
parts. The first part is the rotor, also known as the
blades or the propeller, and this is the part of the
turbine that actually collects the wind energy and
converts it into drive energy, which then turns a shaft.
This shaft actually creates the energy that is then
stored or converted into electricity. Wind farms are
groupings of many of these turbines, usually 10 or more.
The wind energy USA had capacity for in the year 2004
was 6,740 MW, with a prediction that the wind energy
capabilities of the United States will be increased by
5,000 MW in the next five years. The US Department of
Energy has a goal of obtaining 6 percent of the
country's electricity needs from wind energy by the year
2020, which is a fair goal judging by the current rate
of growth seen in the wind energy industry. California
is the state in the US that produces the most wind
energy, with 2,096 MW of wind generating capacity per
year.
As one MW is enough energy to supply energy to 240 to
300 average US homes, the amount of wind energy USA
currently produces is enough to energy 500,000 to
620,000 homes per year. The United States is currently
ranked as the third highest wind energy producing
country in the world, behind Germany and Spain. The
business of wind energy in the US is also monetarily
significant – it costs about $1,000 per kilowatt (KW) of
installed wind energy capacity. When multiplied by the
US's capacity of 6,740 KW, this makes wind energy a $7
billion industry.
Wind energy is a growing energy source in the United
States for many reasons. Wind energy is cleaner, cheaper
and more renewable than many of the current sources of
energy used in this country. Additionally, the capacity
for expansion of wind farms and ways to harness wind
energy means that as the US's energy needs grow, there
will continue to be enough energy to provide for all of
our energy needs.
Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com - providing
information on wind power as an alternative energy
platform.
Wind Turbines - How to Harvest the Wind
By Hans Dekker
Wind is produced from the uneven heating of the
atmosphere and irregularities in the earth’s surface.
The air movement between these areas is what we refer to
as wind. Just as we can use flowing water to turn
turbines, we can harness the power of the wind with wind
turbines to create electricity.
Wind turbines have been in use since the 1920s. Their
earliest use was to provide electricity in remote areas
that didn’t have access to a large utility company.
Today there are fewer areas that are "off the grid" but
wind power can now be used to supplement traditional
power sources.
Wind turbines can be used individually to provide power
for a household, or they can be used in arrays to
provide electricity on a large scale. These arrays of
industrial sized turbines are called "wind farms" and
are usually situated in areas that receive consistent
strong winds. Coastal areas, hilltops, and mountain
passes are common areas for wind farms.
Thanks to advances in wind turbine technology we are now
able to use the wind as an affordable alternative to
fossil fuel for producing power. New technologies make
turbines more efficient and modern production techniques
bring the cost of turbines down.
When used as a supplement for residential electricity,
wind turbines are connected to the breaker box provided
by the power company. The power produced is available
for immediate consumption, and if the wind turbine
produces more electricity than is needed the excess is
fed back into the utility grid for a credit on the
homeowners power bill.
For those interested in living "off the grid" wind power
can be used in conjunction with other alternative energy
sources such as solar power. These two methods of
producing electricity complement each other, when the
sun is strong, the wind may be low, and the wind may be
stronger on cloudy days.
Also, since solar power is not produced at night, a wind
turbine can provide the electricity at this time.
Our site provides more in depth information wind energy
and the other sustainable energy sources, howto's and
downloadable building plans.
Hans is author of
http://www.alternative-energy-guide.com/ find more
information at the our wind power section
Wind is produced from the uneven heating of the
atmosphere and irregularities in the earth’s surface.
The air movement between these areas is what we refer to
as wind. Just as we can use flowing water to turn
turbines, we can harness the power of the wind with wind
turbines to create electricity.
Wind turbines have been in use since the 1920s. Their
earliest use was to provide electricity in remote areas
that didn’t have access to a large utility company.
Today there are fewer areas that are "off the grid" but
wind power can now be used to supplement traditional
power sources.
Wind turbines can be used individually to provide power
for a household, or they can be used in arrays to
provide electricity on a large scale. These arrays of
industrial sized turbines are called "wind farms" and
are usually situated in areas that receive consistent
strong winds. Coastal areas, hilltops, and mountain
passes are common areas for wind farms.
Thanks to advances in wind turbine technology we are now
able to use the wind as an affordable alternative to
fossil fuel for producing power. New technologies make
turbines more efficient and modern production techniques
bring the cost of turbines down.
