Wind turbines have been used for centuries to generate electricity that can be used for various applications in households as well as for commercial uses. Wind turbines use the kinetic energy of the wind and convert it into electrical energy. Large wind turbines have propellers connected to generators, which when moved by the wind generates electricity. Individual wind turbines can also be used for producing electricity on small scale to support a single home. Whereas large scale electrical energy can be produced with the help of a group of wind turbines, known as wind park or wind farm.
The blowing wind moves the blades while passing through the turbines and this result in spinning of the shaft. Two types of wind turbines can be used to produce electricity namely, Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) and Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT). The most commonly used wind turbines are the HAWTs and they have fan-style blades, whereas the VAWTs have egg-beater style blades.
How is electricity produced in Wind Turbines?
Before you start looking up for wind turbines for sale, you need to understand the working principle of turbines, so that you get the best one for your use. Here is how electricity is produced by wind turbines:
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- Each wind turbine is fitted with box on top which is known as nacelle. Three blades are attached to this nacelle and they are also connected to a rotor. The anemometer on the nacelle measures the wind speed and wind direction.
- The nacelle is turned towards the wind and the kinetic energy of wind turns the blades around the rotor.
- The rotor is connected to the shaft that rotates inside generator housing. This results in the magnetic rotor to spin inside loops of copper wire. This activates the electrons inside the copper wire to flow, producing electrical energy.
- Thus electricity is then routed to the underground cable through large cables that are attached to the nacelle.
At wind parks, electricity from various turbines is directed to the substation where a step-up transformer increases the electrical output.
How are the blades connected to the shaft?
The blades turned by the wind results in formation of electricity and there are two ways in which the blades are designed, namely lift type and drag type.
1. Lift Type: The most commonly used HAWT use this design. The air blows across both sides of the blade which means that the air takes longer to travel across the edge. As a result of this high pressure is created on the tail edge and low pressure is created on the leading edge. This pressure difference make the blades to move at a high rotational speed which is requires to generate electricity.
2. Drag Type: The force of wind is used to move the blades and they have higher torque compared to lift designs but with lower rotation speed. This type of design cannot be used for large scale energy generation since it has low rotating speed.
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