Wind Power For The Home
Posted on Dec 25, 2007 - 05:32 AM
By: Adam Beazley
Wind power is the conversion wind energy into a useful energy source such as electricity. This is accomplished by using devices called wind turbines. Wind turbines use an electrical generator to convert the electrical current produced by the rotations of the wind turbine blades into a usable form of DC electricity, which can be further converted into an alternating current (AC).
Wind power currently produces about 1% of the worlds electricity usage, with Denmark, Spain and Germany accounting for the majority of this usage. This plentiful, renewable energy source can be used on large scales to help power national electrical grids, or they can be used in individual residences providing enough electricity to sustain its owners.
Not only is this wind energy free and renewable, the technology is very cost efficient. Contrary to popular belief, recent studies show that per Mega Watt hour, wind turbines can produce electricity at a comparable price to that of coal and natural gas generated electricity. In 2006, the British Wind Energy Association released a report which showed the compared cost per unit energy between onshore wind turbines, coal and natural gas: wind cost was estimated at $55.80 per MWh, coal at $53.10/MWh and natural gas at $52.50.
With the current trends showing a decrease in production cost for wind turbines, wind generated electricity will soon cost less than coal and natural gas. This is also due to the fact that after the initial capital investment, wind farms have close to zero fuel and maintenance cost, making them that much more of a threat to current generation methods.
The Science Behind Wind Energy
Wind energy is actually produced by the sun. About 3% of the energy from the sun hitting the earth’s surface is converted into wind energy. This conversion happens because of a phenomena called “differential heating” which is a result of the many different types of landscapes and water ways, heating and cooling at different rates causing a global atmospheric convection system (aka: wind). The majority of this wind energy can be found at very high altitudes in excess of 100 miles per hour. It is this high altitude wind that causes our weather patters. The low altitude, slower winds are what we use to turn wind turbines and create electricity. Although this lower altitude wind only accounts for a small portion of total available winds, it is more than enough to supply all of our energy needs.
Wind turbine effectiveness varies by location, as each city and state have different wind conditions. Unfortunately, wind turbines will not work anywhere, they must be sized and located according to previously recorded imperial data. Although, as a rule of thumb, wind turbines are only practical in places where the average wind speed is over 10 mph. The following map will layout the best locations for wind turbines.
This map of the available wind power over the United States indicates the wind power density class by using a color chart. Compliments of Wikipedia.
Full resolution? (1,130 x 713 pixels, file size: 163 KB, MIME type: image/png)
If you live in an area where it is practical to use wind power, you should seriously consider buying a smaller residential wind turbine for your home. For a relatively low price, a wind turbine can produce a substantial amount of electricity to be used by your home. Wind turbines can be grid connected to eliminate the need for a battery backup system, which would also drastically cut your monthly electricity bill. If you cannot afford to buy a turbine outright, there are financing options which can often get the monthly cost to a lower price than your monthly savings making it quite feasible to harness the wind in your area. For more information on wind turbine options please take a look at our eco store and check out the Whisperer and Skystream wind turbines
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Show/Hide Comments (5)
By travel to barcelona on 03/15/2008
hi , very nice post !
By Miley More on 04/18/2008
Great information, thank you for the knowledge
By investment opinions on 05/01/2008
Wind energy investment will be very useful in future because sources of gas and coal are decreasing. Nice article thanks for sharing…
By John on 05/25/2008
According to the DOE the electrical energy from wind in Denmark is over 20% and it is about 8% in Germany. The United States is obviously far behind, but according to the same report wind capacity grew a staggering 45% in 2007 alone (from 2,454 MW to 5,244 MW).
By FL-LawyerGuy on 10/14/2008
Very informative. Thank you for the article. Good read.
