Wind power station. Wind power generators for home use. Notes on DIY construction

Wind-electric installations (WPPs) convert the energy of moving atmospheric masses, which to one degree or another is available anywhere in the world, directly into electricity. This is precisely what underlies the positive economic and environmental effect of using wind turbines.

Advantages of wind energy

Modern technological solutions make it possible to produce wind generators with power ranging from several kW to hundreds of MW. That is, wind turbines can provide electricity to both entire industrial areas and individual residential cottages. In addition to purely economic advantages, wind energy has another undeniable advantage - it puts significantly lower pressure on the ecology and biosphere of the Earth. Therefore, the authoritative website “Alternative Energy” (http://altenergiya.ru/) rightly confirms the deep thoughts of V.V. Vernadsky, expressed back in the middle of the twentieth century:

…sales of small wind farms, which can harness wind power in almost any region (even where there is not enough wind power for industrial use), are constantly increasing. It is predicted that such alternative energy sources will be used more and more widely, both publicly and privately, until they finally displace traditional energy based on fossil fuels

The economic advantages of household wind energy (installations with a capacity of 3–15 kW) include the following factors:

Inexhaustible source of energy;
Ecological clean energy;
Speed of construction of a wind turbine;
Short payback period for capital investments;
No special sites are required for equipment installation.

The disadvantage of small wind turbines is practically one factor - the direct dependence of the generated power on the pressure of the air flow, which in most regions of the Earth is not stable. Therefore, for a stable and high-quality power supply to household appliances, additional equipment such as batteries and semiconductor rectifiers is required.

Study of the energy potential of the territory

Looking into the future 21st century, the lack of alternative to the development of wind energy is obvious. Therefore, in advanced countries, studies are being carried out on the potential of territories with a view to using them for the construction of large wind turbines.

Alternative energy stations usually occupy large areas. Accordingly, first of all, attention is paid to such areas that, even in the long term, cannot be involved in other economic activities:

Deserts;
Mountain heights;
Shelf zones;
Coastal zones of seas and oceans, and others.

In particular, the popular Internet resource windypower.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_8642.html provides the following information:

A preliminary study of the potential of the area is carried out. Anemometers are installed at an altitude of 30 to 100 meters, and for one to two years they collect information about wind speed and direction. The information obtained can be combined into maps of wind energy availability. Such cards allow potential investors to evaluate the rate of return on investment of the project

Capacities of industrial wind power plants

Industrial wind turbines come in a wide variety of capacities depending on the energy potential of a particular area. Modern technologies allow mass production of even non-standardized generating equipment with a payback period of 3–5 years.

Today, the largest land-based wind farm is located at Tehachapi Pass in California. Its total capacity, comparable to the capacity of large thermal power plants, is already 1550 MW. In the future, it is planned to increase the installed capacity of the ALTA wind farm to 3000 MW. It uses 1.5 and 3.0 MW wind turbines.

Powers that own large shelf zones are actively developing offshore wind energy. Denmark and the UK are leading in this area. Such wind turbines are installed 10–50 km from the coast in a sea with shallow depths and are highly efficient because constant sea winds blow there. The largest wind farm among those operating in offshore zones of the world is the British station London Array with an operating capacity of 630 MW.

Such exotic types of wind farms as floating and soaring are also being developed. So far, these are installations with one or a small group of generators with a capacity of 40–100 kW each. But over time, it is planned to increase the capacity of units at floating power plants to 6.3 MW. In particular, Danish and Italian companies have already come close to such capacities.

Wind farms for providing electricity to cottages and small businesses and their prices.

In order to fully cover the needs of a country house, a small farm, a restaurant or a market, it is enough to have an installation with a capacity of 20 kW or even less. For a residential building, for example, the rated power of the generator is selected at the rate of 1 kW per 12 m2 of area, if the winter temperature does not fall below 18 C with an average daily wind speed of 6.3 m/s or more.

The cost of a power plant for domestic needs and small businesses depends on the rated power of the electric generator and is about 50 thousand rubles per 1 kW for wind power plants up to 3 kW, 40 thousand rubles/kW for wind power plants up to 10 kW and about 30 thousand rubles/kW – for wind power plants over 10 kW.

The payback period for an autonomous power plant is within 5 - 7 years, so 1 kW of the installed nominal power of the generator per year can generate as much energy as is equivalent to burning 2 tons of high-quality coal. In particular, the ESO-0020 wind turbine with a rated electrical power of 20 kW, presented on the website “Educational materials of VGUES (http://abc.vvsu.ru/) has the following parameters:

The cost of electricity is $0.02/kWh;
Annual electricity production energy - more than 70,000 kWh;
Payback period – up to 7 years;
Service life – 20 years.

