For many people, the addition of a wind turbine generator to their home is an excellent idea. The biggest problem is the costs associated with purchasing a commercial wind turbine.
If you are like most people, then the choice of installing a wind turbine revolves around money. To save in your electric bill on a monthly basis is a very novel concept. But recovering the costs of purchasing a commercial unit in a year or less may be out of most people’s budgets. If you are pondering whether to build one yourself, then you will need to start by knowing how a wind turbine generator is made.
There are two major components to a wind turbine generator. The first of these is obvious, and that is the generator which produces power you can use in your home. The other component is the blades which are responsible for transforming the winds energy into a rotational force to drive the generator.
The blades, or propellers, are designed to capture the forward force of the wind and turn it into a rotational force. The more wind that the blades can catch, the more power the generator is capable of producing. In order to capture more wind though, there are two main factors that need to be taken into account. The first of these is the size of the blades themselves. The larger the blades, the more wind they can catch. The second factor is the shape of the blade. Some blade shapes are great for pushing wind, but not so good at collecting it. You cannot simply connect your electric fan blades to your wind turbine and hope for the best.
As far as the generator goes, you have two variations that are used today. The first is the common brush generator which is built in almost the same fashion as any household electric motor. The second is a pancake style generator which is most commonly referred to as an alternator. It is built without any brushes at all and is the most commonly used generator in homemade wind turbine setups.
In most cases, the alternator for a wind turbine generator is wired with 3 phases. This is done to reduce the back EMF the system receives when rotating. Too much back EMF can prevent your turbine from spinning at all in low wind conditions. The production of power is as a result of the rare neodymium earth magnets used in the generator’s construction.
A moving magnetic field creates an electrical current. As the blades rotate, they are connected to a disk which has permanent magnets attached to it. The wire-wound portion of the unit stands still and does not rotate at all. As each magnet passes over a winding coil, a charge is either sent or received through the coil depending on whether the North or South end of the magnet is facing the coil.
The multiple phases are then converted to direct current and combined into a single DC output which can then be connected to a power inverter and used inside the home.
There are of course many other things you will want to learn about producing your own power at home with a wind turbine generator, but these basics should get you started on the right path.
If you are like most people, then the choice of installing a wind turbine revolves around money. To save in your electric bill on a monthly basis is a very novel concept. But recovering the costs of purchasing a commercial unit in a year or less may be out of most people’s budgets. If you are pondering whether to build one yourself, then you will need to start by knowing how a wind turbine generator is made.
There are two major components to a wind turbine generator. The first of these is obvious, and that is the generator which produces power you can use in your home. The other component is the blades which are responsible for transforming the winds energy into a rotational force to drive the generator.
The blades, or propellers, are designed to capture the forward force of the wind and turn it into a rotational force. The more wind that the blades can catch, the more power the generator is capable of producing. In order to capture more wind though, there are two main factors that need to be taken into account. The first of these is the size of the blades themselves. The larger the blades, the more wind they can catch. The second factor is the shape of the blade. Some blade shapes are great for pushing wind, but not so good at collecting it. You cannot simply connect your electric fan blades to your wind turbine and hope for the best.
As far as the generator goes, you have two variations that are used today. The first is the common brush generator which is built in almost the same fashion as any household electric motor. The second is a pancake style generator which is most commonly referred to as an alternator. It is built without any brushes at all and is the most commonly used generator in homemade wind turbine setups.
In most cases, the alternator for a wind turbine generator is wired with 3 phases. This is done to reduce the back EMF the system receives when rotating. Too much back EMF can prevent your turbine from spinning at all in low wind conditions. The production of power is as a result of the rare neodymium earth magnets used in the generator’s construction.
A moving magnetic field creates an electrical current. As the blades rotate, they are connected to a disk which has permanent magnets attached to it. The wire-wound portion of the unit stands still and does not rotate at all. As each magnet passes over a winding coil, a charge is either sent or received through the coil depending on whether the North or South end of the magnet is facing the coil.
The multiple phases are then converted to direct current and combined into a single DC output which can then be connected to a power inverter and used inside the home.
There are of course many other things you will want to learn about producing your own power at home with a wind turbine generator, but these basics should get you started on the right path.
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