The machine which has propellers and rotates to convert the kinetic energy of wind into electricity is known as wind generator. The modern wind generators are used commercially for producing electricity. It has three blades and the motor operating it is controlled by the computer. It is the cheapest means of producing electricity and it uses renewable source of energy to produce electricity. The blades are huge and the steel towers are built to the height of minimum60 meters and maximum 90 meters.
The machines with horizontal axis are built in such a way that the electricity generator is always placed at the top of the tower. Nowadays people have started installing wind generators at home so that they can get their own electricity at very low cost. The whole assembly of the spinning blade along with the hub is known as the rotor. It is the collector of the entire wind energy.
How the Wind Generator Works
The generator turns when the rotor turns the wind into rotational movement as the wind passes through the blades of the generator. The size of the rotor is a decisive factor to understand how much electricity is produced which means that if the rotor is small less electricity will be produced and if it is big more electricity will be produced. If the swept area that is the area covered by the blades is large then there will be more production of electricity and if the area of the blades is small then less electricity will be produced.
The advantages of horizontal wind generator are, the blades are placed at the side which gives it stability. The rotor blades are angled in such a way that no damage is caused during the storm. Tall towers are built to get the advantage of stronger winds so that more electricity can be produced. The disadvantages are the size of the blades and the tower is so huge that transportation and installation becomes a great problem. The local people may raise objection due to the obstruction of distant vision.
The Vertical axis blades were introduced to do away with the disadvantages of the horizontal axis blades. The advantage was the generator could be at ground level and same way the gear box could also be kept at the ground level. At present the small wind generators have been developed which can be used by boats and nowadays people are installing it at their homes so that they can get cheap electricity. These residential wind generators can produce electricity starting from nine hundred watts to the maximum of ten thousand watts depending upon the speed of the wind. But the installation of the residential wind generators has not been accepted due to the sound produced by it which has caused problem for the people.
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