Wind Generators & Wind Power

A wind generator is a very specialised type of windmill.  While, to all intents and purposes, it looks like a run-of the-mill windmill of the sort that is used for pumping water, a wind generator is designed for generating electricity for household purposes.

Fitting a wind generator to a home if you want to live “off the grid” has many advantages:

• A wind generator provides a renewable source of clean electricity.
• Unlike solar energy, wind generators can work in the dark and during rainy weather.

Obviously, if you live in an area with little wind, a wind generator may not be the best option for you.  But most places outside the doldrums in the tropics get reasonable winds of some sort from one direction (or several directions).  Costal areas, for example, can usually rely on a sea breeze (e.g. the “Freemantle Doctor” in Perth and surrounding areas) daily, and mountain areas usually get a good amount of wind.

• When you choose a location for a wind generator for you home, you have more flexibility than solar water generators, but you should bear a few tips in mind:
• Put the wind generator on the side of the house that gets the most wind.  If you have a shelter belt of trees or similar protecting your house from the winds, put the generator outside this shelter belt.
• Make sure that you don’t put the wind generator so high that you can’t service it easily.  Yes, the higher you put it, the more wind it will get, but if you have to go through the fiddly job of lowering the wind generator tower every time you need to service it (which you will – moving parts will need lubrication every so often).
• If you live in a very windy area, get a very durable and tough wind generator or you will burn it out.  Marine wind generators are the toughest.
• Have some sort of charge-storing deep cycle battery (the sort used for solar panels) if winds are sporadic.
• 

  These Wind Turbines generate power from their home in Guantanamo Bay

  Protect computer equipment from power surges.  If you don’t a sudden squall of wind will fry anything with an electronic circuit (e.g. washing machines).

Some mainstream electricity providers are now turning to wind generator schemes to provide a green, emission free source of electricity.  These are becoming more commonly used in many parts of the world, especially as they use a renewable source of energy to generate electricity and, after the construction is finished, have minimal impact on the environment.  The only objections that can be raised to a large scale wind generator are that they are noisy, can look unsightly (but that’s a matter of opinion) and can be a hazard to bird life.  Apart from these fairly minimal objections, a wind generator is a reliable, clean and renewable source of energy that more and more electricity companies are turning to.