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Content:

Wind among all peoples has always been perceived as a manifestation of divine power. This power is obvious, and in some cases enormous. As humanity developed, in addition to its veneration of the deities of the air element, it learned to use it for its own needs. For all nations, the sail became the basis for movement on water, and windmills appeared. For a short period by historical standards, with the beginning of the use of heat as the basis for the operation of most mechanisms, the use of wind decreased.

But nowadays, with the advent of environmental problems, interest in harnessing the power of wind is reviving quickly and powerfully. Modern technical solutions make it possible to effectively convert the energy of air flows into electricity. Although more expensive in comparison with other technologies that are used in the main types of power plants. There are three of them - thermal, nuclear and hydroelectric power plants. Today, wind power plants have found their niche in the electricity market. We will talk about this and more in more detail later in the article.

From history to modern times

Archaeological studies indicate that several thousand years ago, Babylonian craftsmen created wind machines to transform swamps into agricultural land. These mechanisms were used to scoop out water and drain the soil. The Chinese used similar machines in their rice fields at about the same time. And the first windmills appeared among ancient Egyptian entrepreneurs. Over time, mills appeared in Europe, and further east around the 12th century.

The development of electrical technology could not help but prompt engineers to the idea of replacing the millstones of the mill with an electric generator. This happened in the thirties of the last century. Problems in fuel markets, as well as accidents at nuclear power plants, have stimulated the development of wind power plants. Today, their number is rapidly increasing, as evidenced by the statistics below:

However, the elements are unpredictable. And for the air element there is such a definition as complete calm. This means that even in the open sea, where the air is in constant movement, it happens that the wind disappears. Therefore, a wind power plant is only effective in a place where calm occurs as rarely as possible. Such places are most common near the sea coast, on hills, in mountains, and in some specific areas.

How it works and how it works

The basis of a wind power plant is the impeller (turbine). The most efficient design is a three-bladed propeller-type impeller mounted high above the ground. The operation of a power plant with such an impeller is illustrated in the image below:

To obtain maximum efficiency, special mechanisms control the position of the rotor and blades. They are automatically selected according to the direction and strength of the wind. There are other designs of impellers, the so-called drum ones. For example, those for which the direction of the wind does not matter. This is mainly the result of the creativity of individual enthusiasts.

The main disadvantage of all non-propeller models is lower efficiency. A power plant with a propeller impeller has an efficiency of slightly less than 50%. And the main disadvantage of all wind power plants without exception is the wind itself. His strength is subject to frequent changes. As a result, the impeller speed changes, and at the same time the generated electrical power changes. Therefore, to interface the wind power generator with the power grid, additional electrical equipment is required.

Typically these are batteries with inverters. The generator first charges the batteries, and for this process the uniformity of current strength is irrelevant. The transfer of electricity to the network is carried out by an inverter, which converts the charge accumulated in the battery. An additional advantage of the propeller design is its controllability. If the wind force becomes excessive, the angle of attack of the blade is reduced to a minimum. As a result, the wind load on the turbine decreases.

But it is not always possible to protect a wind power plant from breakdown. There are hurricanes on the coast that break the impeller. Such cases are demonstrated below.

A modern wind farm is a huge structure. Therefore, the impact of strong winds on it is very noticeable. A good visual representation of the scale of such a power plant is given by the image shown below.

The height at which the electric generator is located is on average fifty meters. The higher you go, the stronger and more stable the wind blows. To obtain the greatest power, dozens of electric generators are installed. Of the onshore wind farms, the most powerful is located in the United States. Below is some brief information about it.

The largest number of power plants are built on the coast. They are called coastal. But since coastal land is expensive, it makes more sense to build in the shallow waters of the sea shelf. Such power plants are called offshore. However, due to the high cost of construction, the capacity of the world's largest offshore power station, built off the coast of England, was 630 MW, which is more than 2 times less than that of its land-based counterpart.

A further development of offshore power plants is floating wind power plants. But they are the largest and most expensive, and for this reason, in fact, they are rare. Most likely, they will never become the main source of electricity from the power of the sea wind. To obtain higher economic indicators, wind is used at an altitude of more than one hundred meters. This uses a special aerostat-based design called a soaring wind farm.

