Wind Power Generator Basics

Wind powered generators require wind to turn the turbine which in turn spins a pole, which creates electricity; this electricity can be connected to a meter and the electricity is used like the meter provided by utility companies.

Depending on how tall the pole which the turbine sits will determine how much energy the turbine can generate; for example, a turbine on a 20 foot pole can generate more energy than a turbine on a 4 foot pole.

Size Equals Results

The taller the pole of the turbine the more efficient the wind powered generator will be; before purchasing a wind powered generator it is a good idea to compare individual needs with what the wind powered generator is able to provide.

Most people live on the grid or they purchase their electricity from a utility provider; for people who are already on the grid but would like to lessen their dependency, a 10 foot pole for their turbine should be sufficient. These turbines are able to produce electricity at much lower speeds than the shorter versions, 10-15 miles an hour winds can produce the same amount of energy as a four foot tall generator with winds at 30 miles per hour (mph).

The shorter four foot tall wind powered turbines are better suited for boats or other areas where having something of height is dangerous; some companies may advertise the generators with 4 foot poles as being able to produce large amounts of energy, however in most areas the winds are never high enough for them to operate at peak efficiency (around 30 mph winds).

If someone was interested in living completely off the grid using no public utilities, wind powered generators alone would not be sufficient to provide electricity for a house, however if it is used in combination with solar panels, living completely off the grid is possible.

Taller wind powered generators (20 feet is usually the tallest for residential use) will be even more efficient needing even less wind to produce electricity; with a taller generator and solar panels, living completely off the grid and even possibly selling some energy back to the power plant is possible.

Benefits Of Wind Power

Wind powered generators provide clean renewable electricity to home owners virtually anywhere, taller generators (10 feet tall or more) can operate at wind speeds as low as 10 miles per hour.

Supplementing electricity purchased from the power plant with electricity from a wind powered generator can save a household money the first year it has been used.

Wind powered generators used in place of some electricity usually purchased from a power plant can reduce pollution due to the reduction of total energy produced by the utility company.

There are many reasons that you might want to use wind power. Perhaps you understand that this is a renewable source of energy, and that it is clearly much better for the earth than the regular electricity produced by other sources.

Perhaps you are tired of paying too much for electricity, and want something that is much more affordable and that also is better for the environment. Whatever your reason, wind power is a good choice because you are going to be harnessing the power of something that is completely renewable. Nothing about the wind is hurt or damaged in any way when you deal with wind power. This means that by using wind power you are actually helping out more than you know.

How To Use It

There are several ways to go about using wind power for your own use. If you have the money, and you would like to, you can purchase a huge turbine and put it on your property. Then, you would have to wire your home and your other things up to the turbine.

However, this method is sometimes not easy to do, and is often impractical because one single turbine is very expensive, and it produces more wind power than you could ever use. Sometimes, on large farms or small towns, several neighbors go together and purchase a turbine for their use. However, they still usually end up having to sell their excess power, and the turbines are very expensive.

If you live in a town and dont have the money to purchase a turbine, or you think that it would simply be impractical, this doesnt mean that wind power is lost on you. There are still several ways for you to use wind power.

First of all, you might not know it but several of the leading power companies use partial wind power and some use only wind power. If you are interested in helping out the environment, you can do some research to figure out which companies use wind power and make sure that you are buying your electricity from that company.

Then you know that at least you, for one, are not using up valuable resources. There are so many things that you can do. You can also make sure that you are promoting companies and buying products by companies that use wind power and other renewable resources. The less the consumers spend on coal and other fuels, the more wind power can be created and used.

There are many reasons why you should use renewable resources instead of the natural resources such as the fossil fuels. For one, the fossil fuels are going to very quickly become completely burned up, and soon there will be no more fossil fuels to use.

However, this is not completely a dire situation, as there are renewable sources of energy sources that are never going to get used up, and these sources are easily accessible to everyone. One of these is wind energy, and it should be used in the place of many of the fossil fuels.

Reasons To Use

There are many reasons you should use wind energy if you can. First of all, it is not something that gets burned up. There is always wind whipping along this planet, and there are many times in which the wind is so strong that it actually does damage to a place or to other things. The fact remains that once wind is no longer in a particular place, it is not gone, simply moved, like weather, somewhere else. This means that wind energy is something that we can never use up.

