It may be termed as a good turn of
events that people have at last appreciated the evil
effects of fossil fuel generated electricity and are
looking for alternative source for generating power. But
the story goes back by many years. Looking back to their
own history, some Americans thought of using windmills
having ‘sails’ measuring 10 or 20 feet that were used by
early settlers for crushing grains as probable means of
generating current. But the idea was obviously nipped in
the bud since installation of such gargantuan edifice on
the roof of an urban home proved totally absurd.
However, by the end of 1979, Danish engineers developed
petite electricity generators fitted with light PVC
blades that could produce current when held against
strong wind. They called these units “Wind Turbines”
which were mass marketed by eminent Danish
companies.
Taking
cue from the Danes, many other British and American
companies also started making Turbines that were widely
used by people, principally for the sake of reducing
their electricity bills as also with a view to
inhibiting their dependence on the utility/grid.
However, with the passage of time, quite a lot of
disadvantages cropped up with the newly developed wind
power generated power for which none but the wind was
blamed. Inclement weather could put a curb on the wind
speed, resulting in abrupt stoppage of generation while
the turbines created such a racket when spun at high
speed that neighbors were forced to lodge complaints to
the local authorities against installation of such
‘roaring monsters’ near their homes. However, use of
better bearings and redesigning of the inner mechanism
has lessened the noise nuisance to a great extent
although some ‘wheezing’ is still there when the
turbines are turning at higher rpm. Nevertheless, it did
not deter the use of wind power generated electricity
although some restrictions were put on their widespread
use, particularly in the residential
areas.
While the wind debacle was in high
swing, an accidental invention abruptly altered public
attention to a totally different topic. Calvin Fuller,
Gerald Pearson and Daryl Chaplin of Bell Laboratories
accidentally discovered the mother of modern solar cell
in the form of silicon semiconductors during their
routine research on the behavior pattern of non-metals.
Researchers logically lost no time in developing the
cell and were amazed to find that an assembly of solar
cells in the form of a solar panel could light up a
small home like Aladdin’s magic lamp. Mushrooming
enterprises throughout the length and breadth of
continental
The
answer to the problem, however, is simple. To obtain
uninterrupted power all through the day and night as
also to drastically reduce the electricity bill one
should go for the following system:
1.
Install
both solar panel as well as wind turbine for the home.
While the solar system will go on generating power
during the daylight hours, the turbine will provide the
same at night.
2. Install
a battery bank with the system as a stand-by unit to
work when everything else fails.
3. Get
the system grid-tied so that all surplus current will go
to the grid, providing you credit for the power sold to
the utility.
4. For
an intelligent consumer, making money from the system is
breeze. With both units running simultaneously, the
consumer will not only need any current from the grid
but will also flood it with his or her own generated
current.
The
demand for solar and wind power for residential
use has already picked up considerably, and it is
expected to do so more in the future. Yes there are
still a few technical glitches, but they are almost sure
to be overcome and so we can expect to see this becoming
more popular.
