Wind generators have attracted the attention of many consumers this is because of the benefits that it can give them such as reduced electricity consumption resulting in cheaper electricity bill. However, before thinking of making or buying wind generator, there are factors that you have to consider.
The biggest factor that consumers need to think of is the amount of energy required. The standard battery charging does not require a lot of energy but for more energy requirements, bigger wind turbines are needed. In addition, the location regarding where the generator will be installed is also important. Next, check out if the location where you want to have the wind generator installed have sufficient amount of wind. Keep in mind that wind generators come in different shapes and sizes therefore these need varied classes. To determine the class of your area, please refer to the US Department of Energy’s Wind Map. After determining that your location has sufficient wind, you need to check out the local laws regarding installation of a wind generator.
These machines are usually placed on top of most buildings so you also have to check your city’s and housing association’s rules about wind generators. Only then can you contact the local utility company to make sure that they have no laws against using wind power. Once all these factors have been checked then proceed with buying or making your wind generator.
Making a wind generator is not an easy task and buying one can be quite expensive. If you are still interested in producing wind power without using a generator then consider the Green Markets, they have all the options about where to get clean and re-usable energy.
If you are interested in obtaining a wind generator, determining the best generator location is important. To do this, you need to have strong wind, which is only present in high places. To be more specific, the wind generator tower should be 15 feet higher than any object within 300 feet from it.
Buying a commercially manufactured tower is also an option however, it may also be pricey. What we can do instead is create or develop our own tower which is more cost efficient.
The best way to create a wind generator tower is to look for a tilt-up pipe tower which is considered to be inexpensive. You can also use a guy wire supported tower but the best choice is using old but useful TV towers. Old TV towers are strong and are usually 30 to 50 feet in height. The best thing about these old TV towers is you can even make money out of taking these down. This is so since most TV towers are now being replaced by satellite TV especially in rural areas.
People will pay you $50 up to $100 just so you can take out the TV tower and now you have a strong tower that you can use to create a wind generator tower. You not only help get rid of nuisance but you may also profit from removing an old TV tower.
Making a generator tower should not be complicated especially if you make use of recyclable materials and have a good, reliable guide or manual.
The term “photo” derives from the Greek word for “light,” and the term “voltaic” comes from the word “volt” which means “electrical force.” A “cell” is a small receptacle or container containing electrodes which generate power.
Thus, a photovoltaic cell is a container that creates electric force, through light.
Whereas a solar cell can generate electricity from any light source, its intended use is the collection of solar energy from the sun.
How a Solar Cell Works
The solar cell works as follows:
Photons (which are particles of light in sun rays) hit the surface of the solar cell and are absorbed a semiconductor, such as silicon.
These photons (bits of sunlight) knock electrons loose from the atoms inside the semiconductor. The photons then push the electrons along, leaving a “gap” in the atom. Another electron is then pulled from an adjacent atom to fill the gap. And so an electrical flow is generated.
The simplicity of this is that one atom has an extra electron, and the other atom is missing one. This is referred to as a “difference in potential.” Nature, wanting to remain balanced, tries to even things out by pulling another electron from the neighboring atom.
A solar panel is comprised of a group of solar cells which are linked together to produce the desired amount of electrical energy.
A group of solar cells linked together can also be referred to as a “module.” Thus the terms “solar panel,” and “solar module,” are synonymous to each other, and essentially mean the exact same thing. “Solar panel” is the more common term, and “solar module” is the technical term.
One can use solar panels individually or one can link several together in order to generate more electricity. When a group of solar panels are linked together, it is called a “solar array”. The more solar panels are included in a solar array, the more power they produce.
Solar Power is a clean and virtually unlimited source of energy. I say “virtually unlimited” because the sun itself won’t last forever. But we won’t have to worry about that for the next few billion years.
Since solar power is a clean energy source which has been around for decades, one might wonder why its not used more. The answer to this lies partially in the cost of producing solar panels, as well as in the efficiency of the solar panels.
We are currently in the second generation of solar panel technology and verging on the third. A lot has changed since the first generation. Solar panels a are becoming a viable source of clean energy.
The solar cells of earlier times were relatively large and bulky compared to our current models. In view of the amount of energy and material required to produce them, and the amount of energy they actually produced, it was more costly to use solar energy than to use fossil fuels. The only exception was in places where little or no fossil fuels were available, such as in space.