You dont actually take the wind from the sky and use it, therefore the wind does not get used up. By harnessing the wind energy the wind is used to move huge turbines, which are the actually sources of the energy. This means that the same gusts of wind can actually turn many of the turbines at once, producing even more energy. The fact remains that wind energy is a wonderful source of energy because it simply cannot be used up.

The only downfall to using wind energy is that the wind needs to be blowing in order to move the turbines. However, they are placed so high in the sky, and they move so easily, that even the slightest of days will see them spinning. And also, so much energy is produced by each turbine that it is stored, and not used all at once. This means that there is so much wind energy that is produced from just one single turbine that it can be stored for a long time before it is used. You will find that the electricity made by just one turbine is more than enough for a small town, and the excess is simply stored to use when the wind is not blowing.

When it comes to energy, we as humans currently employ a number of the Earths natural resources for our own use, mainly oil. However, there is not an unlimited supply of oil and someday we are going to run out. However, that doesnt mean that we, as humans, have to be plunged into darkness and sent back to the stone ages. Thats because there are other sources of energy, renewable energy sources, that are cheaper to use and the best part is that it wont run out. This is why many people insist that we should be using Enbridge wind power for energy. After all, they say, the wind is there, we might as well use it.

Windmills Have Been Used For Centuries

Humans have used wind power for a long time and they harnessed it, even back then, with the use of windmills. Enbridge wind power follows along the same idea, by harnessing the power of the wind to power our homes, our offices and everything else that requires energy to run. The best part about Enbridge wind power is that it is renewable, which means it can be used again and again and will never become depleted. Its free, as wind blows every day, and it will stop us from pillaging the Earth of all its natural resources, such as oil and coal.

If every city and every state in the Union, as well as every country of the world, adopted Enbridge wind power as their main source of power, the world would indeed be a better place. First of all, there would be no more fighting over oil, we wouldnt have to spend much money to power the things we need powered and there wouldnt be the harmful emissions released into the air, such as happens when coal and oil are used.

To make sure your city or state signs onto this idea, write our congressperson or state representative and tell them that you think that we should change to Enbridge wind power for all of our energy needs, instead of harmful and expensive gas and oil. If enough people write letters or do what they can to be heard, these people who actually have the power to change things may actually listen. Get everyone you know involved; even start your own Enbridge wind power club. That way, you know that you will get the word out that this form of energy is available; it just has to be harnessed. And that is going to take a lot of change so that we are no longer dependent on oil, coal and more of the Earths non-renewable resources.

The Earths First Energy

A fact about solar energy is that the Earths first energy was solar energy; another fact about solar energy is humans have been using solar energy to make our lives easier. People have used solar energy to dry food and bricks nearly as long as humans have started building cities.

In more recent times, humans have made solar cook boxes as early as 1830 for cooking while camping; and more recently, in the 1950s people created photovoltaic cells for collecting solar energy and turning it into electricity.

Progress In Solar Technology

A commonly known fact about solar energy is that the collection is not terribly efficient, only able to collect about 10% of the energy they are subjected to; today solar cells or photovoltaic cells are able to collect more like 20% of the energy they are subjected to.

Another fact about solar energy is that the cells are only able to collect the energy for electricity in full or part; the sun, clouds, mist, and fog will limit or diminish the solar cells ability to absorb solar energy.

A new fact about solar energy is that scientists are working towards making new solar cells which are able to absorb UV or ultra-violet rays from the sun and convert those into energy; these will create even more electricity because, even though the sun is not shining, UV rays are always able to penetrate to the solar cells.

The Make Up Of A Solar Cell

Solar cells are made of silicone alloy and are charged with photons and electrons to aid in the transfer of solar radiation to electricity. The cells are often small, only about 4 inches long, and are often tiled into weather proof blocks allowing more electricity to be made as more sunlight can be converted.

Solar Energy Is Part Of The Solution

With the worlds high demand for electricity, more and more coal burning power plants spring up every day; which in turn causes more pollution. The fact about solar energy is that it is a renewable and clean source of energy, and if it is used in combination with other forms of clean energy such as wind power, it can completely fuel a home or, on a large scale, an entire city or metro area.

Many states give rebates, grants, and tax deductions to encourage people to convert their homes to clean energy; in addition to reducing the homeowners monthly bills, a fact about solar energy is that using it in place of the utility companys energy will reduce the overall amount of pollution released into the atmosphere.