Wind Turbine Types and Designs - From Installation to Maintenance

Renewable Energy, Environment
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The market growth and demand for wind power has increased at an impressive 27%rate during the last five years. Even staid and conservative governments are promoting wind energy now. In some countries, wind energy equipment is available at subsidized rates so that more and more industrialists are investigating starting wind farms. This has also motivated wind industry manufacturers to produce better turbines because the demand and supply equation is no longer in balance. If we have better and improved wind turbines, obviously we will produce more energy and our dependency on conventional sources will decrease. Gone are the days when investors were not willing to put their money in this sector. Alternative sources of energy have created a huge market these days, and, considering the wind energy sector, it has huge potential for coming years. In America alone, annual wind turbine installations increased from 1,672 to 8,545 MW from 2003 to 2008.

This article will serve as a single point source to learn about wind turbines, their types, wind turbine operations, and other related aspects.

Wind Energy - What makes it Special?

Before we start talking about the types of wind turbines and discuss their working in detail, we should know little bit about importance of adopting wind energy and how is it going to benefit us. If we look back in history, wind energy was used to propel boats starting some 5500 years ago. However, the first incidence of wind turbines being used in a machine could be found in the 9th Century when Iranians (Persians) first used a vertical-axis windmill. In this section we have articles that provide an insight into the history of wind energy and its benefits.

Now that we know about the history and story of wind energy, we can talk about wind turbines and their functions.

Different Types of Wind Turbines

Although we can categorize wind turbines into many categories depending upon their make, size, and power ratings, wind turbines can broadly be categorized into two main categories: vertical turbines and horizontal turbines. The primary function of a wind turbine is to convert kinetic energy of wind into mechanical energy, which is then used to generate electrical energy. The principle of aerodynamic modeling is used to harness the wind energy using wind turbines. In this section, we have a close and detailed look at the different types of wind turbines.

Working with Wind Turbines

A wind turbine is comprised of blades, an anemometer, controller, gear box, generator, speed shaft, and rotors. Working with wind turbines requires a thorough understanding of the working of these parts and how these parts function simultaneously to run as a single unit. Individual wind turbines can also be installed at remote places to fulfill the power requirements of local areas where there is no other source of electricity. For commercial purposes large numbers of wind turbines are installed in wind farms, or wind power plants.

You may also like to learn about the best ways to find suitable wind turbines for domestic use. There are certain disadvantages associated with using wind turbines, and without talking about them we cannot understand the complete picture of using wind turbines and installing wind farms. The environmental side effects of wind farms and why people oppose installation of wind farms in some parts of world are some of the aspects we discuss in the following articles.

In this guide we have covered a variety of topics from selecting a turbine to wind turbine designs and types. We have also discussed how wind energy is going to benefit not only the common public but the industrialists too because wind energy has huge potential. It is our hope that this guide will have helped you understand hhe use of, importance of, and need for wind turbines.

If you have ideas about other subjects we should cover in this area in future articles, please include your suggestions in the comments area below. Comments are moderated and may take some time to appear.

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