subject: Points You Have To Know Pertaining To Home Wind Generators Prior To Getting Started [print this page] Home wind turbines are a great way to offset or eliminate electricity costs at your house.
However, in order to get the most out of them, you need to know a few facts and terms:
Basic components:
o Rotor and Rotor Hub - this is the "harvesting" part of the device. The rotor is typically 3-bladed and designed to produce maximum lift with available wind. All rotors and aerodynamic hubs are not the same though. Different wind conditions require blades with different aerodynamic properties.
o Nacelle Enclosure - this is where the power conversion equipment is housed. The generator takes the mechanical energy harvested by the rotor system and converts it to electrical energy. Once the electrical energy is transported to its final destination, (in this case, your home), an inverter is used to tie-in to your home electrical system and give you usable power. The job of the inverter too, is to keep your power from back-feeding into the electrical grid, as well.
o Tower - although, home wind turbines can be mounted on roofs, they typically are placed on top of towers. This is because they operate at optimal design efficiency when they are exposed to a steady consistent wind. Winds that are at least 30 feet above the tree line are the most reliably consistent.
Watt/Kilowatt: the basic unit of energy is a WATT. A kilowatt is 1,000 watts. If you add up all the appliances, HVAC, and lights in your home, it will typically be less than 2 kilowatts.
Killowatt-hour: since you change your home energy requirements over the course of a day, this is the amount of energy you use in an hour.
Noise - relative to most other noise-making things in our environment, wind turbines aren't that loud. Modern home wind turbines are no louder than a regular garden-variety refrigerator. They have developed a reputation as being loud however because of older units that are still out there.
Shadow Flicker: this is the shadow that the turbine's rotor can produce on a sunny day. It can be a bit distracting and annoying but thankfully, doesn't occur often in the U.S.
Home Distance Setback: experts say, wind turbines should be placed between 600 and 1000 feet away from homes. At this distance, the noise and the shadow are not factors.
Birds and Bats: birds and bats are killed as a result of close encounters with wind turbines and peripheral equipment they need to deliver the power they produce.
However, as a safety measure, the industry is moving away from lattice towers and toward solid. That is because birds tend to nest in the latticework and get too near the turning blades.
Home wind turbines are here to stay and as prices come down, it will be more and more economically feasible for even people in low wind states to take advantage of them to harvest this FREE energy source. Research and get to know the basics.