But since the carrying capacity of the balloon is limited, the maximum power of the power plant corresponds in its mass to a power of 30 kW. She will be able to provide for several houses. Their number will depend on the mode of electricity consumption. The disadvantage of a floating power plant is that it is risky. It can be blown away by strong winds, and preventing this is problematic.

Environmental problems of wind farms

Impellers have one insurmountable drawback. They emit infrasound. And it has a detrimental effect on all living organisms, including humans. If the power plant is located far from housing, such as offshore or mountain, the human factor is removed. But the impact on the ecosystem remains. One German resident testifies to how problematic infrasound from wind power plants is:

In this country, wind turbines are installed everywhere, wherever the territory allows. Having abandoned nuclear power plants, Germany is the most active of all countries in building wind power plants. The emergence of such new buildings forces people living in the neighborhood to move to new places of residence. But no one wants to buy their houses. Therefore, problems arise in society. So the optimal place for wind power plants is the sea shelf.

Recently, the problem of providing electricity has become really urgent. Scientists around the world are making efforts to solve the problem. Thanks to developments, generators are now actively used to produce enough electric current for a home. Particularly powerful installations can provide electricity to a large cottage or even an enterprise.

Principle of operation

Home windmill has a simple design. Thus, a shank with several blades is installed on a metal mast; when they rotate, the rotor is turned on, which leads to the generation of current. It is fed to batteries that supply the home with electricity in the absence of wind. Previously, the current is passed through the converter, which makes it not alternating, but constant. Electricity enters the inverter, where the voltage becomes 220 V. Thanks to the presence of rechargeable batteries, the windmill powers the home even in light winds or complete calm.

The operating principle of a wind generator corresponds to the operating principle of a car. The only difference is that in the latter case the rotor rotates the wheels.

It should be noted that modern wind generators do not require strong wind. The operation of the windmill was made possible due to the availability of appropriate metals. This design provides the house with electricity, even if the wind speed is only 4 m/s.

Advantages of wind power plants

Windmills for home use are extremely popular. The price of such a not very powerful installation is approximately 2 thousand dollars, however, you will save on electricity throughout your life. Naturally, this is not the only advantage of a wind power plant.

This design is considered the most environmentally friendly. Accordingly, during its operation no toxic fumes are released into the atmosphere. Moreover, there is no harm to the environment.
Home wind generators do not require fuel. To generate electricity, gusts of wind are sufficient.
Such power plants are considered durable, since only modern materials that are not subject to corrosion are used for their production.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the ease of installing a wind generator, because you can do it yourself using suitable generators and several batteries. It must be remembered that homemade products may perform worse than factory-made power plants. Accordingly, it is very important to choose a generator with certain technical parameters that can actually provide the house with electricity.
Another advantage of wind power plants is their high efficiency. Naturally, wind generators are not perpetual motion machines, but they are close to this concept. Thus, additional costs are not needed to obtain current.
Modern models of wind generators are significantly superior to their predecessors. There is no noticeable vibration or loud noise during their operation. Despite the huge span of the blades, there is practically no vibration.
When installing a simple wind generator, you do not need to obtain the appropriate permit. Naturally, this only applies to household devices that have a low mast and an average blade span.

Disadvantages of wind power plants

After studying the benefits of such devices, many people wonder why power plants are not installed everywhere. Naturally this due to a number of important shortcomings.

The main disadvantage is the lack of guarantee of generating the required amount of electricity to heat your home in winter. Surely this problem can be solved by installing several wind generators or one really powerful structure, but this will be quite expensive, which will ultimately turn out to be unprofitable.
Another disadvantage concerns the need for a large area. If we are talking about a cottage that stands on a plot of 30–50 acres, then this is not a problem. Not everyone can install a wind generator on a modest summer cottage. Moreover, it is believed that the structure can be installed at least 20 m from the nearest building. Otherwise, household appliances will not work well due to the electromagnetic field.
The spread of wind turbines is constrained by their price. A similar product of average performance will cost 5–10 thousand dollars. The cost of the cheapest varieties starts from 1–2 thousand. Naturally, a high-quality power plant is worth it, which means this price should not be confusing.

Application of wind generators

Similar installations differ in their power. Accordingly, they are capable of providing electricity to one small house or an entire village. It is worth noting that wind generators are installed not only to supply energy to the home, but also to save money. In other words, people use electricity from the public network and that generated by a wind generator.

If we talk about the installation of the structure, then according to safety requirements, a mast-type wind generator is mounted at a decent distance from the home. Today, mini-generators with low power are available on sale. This design can be placed on the roof of a home.

