Get Up Close and Personal with a Wind Turbine
Thursday, October 4th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
There are many renewable and alternative energy platforms being used all over the world. There is solar energy, hydro energy, methane hydrate, and of course there is wind power. In fact, wind power is one of the fastest growing energy platforms in the world. In most cases, wind turbines are used to power generators. Those generators produce electricity that can be used to power homes, businesses, and even entire countries in best case scenarios. As you can imagine, then, the efficiency of wind power anywhere it is used has to do with the ability of the wind turbine to catch the air and convert it.
So, then, how exactly does a wind turbine work? There are some components of the wind turbine you have to understand in order to fully get the overall concept of it.
The Basics
Basically, a wind turbine is a tool that is used to take wind, a solar energy, and make it into electricity. This is taking kinetic energy and converting it to mechanical and useable energy. When a good turbine is placed in the right place, a fair volume of energy can be produced.
The Blades
The first and most important part of the wind turbine is the blade. Most turbines today sit vertically in the air and make use of three blades. Each blade is made of a composite of fiberglass and plastic. This composite is important because it can be made large and still maintains a light weight. There are a few still made of wood, but the fiberglass composite turbines work more efficiently.
These blades are fastened to a double rotor assembly. The rotor spins as the blades spin from the catching of the wind. The rotor then turns a magnet rotor through an assembly made of a series of pulleys. This step may be skipped with smaller models.
The magnetic rotor then spins around a magnetic alternator, which is standard for generating electricity. As the magnetic field created passes over the alternators wire and creates an electrical charge. This is then sent to a controller that takes the charge and makes it into DC power, which is usable in homes and businesses. This is the key to the electricity production.
Tails
In order to ensure proper rotation of the turbine blades, most turbines have a tail. The tail is also called a vane or boom and it sticks out the back of the turbine. The flat end of it makes it so that the surface turns toward the wind. This, in turn, causes the blades to face the wind and thus move in the right direction for producing the maximum amount of electricity.
Brakes
What many people who know at least a little about turbines may not be aware of is the fact that many turbines are equipped with breaking systems. These brakes are there so that the turbine can be stopped when the winds get too high. That is right; there is a limit to how much wind a turbine can take so it is necessary to stop the blades if there is too much in the way of wind. The brakes are usually electric and can stop the blades or the current that is being fed through the turbine, all in the name of protecting the structure.
Finally
As you can imagine, there is a lot to wind turbines. They are the most important part of harvesting wind efficiently. Now that you better understand the turbines, you can better understand what goes into producing electricity through the power of wind. With that understanding, you can see why it is growing quickly in popularity around the world. If you want to learn more about how you can help with global warming have a look at 200 Ways to Fight global warming, a ebook and audio program that will help you fight global warming today.
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