With today’s ever increasing price of energy generated through the conventional way as well the issue of global warming, people around the globe are looking for alternative ways to generate electricity.
The most popular alternative energy source could be the sun, or solar power, however, wind is also a good source of energy. The wind energy is being harness through a wind turbines, just like solar panels for solar energy.
How Does Wind Energy Work
Wind energy or electricity produced by the wind through wind turbines and then being delivered to the power grid and serve or distribute the generated electricity towards the community.I encourage you to watch the video below to have a good overview on exactly how it will generate electricity. The engineering might be complex, but once the electricity is generated, we can enjoy it just like we do with the conventional power source.
Wind Energy Pros and Cons
Just like with the other sources of clean and renewable energy, wind power has an associated advantages and disadvantages.Advantages of Wind Energy
- Green and Renewable Source of Energy. That means the power or electricity being generated through the wind turbines don’t emit any pollution that could harm our environment.
- Unlimited Availability. Although in some places around the world, wind is not that much but for the countries which an abundant or strong sources of wind, big or massive scale wind turbines are being constructed and already supplying electricity to their respective community.
- Cheaper. Today, when properly harness the prices of electricity can dramatically be lowered. Since the 80s, the price of energy generated by wind is 60% cheaper, and the demand of such energy source is continually increasing. The more demand it has, the more it will be develop and finally, prices will go much cheaper and cheaper.
- DIY Opportunity. Just like with the DIY homemade solar panels , wind energy kits are also available for those who want to make their own wind turbines. Both the kits and the instructional materials are now widely available particularly on the internet.
- Save Money. Once you have a wind energy working, you now have an energy efficient home which don’t entirely depend on the power grid. That means, you can save a lot of money from paying your monthly electricity bills. And, if you have more than enough electricity generated by your wind turbine, you can completely live off-grid and even sell your extra electricity to your local utility company.
Disadvantages of Wind Energy
- Unreliability. The primary issue concerned with the wind power is that it is somehow and unreliable. Currently, wind strength cannot be controlled accurately and there are areas which is wind is not really a viable source of energy that can be converted to electricity suitable for home use.
- Lower Electricity Output. Wind turbines generate much less electricity as compare to the electricity generated by the fossil fuels using the conventional method. That means, if desired to equal the power generated by the fossil fuels, more wind turbine must be built in order to met the demands.
- Expensive Construction. Obviously, the construction of giant wind turbines for massive scale electricity conversion and production is actually expensive, it can cost up to $1Million per Mega Watt for a single giant wind turbine.
Wind Energy Companies
These are the companies that built huge wind farms and supply wind energy into the power grid. Around the world there are few giant companies who are involved in the wind power development.- Vestas in Denmark generate 4,500 MW
- GE Energy in United States generate 3,300 MW
- Gamesa in Spain generate 3,050 MW
- Enercon in Germany generate 2,700 MW
- Suzlon in India generate 2,000 MW
- Siemens in both Denmark and Germany generate 1,400 MW
- Acciona in Spain generate 870 MW
- Goldwind in China generate 830 MW
- Nordex in Germany generate 670 MW
- Sinovel in China generate 670 MW
Home Wind Energy Generator
Although above we are talking about massive construction and production of wind energy, it has also a smaller scale which can be utilize and suitable for home use. Just like with the home solar system, DIY wind energy generator guide and kits are now widely available as well.That means, you can build your own wind turbine at home through these detailed guides like the Earth4Energy which provides an in-depth instructions for making both solar panels and wind turbine. And, DIY wind turbine kits like the Sunforce 44444 12-Volt 400-Watt Wind Generator , which you can get from Amazon.
The Sunforce 44444 12-Volt 400-Watt Wind Generator has been reviewed by users and the evaluations range from a terrific way to save money, down to a piece of garbage. It looks dependent on how the wind power generator is used and the location. Many reviewers lamented that it didn’t generate enough power to warrant the cost.
Usually, reviewers complaint that it needed extra sustained wind to get the levels of energy in the product advertisement.
Lots of reviewers felt that using solar was the better option if you didn’t live in a place with a lot of wind. It is tough to determine whether to get a product when there is such a broad difference in the critiques. It would be easier to use an alternative power source if you believed that it would work well.
There it is, wind energy discussed. We have looked at some of the wind energy pros and cons as well as how it work and distributed on a massive scale, moreover, we also cover that it can be done by yourself. DIY wind energy kits are now widely available. Hopefully, if your place has a continuously strong winds, wind turbine can significantly generate enough wind energy to power your home just like the solar energy.
Excellent and helpful post… I am so glad to left comment on this.
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