Types of wind power plants

Wind generator selection

When choosing such a design it is necessary pay attention to 3 important factors:

average wind speed;
average level of electricity consumption during the month;

Experts remind that the higher the mast, the lower the required wind speed to spin the turntable. Accordingly, the price for such a design will be very high.

The optimal height should exceed the tallest building located within a radius of 100 m, approximately 10 m.

Is a wind turbine really profitable?

Many people say that when the average wind speed is 4 m/s, the electricity generated by a wind generator will be quite expensive. To verify or refute this, it is necessary to calculate the production of equipment for a year and 20 years. It should be taken into account that the cost of a wind generator is at least 150 thousand rubles. Accordingly, the use of a windmill will be truly justified in the absence of network electricity. If your home is connected to the network, you should not install a powerful power plant in order to save money.

If electricity was not supplied, but the average wind speed exceeds 4–5 m/s, you should think about installing a wind generator. This is especially true when taking into account the constant increase in the price of electricity. If you wish, you can team up with your neighbors and purchase a really powerful power plant. In this case, the installation cost will not be too high, and you will actually provide your home with electricity.

People have used wind energy since ancient times. Even today, special wind turbines are used to generate electricity. Such power plants are especially effective in areas where strong winds are constantly observed.

Details Published: 03.11.2015 20:46

Rising electricity prices are forcing many users to think about how they can save money, and is there a reasonable alternative to consuming energy from the public network? For many, the way out is to buy or build a windmill for their home with their own hands. Moreover, modern wind generators are not only an effective method of providing electricity to those remote from central networks settlements, but also a way to significantly reduce utility costs and make your household more energy independent.

Let's look at which wind generator is best to choose for your home, how much energy we can count on, and what you need to know to install it.

Types of wind turbines

Wind generators (also called wind generators, wind power generators, wind stations, simply wind turbines, wind stations, etc.) are, in essence, wind power plants (WPPs). This is the name of a wind power plant, the equipment and structures of which are functionally interconnected and form a single complex that produces electricity from the kinetic energy of moving air masses. Simply put, these are systems that make it possible to use wind as a source of renewable energy.

It must be remembered that rarefied air also affects the operation of a wind turbine, however, when exposed to constant winds, for example, on the sea coast, this drawback is not significant. It is important to keep in mind that the operation of home wind turbines affects the television network and may cause interference with the receiving antenna.

The design of a wind turbine and the composition of wind power plant equipment, image ataba.com.ua

If weak winds prevail in the area where the wind farm is located, the optimal solution would be to combine several installations into a network with a common battery node. Otherwise, it is necessary to configure the operation of wind turbines so that each individual device serves its “share” of the load, and to save electricity, consumers should be distributed in the house: a certain power line must correspond to different groups of household appliances.

As the experience of many European countries suggests, for apartment buildings it is more advisable to install several wind turbines (example) of small capacity, which will generate electricity and store it in a common battery, than to purchase one large wind turbine.

How to calculate the power of a wind turbine for a home

To roughly calculate the power of a home wind farm, you need to calculate the average monthly electricity consumption, taking into account the list of all household electrical appliances used, their power and operating time (a table that shows the average consumption of household appliances is located). It is worth noting that most often wind power plants for private use with a capacity of 2 to 10 kW are sold in stores.

Many information resources indicate that to fully meet household needs, a family of 3 to 4 people will need a wind generator power of at least 10 kW. However, in each specific case, you need to proceed from certain energy needs, which can be a fairly individual indicator.

One of the additional positive aspects of using wind turbines at home is the possibility of selling excess electricity to the state. How to supply “excess” electricity to the central power grid and detailed information about the current “green” tariffs can be found in.

Don’t forget about safety: lightning strikes, which can result in a windmill fire, icing of the blades, insufficient strength of the supporting structures or the wind turbine foundation, can cause damage not only to the device itself, but also to human health. Therefore, it would not be superfluous to take care of equipping the generator with various protective systems.

Ultimately, when choosing the type of wind generator, searching for a trusted manufacturer, calculating its power and solving other issues, many “pitfalls” may arise, the answers to which no article can give in full. Fortunately, today modern technologies make it possible to install a wind turbine anywhere, and it is not at all necessary to have special technical knowledge for this, and the efficiency and environmental friendliness of such a source of clean energy is no longer in doubt. In any case, consulting with an experienced specialist will be a wise decision.

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