With the second-generation solar cells, we attempted to tackle this exact problem. We attempted improve manufacturing techniques so as to reduce the costs, materials and energy needed for the production of solar cells.
Recently, major advances have been made in the production of solar cells, which have reduced production costs.
One contribution in this area was the development of techniques to coat glass or ceramic materials with very thin layers of semi-conductive substances. This made it possible to produce solar panels using only a fraction of the semi-conductive material that was required earlier. The production of solar panels using this second-generation technology is referred to as “Thin Film Technology.”
Third-generation solar energy technologies are currently being researched and developed. The objective is to improve the power of solar cells even further (while keeping production costs to a minimum) in which case thirty to sixty percent of the sunlight hitting the panels will be converted into electricity. (Currently, solar panels convert only about twenty percent.)
But regardless of third generation solar technology, the second-generation solar cell is efficient enough to make solar technology viable – and a host of new solar-powered products have hit the consumer market.
Solar-powered calculators have been in use for a while now, we’ve all seen them. We have even seen a few other novelty devices. But only in the last few years have solar devices come into serious and practical use.
The last two years in particular have seen a virtual explosion of solar devices hitting the market. Solar flashlights (I’ve often wandered what use they were), solar-powered radios, and, recently, solar battery chargers.
One can also now find a wide range of portable solar chargers and panels, which are lightweight and easy to transport, yet capable of providing a decent amount of power in even the most remote locations. Solar chargers are becoming a standard part of wilderness survival kits and emergency preparedness kits.
All of this is a result of the developments in solar cell technology, and the coming of the Solar Age.
By: Anna
About the Author:
Anna is the webmaster of Portable Solar Chargers, which is dedicated to helping people find the correct portable solar power devices to suit their needs, and Living Clean, where you can find further information about living in a less toxic world.
Originally, the typical wind turbine technology was developed for industrial purposes and not for residential consumers who live in cities. However, there are new developments from researches conducted by the Hong Kong University and Motorwave Ltd., leading to the creation of the micro wind turbines.
The advantage of the micro wind turbine over the conventional wind turbine is its size. Moreover, this special wind turbine is light as well as compact with a rotor diameter of only 25 cm, not to mention its capacity to generate power even with very low wind speeds like 3 meters/second. This also means you can use a micro wind turbine in the privacy of your environment regardless whether you live in rural or urban areas.
There are tests that show turbines which are arranged within a square meter of surface area together with wind speed of 5 meters/second can produce about 130 kWh/year. In addition, the turbines can be connected to fit anywhere and one row of turbines is priced at only $150. This can even become lower once the gear-like turbines have been mass produced.
If you still want to know why you should choose micro wind turbines over its conventional counterpart? The answer is quite simple. It is because you want to save on your electricity consumption without too much trouble at a price that you can definitely afford. Of course, if you think that the power generated by micro wind turbines are not adequate, you can always purchase the typical wind turbine.
Wind Powered Generators is a rotating machine that is able to convert kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy and then is converted to electrical energy. The first wind powered generator in the United States was erected in Cleveland with the assistance of Charles F. Brush (1888). By the World War I period, American windmill creators were producing around more than one hundred thousand windmills for farms each year, commonly for H2O siphoning.
Wind Powered Turbines must be installed in places with high constant wind speeds. With a wind commodity judgment, total quantity of power produced from the wind turbine can be properly assessed. A yardstick is occasionally used to establish the prime place is referred as Wind Power Density. Its calculation is derived relating to the practical potential of wind at a precise place, occasionally asserted in expressions of height above ground level over a measure of time, and accounts wind speed and wind mass.
There are several criticisms of Wind Powered Generators. Wind power is generally considered as intermittent power source. The energy production may decrease or increase over a short period of time without warning. High quality wind areas are mostly inhospitable to people, logistics and transmission of power can create problems to installations. Wind turbines affect local wild life to a smaller extent. Less than 10,000 birds are killed by wind turbines. It also pose hazards to bats, however is less likely threatening than house glass or house cats in terms of magnitude and gravity of danger. Wind power generators have much more favorable life cycle imparts than other conventional energy generation technology.