subject: Wind Generator Motor: What Does It Do? [print this page] The wind generator motor is the part of the device that actually creates the electricity from the mechanical action of the shaft rotating inside it. The shaft rotates of course in response to the blades being turned by the wind.
The efficiency of this overall system is very critical and has a lot to do with the specific situation in which you want to derive energy from the wind. There is just no way to underestimate the importance of understanding the details of your particular location and wind characteristics.
But, how does the motor on a wind turbine actually work?
Thankfully, it is quite simple actually. The wind generator motor works off the principal of electromechanical induction.
Through this process, the generator produces voltage - a concept closely related to the concept of pressure in other physical systems. Voltage is the force that actually drives the electricity to its destination.
The generator itself is quite straightforward - just a conductor and some magnets. The conductor itself is just the coiled wire. The shaft extends into the generator and is connected to a set of magnets that goes around the set of wires.
As it turns out, if you have a conductor apparatus that is encompassed by a set of magnets and there is rotation, voltage will be created inside the conductor wires. As the shaft of the wind turbine spins, the magnets are spun and there is voltage induced in those wires.The current that is produced is "direct" current and must be changed to the "alternating" current that your power company supplies you and that your appliances can use.
The more powerful the magnets obviously, the more powerful the generator and the more electricity you will make. The magnets have some physical resistance to moving and have to overcome that to get the shaft turning. So, very low wind situations present a problem and therefore need the cooperation of the generator and the blades themselves in order to make power when the wind is at a very low speed.
In conclusion, the wind generator motor, along with the blades, are the key components of the wind turbine that ultimately determine how much power you will be able to extract from your wind. If you understand these 2 subcomponents of the home wind turbine, then you pretty much have over 90% of the science behind these devices in general. They are really pretty blindingly straightforward other than those 2 subcomponents. Once you have your wind turbine place, you will want to spend the majority of your time researching improvements in blade technology and also in the limitations of the motor that you have chosen, so that the replacement parts you eventually have to buy will be optimized based on the latest advancements in technology.
