Wind
driven generators
or wind generators are also called wind turbines. They
help generate electricity and are usually of two major
types: (a) small wind-generators that provide
electricity for private homes and small enterprises and
(b) larger turbines that generate power for wind farms.
However, the basic technology involved in both of these
two types is more or less the same. As a matter of fact,
all wind driven
generators convert the kinetic energy in a wind
current to mechanical or electrical energy in the
following manner.
A
small or home use wind generator consists of a small
motor that serves as its generating unit, a set of
blades to set the motor-cum-generator in motion, a
battery bank to store the generated electricity, a
charge controller to save the battery life since
overcharging shortens it, a step up
transformer-cum-inverter to raise the small DC output of
the generator to useful 120V AC and a tall tower (at
least 30 feet or higher than the neighboring trees or
structures) for installing the generator on top of it.
As the wind current hits the blades, it starts to lift
them and in the process the generator’s drive shaft that
is attached to the blades starts spinning. And as it
spins at a high revolution, electricity is generated
which charges the batteries. Of course, the outputs will
depend on the wind speed, the nature of turbulence,
diameter of the blades and the generator capacity.
According to figures available on the topic, wind speeds
of 8 miles per hour is good for the battery charging
while 12 mph is recommended for systems that are linked
with the utility. Some wind driven
generators are provided with speed governors or
brakes to save them from exceptionally high winds or
tornados.
With
larger size wind generators that are used in wind farms,
the drive shafts are separately coupled to generators
suitably arranged within the housing by means of a set
of helical gears. This ingenious device increases the
rotational velocity of the generator, as a result of
which power generation increases to a much higher
degree. When several such large size wind generator are
set in an array, adequate power is generated that proves
sufficient for large number of households or other
electrically operated installations.
Wind
driven generators
are currently very much in demand throughout the
On
the other hand, small wind generator for home use can be
easily built by anyone with a little mechanical
knowledge at an unbelievably low cost. All that one
needs to make a wind generator will include a small
motor that can be fished out of a hardware store, blades
that can be cut out of 6 inch diameter 24 inch ABS pipe,
also from the same source, batteries secured almost for
a song from any automobile junk yard and an electronic
chare controller and a voltage step up transformer-cum
inverter from any outlet. If necessary, one has to visit
the hardware store again for getting a hub for the
blades. Assembled together and perched high up on a
conduit or a pole with a yaw attached to it, will surely
be most rewarding.
Adding wind power makes a lot of sense – there are both financial as well as ecological benefits. Set up your personal wind power system at home because it is safe and clean energy. And the best news is, it can be done cheap and without any hassles as well. You can contribute to clean up the air and also reduce your power bills. But before you can make the system work, you need to know where to set it up at the home, how to set it up and wire the system, where to get the parts from cheap and also the safety precautions that need to be followed.
