Friday, September 25, 2009

Small Scale Wind Energy Discovered

By Dale Green

Due to the depletion of the conventional sources of energy, we are now faced with the challenge of harnessing wind as a renewable sources of energy. However, this is not as tough as it sounds since history tells us that our ancestors were experts in using wind energy for water and to convert crops into grains.

The vertical wind power that most companies are now talking about was initially used by Egyptians about 3,000 years ago to turn wheat into flour. Now some companies are planning to use these vertical windmills for homes on a small scale. These are particularly helpful in places which don't have a constant flow of wind or where the direction of the wind keeps changing.

The turbine used in this endeveours does not endanger the bats or the birds since it has a different kind of rotation and design. Moreover, in such cases, a windmill of a mere capacity of three kilowatts is sufficient for the power generation for one house. Unlike the horizontal ones, its also not noisy, does not require a lot of area or height!

For the art lover in you, some of these designs are just awesome. One model, in particular, can be found at various locations in the UK where popularity is gaining. Mercedes-Benz is working with manufacturers right now to set up charging points next to these vertical towers. It is hoped that power generated will provide enough power for 30,000 miles of driving per year for its new line of electric care, Smart fortwo.

A 500 watt unit is also installed in the garage of Jay Leno along with a bigger 10kw model in his garage which measures about 17,000 square feet. Though, these days the preliminary investment and installation charges are astronomical ($20,000), slowly as the demand for these units will increase, most residential owners will be able to afford these units. Many of Jay Leno's practically applied ideas can be found at the Popular Mechanics website.

Apart from the residential complexes, hotels are also using this vertical turbine on their rooftops across the world from New Zealand to London. In a recent event, independently tested model in Utah was unveiled at Washington in US Botanical Garden and received a lot of critical acclaim. Most of these units are smaller than six feet and are being hailed for a myriad of possibilities that they have opened up.

Another version of the vertical windmill that is based on sailing engineering. The vanes on the turbine are covered in solar cells so together, solar and wind work as one in creating all of the power you may ever need. Patents and awards have been market for the past decade and new operations are moving worldwide. If you are sold on the idea of wind or solar but didn't want a monster of a turbine close by or your rooftop covered in expensive, heavy solar panels, this combination could work for you.

With a deeper exploration of the utilization of energy and delving more into the history, it's clear that this technology is bound to work. A lot of websites constantly keep informing you of the recent inventions. Germany is a well known giant in the promotion of wind energy apart from other international sites. You can choose from a lot of practical choices from the alternative energy resources available in the market.

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