As a child, I grew up knowing about wind turbines some 60 years ago. My family was a family of miners. After a day of being in a dark hole hundreds of feet below ground, it was a great relief to spend time in the open air working to produce vegetables in an allotment garden. It was quite usual for miners to have electricity for one thing or another, and the way it was done, was to fit a large propellor to a scrap car generator and mount it on a pole 20 feet in the air. It was then connected to a battery in the shed via the old car charge controller and 12-volt power was taken from there to run a car light bulb etc.
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Wind turbines are something which I would like to have at my property, however, I have no wind and on the rare occasions it does come, it’s a gale. So in truth, what I have gathered together here are results of others, which I have had little opportunity to experiment with or test.
The national grid system uses a vast amount of wind turbines and from their experience, it appears that (a) HAWT types are the most efficient whilst (b) VAWT types take less space and work from any direction which is ideal for home use.
This was a very rudimentary system and though extremely inefficient due to the relatively small amount of power generated, contained the basics of wind power generation.
Imagine if you could use the wind to make electricity – it’s like having a big invisible helper! Wind power does just that. In this easy guide, we’ll talk about the good things (pros) and the not-so-good things (cons) about using wind to create energy. It’s like seeing the sunny side and the rainy side of a day.
The Good Stuff – Pros of Wind Power
- 1. Clean Energy: Wind power is super clean because it doesn’t cause pollution. Unlike burning things like coal or gas, wind doesn’t release harmful stuff into the air. So, it’s like helping the Earth stay healthy.
- 2. Inexhaustible: You know how the wind is always blowing? That’s because it’s always there! Wind power uses the wind’s energy, and guess what? The wind never runs out. It’s like having an endless supply of energy.
- 3. No Fuel Costs: Wind doesn’t cost anything – it’s free! Once the wind turbines (those tall wind-catching machines) are set up, they just use the wind’s power to make electricity. It’s like getting something awesome without spending any money.
- 4. Land Use: Wind turbines don’t need a lot of space on the ground. Farmers can still use the land around them for farming or other things. It’s like sharing the Earth’s space.
The Not-So-Good Stuff – Cons of Wind Power
- 1. Depends on Wind: Wind power is amazing, but it needs the wind to work. If the wind isn’t blowing, the turbines won’t make electricity. It’s like needing sunny weather for a picnic – you can’t have it on a rainy day.
- 2. Visual Impact: Some people think wind turbines look a bit strange. They’re pretty big, and they’re usually all in a line. So, they can change how a place looks. It’s like adding a big sculpture to a quiet park.
- 3. Noise: Wind turbines make a little bit of noise when they’re turning. Most of the time, it’s not very loud, but some people might not like it. It’s like having a soft hum in the background.
- 4. Birds and Wildlife: Sometimes, birds or bats might accidentally fly into the spinning blades of wind turbines. It doesn’t happen a lot, but it’s something people worry about. It’s like wanting to keep our feathered and furry friends safe
HAWT Wind Turbines
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines are the most common. These are the types which we usually see off the coast or on hilltops and are usually gigantic. Smaller ones are manufactured for home DIY and can be quite efficient. The big problem with them is that they need to face into the wind for maximum efficiency. This can be done electronically in the largest versions but is quite expensive. In smaller versions, the common way is to fit a tail onto the windmill so that the wind itself will turn it in line with the strongest direction of airflow.
The generator is normally mounted directly behind the windmill itself and in some versions, there is a gearbox – certainly in the huge ones – as power output is related to the speed of rotation of the blades. The problem for small generators here is that although we can introduce a large gear ratio to get maximum speed in the generator from a moderate speed from the propellor, as we increase the gear ratio, we increase the effort needed to turn the blades so any gearing has to be of a low ratio.
The other problem with HAWT versions is that the generator is normally mounted on the top of the pole as with my childhood memories of the miners. This is a weight bobbing around in the wind or straining the mountings if the pole is otherwise strong enough. They are also difficult to service should it become necessary, and this results in either difficult access to them if the mounting system is large, or having to remove them from their location in the case of smaller ones.
VAWT Turbines
Vertical Axis Wind Turbines are not as common as their horizontal counterparts, but take up less space. They are generally less efficient but they are independent of wind direction so no matter how quickly the wind direction changes, the rotor doesn’t have to try to keep pace with it.
VAWTs also have the benefit unlike HAWTs of mounting the generator at the base of the turbine as the blade system is normally mounted on top of the generator and if at a reasonable height, it can be driven via a propellor shaft. They also open the possibility of mounting the generator separately from the turbine and driving it via a belt or gearing. That drive system is therefore at ground level, making service a simple matter.
A very useful drive system can be built for a VAWT as follows. The VAWT is mounted on a frame with a bicycle wheel fixed to the base of the turbine so that as the turbine rotates, the wheel is part of it. A belt around the wheel drives the pulley on a car alternator at a speed reasonable enough to provide some charge for a battery.
I will be providing a complete build for a VAWT as a later project.
Conclusion
Wind power is like having a friendly windmill that makes electricity. There are some really good things about it, like making clean energy from the wind that never ends. But there are also some not-so-good things, like needing the wind to blow and the way it looks in the landscape. Just like anything, wind power has its bright side and its challenges. It’s important to weigh both sides and decide if it’s a good fit for our energy needs and the world we live in.
