Factors to Consider
The effect gathered from the wind depends on several things. The following things are to be considered:
Blade Diameter
- A big blade needs a big base structure and vice versa. If the wind speed doubles the effect is increased eight
times. With a well built turbine one can get 30-40 percent of the winds energy. This means that the wind
velocity has been decreased by 1/3. Wind velocity is of great importance. The energy that one can gather from
the wind increases by the velocity of the wind measured in cubic.
Shape on the Blade (fast runner or other)
- The blade needs to be constructed in special ways depending upon how much of the wind one wants to catch.
The blade has to work with the wind. The force has to be equalized or the blade wing would work against itself
and could brake too easily. Different shapes have their own specific parameters to be considered. First
determine how large a blade you want, then make the blueprint by plotting out the wing cm by cm. Ive included
the parameters on the wing profile page.
Type of Generator (2-15 kW or more)
- Magnetic braking or automatic resistance? If the wind gets to high then the turbine could be automatically braked
to stop it from rotating or one can manually pull it down to the ground until the wind has decreased.
- Is the generator by itself or is the turbine integrated with the generator? Some constructions work better to using
5 meter/s and others work better at 20 meters/s.
- What kind of gearbox do you want? This is dependent upon how large or small the turbine is and how much
energy you want to produce.
- Do you want a steady flow at 230 watts AC? Then you need to have a generator that can make 3000 rpm
(revolutions per minute), which is needed to get a sinus wave at 50 hertz (this is to generate the magnetic fields
in AC). Thats normal in Sweden anyway. You could get more or less out of the turbine by choosing the right
generator, gearbox and number of revolutions.
Transformer / Regulator (what kind of energy do you want?)
- Direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC)? AC generates magnetic fields that is needed for many (or most)
electrical devices like TVs and the like. DC can be used if you only want to have a couple of light bulbs
running. There are many machines like electrical heaters that can use DC, and if not, they can be converted with
some minor mechanical skill.
- Are you going to use a water heater? One can direct the motion energy from the turbine into some kind of a water
tank to generate heat by friction. This heat can be directed to a water heater via pipes and other elements. Heat
directing can be done without water as well by directing the friction energy or heat in a rubble of stones.
- Store the energy; how? DC can be stored with batteries, but AC cant. If you want to have AC then you need to
have a generator that can produce it. If you want to store the energy, then you need a charger that can regulate the
energy going into storage. There is always some energy loss within such a system.
Offered by Geson.