Your Questions About Wind Turbine Generators For Home Use

admin answers:

The easiest system to build is the vertical type which from the top side looks much like the sign for the astrological gemini ..the capture side is presented to the wind constantly on a simple outer bearing and race..it takes thrust and is called a TDO (tapered double outer) race bearing …the inside presses against a lower TDO and an upper singe cup like your wheel bearing in your car. Vertical units have a better approach height from the wind..take up less space and are not as testy when it comes to turbulence…In 1998 i built a small model based on a design i got from a friend that uses lightweight sheet metal ..We only had a few problems and that was in the collector ring..
Now for the horizontal…it takes up a lot of space..20′ x 10′ footprint..its got no way of responding to the change of wind direction..Unless you build the feeder horn type which captures and diverts the air downward onto primary compression blades…In this case you built a vertical mill and just improperly named it…turbulence from the ground and safety issues ( neighbors dog jumps in) all have an added problem..there are some very odd calculations for the turbine collector and the way the blades a shaped and how captured air is exhausted no to cause a back pressure. Here’s what i found out..Height is 3 times width. Of turbine tube… If the internal fan is 3 feet height is min of 9 feet..12feet is great 15 feet is best. If your going to build this thing from scratch remember to use a massive shaft (hollow) .My favorite is schedule 10 steel 4″ .. Bearings are expensive. Grease is cheaper ..the fan is in a spiral along the shaft the pitch is about 1 turn in twenty
feet. Your selection of generators needs to be a higher value 8% than your actual design load. The transmission if used on a 90deg box should use lightest oil. Every time you add a piece to the drive train you loose power…to best regulate the high speed use a flywheel ..I made one from from a 1″ thick 18″ diameter steel plate it will provide carry over by inertia short cycle and if you want you can attach your MAGNETIC induction tachometer to it…gosh there are so many things in favor of a vertical mill in most applications ..I think its the only way to go…But i am going to guarantee any of these are not tweak free.. No matter the skill or the budget ..Your in a very grey area…With the wind info you sent an 85% eff (during operation) will produce about 2400 watts of power at 120volts parasitic losses can account for 10% mechanical loss for 5 %..In a start up mode expect that it will take 3-5 months to get the mechanics correct. And for the electrics just follow NEC and other codes ..Please find a good slip ring collector. I salvaged the shaft form a broken gasoline welder for mine (250 amp)…all in all its sound like fun wish you were down the street…this was probably more than you wanted for an answer but I just couldn’t resist..Have fun From the E

admin answers:

Hi Liliveth, consider these changes: if you invest properly in wind power today and take advantage of any grants and tax incentives, even if your electric rates do not go up as they are forecast too, you will get your money back over time, well within the lifetime of the equipment, and sooner if there is a rate increase in the future. There are also enviromental benefits. At one time there was an argument that a wind turbine will never produce as much power as was used to manufacture it. First of all, this is not correct. The, “Embodied Energy,” in a turbine is earned back in 2 – 6 years, depending on the type turbine, where the raw materials were shipped from, and how it was installed and used in the end. But the argument is not important anyway. We have been living with electricity for over a century now, so it isn’t going away anytime soon. The question is, “What is the best way to produce it?” If you build a turbine, and put it along side a similar sized natural gas fired turbine generator for example, which earns back its embodied energy sooner? The answer is the gas turbine never does, because once you build it, ship it and install it, you now have to feed it natural gas for the rest of its life, so it keeps on digging itself a deeper and deeper embodied energy hole that it can never crawl out of. At least the turbine has a chance to get even environmentally. So manufacturing and using them in the end releases less pollution into our environment. There are other environmental benefits as well, most of these are pretty obvious.

There are also mechanical and political benefits. We all know after the oil embargo of 1973, and the gulf war what it means for our country to rely on foreign oil. Wouldn’t it be nice if we only shipped in 20% of our energy instead of 60% the next time something like that happens? Our home has been powered by the wind and sun for years now, but we still remain connected to the electric grid. Last year alone there were two power failures in our county that lasted about a half day each. In both cases, we were not aware of them because our solar array and wind turbine kept on feeding the house. It’s difficult to put a price tag on something like that. Did you know that there are over 100,000 homes and businesses in the United States alone that use some level of solar and wind power to operate their electrical devices, that’s good news.

Beyond the mechanical, political and environmental benefits however, lies a less obvious benefit, the social benefit. Right now we pump oil out of the ground, and mine for coal. The process of getting those materials to market involves shipping, military escorts and other activities that use up a good portion of that energy as well as putting lives at risk. Jobs in wind power are higher tech than jobs in coal mining, oil drilling and shipping, and there are more of them. Using more solar and wind power would require us to put more people to work, and increase our education base because the work involved requires certain skills. I would personally like to take all those people out of the coal mines, send them to school and put them to work building solar panels and wind turbines. Nobody would have to die again in one of those dark holes in the ground trying to find food for our hungry power plants. They could work on a factory floor where they would not be exposed to coal dust, radon and other toxins and dangers. Most of our solar and wind resources are spread pretty evenly over the middle half of our globe, so everyone has access. This puts people in Bogota on a more equal footing with people in Boca Raton by giving them access to electricity, heat and clean water, and the education to use the resources that provide those things. Oil, coal and natural gas is generally piled up in a few places, such as Russia and the Middle East. This gives those countries and the richer governments that rule them more horse power in bargaining for the other resources of our planet. These are the things that wars are made of.

There are other reasons, but I think you get the picture. For us, renewable energy has become something of a hobby It will probably never save us any real money, utility power in most places is really very inexpensive, but it’s a little like growing your own tomatoes. It’s usually cheaper to buy them at the grocery, but lots of people go to the work and expense to maintain a garden instead. We just grow electrons in ours. If you really want to learn more about the subject, there are some great sources to look into, I will list some below. Here are a couple of quotes you might be interested in: “The path we take today could ease anothers journey tomorrow” Rajendra Pachauri. “The problems facing humanity cannot be solved with the same level of conciousness that created them.” Albert Einstein. Take care Liliveth, Rudydoo