How Wind Power Works
Mankind has been harnessing the power of the wind for thousands of years. First we used it to help thresh grain carrying away the chaff that was separated. We then discovered how to harness the wind�s energy to propel our ships. Finally we used it to grind wheat and pump water with wind mills. In the 20th century with the discovery of how to harness electricity the first wind turbines were built. Now as the world tries to wean itself from fossil fuels as an energy source wind turbines are one the tools we are relying on to provide clean and unlimited energy. So how does a wind turbine work?
The process starts with elementary physics. We know that energy is neither created or destroyed it is only transferred or changes form. We also know from Newton�s Third Law of Motion that for every action that there is an equal and opposite reaction. All these principles are at work with a a wind turbine.
The rising of hot and air and and sinking of cooler air due to temperature changes is what creates movements in the atmosphere, called wind. A wind turbine simply takes some of the kinetic energy of wind as it hits its propellers and converts it into electricity. But how does this process occur?
A wind turbine is quite simple in design. There are the propellers just mentioned, a shaft and a generator. The propellers catch the wind and help rotate the shaft. The turning of the shaft helps to power the generator and create electricity. A generator will normally consists of magnets and a conductor such as coiled copper wire. The array of magnets are connected to the shaft and surround the coil of wire. When the magnets rotate around the copper wire its produces a different in electrical potential creating voltage and an electric current. This process is called induction and it is how generators of all types produce electricity.
Currently there are two types of wind turbines. There are the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines and Vertical Axis Wind Turbines. The horizontal axis wind turbine works just as the name implies. The shaft is horizontal and perpendicular to the propellers. The vertical axis wind turbine works differently and the shaft and rotors are vertical and parallel to each other.
In general the Horizontal axis wind turbine is considered more efficient [due to the fact that the major manufactures have not been able to design a VAWT that is better] and can produce more power, until now. Alset Power Company in conjunction with GEG Consulting has perfected a VAWT that is 50% more efficient than the existing HAWT manufactured by the likes of Siemens, Vestas, GE, Mitsubishi, etc. However, the vertical model needs a certain amount of electricity to get its rotors turning and if mounted on the same elevation it is much more efficient and powerful than the horizontal axis wind turbine. There are some concerns about wind turbines being dangerous for local birds but the consensus is that it is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to produce energy.