Renewable Energy Today

A home wind energy system always consists of a wind turbine, a tower, wiring and balance components like controller, inverter and batteries.

Wind Turbine

Home wind turbines consist of a generator, a rotor and a tail. When wind turns the blades, the rotor absorb the kinetic energy to drive the generator. Rotors are always of 3 blades, but sometimes you can see some rotors of only two blades. The amount of electricity that a turbine produces can be best indicated by the diameter of the rotor. A rotor with a larger diameter drives more energy to the generator. The tail is used to keep the turbine facing into the wind.

Tower

The wind turbine is mounted on a tower to increase its height. This is because wind speeds increases with height. The higher the turbine, the more power the system can produce. You may wonder at what height it should be. Generally a wind turbine is mounted on a tower so that the bottom of the rotor blades is at least 9 meters above any obstacles that is within 90 meters.

Other Equipments

If the wind energy system is not connected to the electricity transmission and distribution system of a power company, batteries are required to store the excess electricity generated for future use. A charge controller is also required to keep the batteries from overcharging. You should use deep-cycle batteries because it can be recharged hundreds of times. Batteries should be stored in area isolated from living areas and electronics because they contains explosive and corrosive substances.

The electricity generated is in direct current. So to use it in standard household appliances that required alternating current, an inverted is needed to convert the dc to ac. Even the use of inverter lowers the overall efficiency of the system, it ensures that the system works on different appliances.

Click here to learn how to Diy Home Wind Energy System