When used as a supplement for residential electricity,
wind turbines are connected to the breaker box provided
by the power company. The power produced is available
for immediate consumption, and if the wind turbine
produces more electricity than is needed the excess is
fed back into the utility grid for a credit on the
homeowners power bill.
For those interested in living "off the grid" wind power
can be used in conjunction with other alternative energy
sources such as solar power. These two methods of
producing electricity complement each other, when the
sun is strong, the wind may be low, and the wind may be
stronger on cloudy days.
Also, since solar power is not produced at night, a wind
turbine can provide the electricity at this time.
Our site provides more in depth information wind energy
and the other sustainable energy sources, howto's and
downloadable building plans.
Hans is author of
http://www.alternative-energy-guide.com/ find more
information at the our wind power section
Huff and Puff - Power Your Home with the Wind
Rick Chapo
The fastest growing alternative energy platform in the
United States is the wind. No, I’m not blowing hot air.
Cheap and Productive
Manipulating the wind to generate electricity for your
home is cheap, easy and very misunderstood. First, you
don’t have to live in the middle of tornado alley to
generate electricity from the wind. Second, you don’t
need tulips and windmill like you’ve seen in pictures of
Holland. Third, smaller wind systems are so simply, you
can do it yourself.
Okay, let’s generate some enthusiasm on your part for
improving your home with wind power:
1. Small wind platforms can cut your utility bill by
more than half.
2. Wind systems can work with barely any wind at all.
3. Most wind systems are so small, nobody will even
notice them.
4. You can install a small wind system yourself.
5. A small wind system will run you around $1,000 and
pay for itself in a year depending on your current
utility bill.
6. Wind power is the fastest growing energy producer in
the world.
7. You can get financial incentives for improving your
home with wind power.
When talking about wind power, understand that
technological advances have dramatically changed the
systems. Forget windmills, turbines and large
structures. Unless you own a city, you will not be
dealing with those. Instead, modern residential wind
systems essentially look like weathervanes on top of 30
foot poles. They are no bigger than a couple of feet
long, have three blades and are very thin. It is no
different than having a flag pole in your backyard,
except this one saves you a ton of money.
The wind system works in a very compact an efficient
manner. The wind hits the blades and turns them.
Directly behind the blades is a small generator, which
converts the turning blades into power. The power is
then transferred to the ground through basic wiring
where you can either store it in a battery or feed it
directly back into the utility grid if allowed. If the
utility option is available, I recommend you take it
since batteries can be the most expensive part of the
system.
That’s it. The world’s simplest energy producing system
is wind. As long as it exists, you will always be able
to tap it for power.
Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of
solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles
on renewable energy and wind power.
The fastest growing alternative energy platform in the
United States is the wind. No, I’m not blowing hot air.
Cheap and Productive
Manipulating the wind to generate electricity for your
home is cheap, easy and very misunderstood. First, you
don’t have to live in the middle of tornado alley to
generate electricity from the wind. Second, you don’t
need tulips and windmill like you’ve seen in pictures of
Holland. Third, smaller wind systems are so simply, you
can do it yourself.
Okay, let’s generate some enthusiasm on your part for
improving your home with wind power:
1. Small wind platforms can cut your utility bill by
more than half.
2. Wind systems can work with barely any wind at all.
3. Most wind systems are so small, nobody will even
notice them.
4. You can install a small wind system yourself.
5. A small wind system will run you around $1,000 and
pay for itself in a year depending on your current
utility bill.
6. Wind power is the fastest growing energy producer in
the world.
7. You can get financial incentives for improving your
home with wind power.
When talking about wind power, understand that
technological advances have dramatically changed the
systems. Forget windmills, turbines and large
structures. Unless you own a city, you will not be
dealing with those. Instead, modern residential wind
systems essentially look like weathervanes on top of 30
foot poles. They are no bigger than a couple of feet
long, have three blades and are very thin. It is no
different than having a flag pole in your backyard,
except this one saves you a ton of money.
The wind system works in a very compact an efficient
manner. The wind hits the blades and turns them.
Directly behind the blades is a small generator, which
converts the turning blades into power. The power is
then transferred to the ground through basic wiring
where you can either store it in a battery or feed it
directly back into the utility grid if allowed. If the
utility option is available, I recommend you take it
since batteries can be the most expensive part of the
system.
That’s it. The world’s simplest energy producing system
is wind. As long as it exists, you will always be able
to tap it for power.
Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of
solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles
on renewable energy and wind power.
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