Wind on our planet is the movement of air caused by the unequal heating of large zones of Earth's surface by the sun. Today, wind energy is mainly used for the production of electricity. It is a clean and renewable energy source that can produce enough electricity to power huge areas.
The simplest way to think about the process of producing electricity from the movement of air is to imagine that a wind turbine works in exactly the opposite way to a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, turbines use the wind to make electricity.
The generator is a machine that produces electrical energy from mechanical energy.
Types of Wind Turbines
Today's wind turbines could be put into two main categories based on the direction of the axis. The most common type of wind turbines used today are the horizontal-axis wind turbines. Horizontal-axis wind turbines have turbine blades that look like airplane propellers, while vertical–axis wind turbines have blades that go from top to bottom. A small percentage of wind turbines used today are vertical-axis wind turbines but they are constantly increasing popularity as they are very suitable for small-scale installations..
Size and capacity of Wind Turbines
The size of wind turbine differs widely. Small turbines are used to provide power to a single home or business and the capacity of these small wind turbines are less than 100 kilowatts. Larger commercial sized wind turbines can have a capacity of 5 megawatts. These larger turbines are frequently grouped together into wind farms providing power to the electricity grid. Wind farm normally has dozens of wind turbines that are scattered over a large area. They are lined in a way that allows the utilization of the windflow.
History
The wind energy was the natural power that allowed the humans to exploit the surface of the planet. Sails of the ships were the wind-catchers used for transportation of men and goods over a large water areas. The windmill blades converted the wind power into physical for different purposes. One of the first electricity generating systems was constructed of 144 blades made out of cedarwood. It functioned for 20 years and charged the batteries in the basement of its inventor. During WWII, a Danish company began manufacturing bi and tri-blade aerogenerators and in the 50´s, the first alternating current turbines were developed. The first oil crisis generated a real interest in wind energy.
Future
We can emphasize that wind energy is generated indirectly thanks to the Sun. The Sun heats the air and this causes the currents that generate wind. Wind is inexhaustible, and is renewed on a continuous basis as long as the Sun shines. It does not cause any type of contamination. It is green power.
It is becoming increasingly less expensive, as the technology advances.
It allows progress without hurting the Earth, respecting the environment.
It leaves no trace and does not pollute in any way..
To ensure wind turbines that are big in size work in a better manner, a new kind of air-flow technology may soon be introduced. Apart from other aspects, it will focus on efficiency of blades used in the wind turbines. The technology will help in increasing the efficiency of these turbines under various wind conditions.
Other applications of wind energy
Another one of wind energy´s uses is the windmill. An aerogenerator is connected directly to a charge replacing its electric generator and its main function is water pumping.
These windmills consist of many blades that get the most out of low speed winds. They start working with winds from wind speed of unfer 3 m/s, maintaining a constant rotating capacity, perfect to have a continuous amount of water, taking advantage of both, strong and weak winds and avoiding the need for large water tanks or towers.
