Wind Turbines Vertical Axis
3 Types Of Wind Turbines, Which Is The Right One For You?
3 Types Of Wind Turbines, Which Is The Right One For You?
By Frank Stewart
There are various kinds of alternative energy solutions available today:
- Magnetic
- Solar
- Wind
- Water (not a viable solution for a home owner)
- Biomass (not a viable solution for a home owner)
- Geothermal (not a viable solution for a home owner)
- Hydrogen
All wind turbines (aka Windmills) work very much the same way. There are two configurations and three types:
- Horizontal Axis turbines
- Vertical Axis turbines (two types)
- Darrieus turbine
- Savonius turbine
Horizontal axis turbines are the most commonly used today. Most of us have seen them today, they have a blade similar to airplane propeller but on a much larger scale. However smaller residential models are available.
These turbines are usually mounted on a tall tower usually 100 feet or 30 meters high. With a fan-like rotor that faces into or away from the wind. The tall tower takes advantage of the stronger and less turbulent wind.
Each blade acts like the wing of an airplane. When the wind blows, it creates a pocket of low-pressure air which pulls the blade toward it. This makes the blade turn and is called lift. This lift force is much stronger then the wind’s force against the front side of the blades. The force on the front side of the blade is called drag. The combination of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like the propeller on an airplane.
The blades turn a shaft which spins a generator which in turn makes electricity. The electricity is then routed to a converter box in your home to run your appliances.
There are two types of Vertical Axis turbines. The Savonius (known as a drag design) and the Darrieus. Neither type is in wide use today.
The Darrieus type was invented and patented in France in 1925 by French engineer Georges Jean-Marie Darrieus and he patented in the United States in 1931.
This design is described as looking like an eggbeater with vertical blades that rotate into and out of the wind. It uses aerodynamic lift. The Giromill and Cycloturbine are variations of the Darrieus turbine. This design can capture more energy than the drag design.
The Savonius turbine (drag design) is S-shaped. This can be seen when viewed from above. This design was invented by a Finnish Engineer Sigurd J. Savonius in 1922.
This drag-type of turbine turns relatively slow, however, it yields high torque. This design is good for grinding grain, pumping water and many other tasks. It is said this slow rotation is not good for generating electricity.
This design is the easiest to build. The most common design is using a 55 gallon drum and cutting it in half and putting the two halves together in the shape of an S. You can scale it down to smaller drums. Or if you want to experiment, you can use large coffee cans. For a guide please visit our web site at http://freehighenergy.com
It is my opinion that this design can be fitted with a small transmission to speed up the rotation. The transmission can be adjusted for the amount of torque present, very similar to a car. The transmission down shifts when climbing a hill to speed the car up and then shifts to the fastest gear when going downhill when less torque is needed.
Because wind turbines do not require the power of the sun they can produce energy in the worst conditions even over night while you are sleeping. This is an excellent way to provide renewable energy to your home with one easy low-cost investment. I recommend you obtain a reliable manual to build your wind turbine.
Are you ready to take control of your energy bill and save some money? To learn about the best wind turbine solutions click here and find out what you have been missing.
About the Author
Visit my website for free alternative energy resources. Whether you are interested in Wind, Solar, Magnetic, or Hydrogen it’s all there. Visit http://freehighenergy.com. Sign up for our free alternative energy updates.
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
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