How Can Wind Power Be Harnessed?

We convert the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy, and the mechanical energy into electrical energy, which is wind power. The device needed for wind power generation is called wind turbine. The wind turbine can be divided into three parts: the wind wheel (including the tail rudder), the generator and the tower. (Large wind farms generally do not have a tail rudder, which is usually reserved for small (including domestic) wind farms.

The wind wheel is an important component that converts the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy. It consists of two or more propeller-shaped impellers. When the wind blows to the blades, the blades generate aerodynamic force to drive the wind wheels. Blades are made of materials that are strong and light in weight, and are often made of fiberglass or other composite materials such as carbon fiber. (Now there are some vertical wind wheels, S-shaped rotating blades, etc., which also have the same function as conventional propeller blades)

Because the speed of the wind wheel is relatively low, and the size and direction of the wind often change, which makes the speed unstable; Therefore, before turning the generator, it is necessary to attach a gear box that increases the speed to the rated speed of the generator, and a speed regulating mechanism to keep the speed stable, and then connected to the generator. To keep the wind wheel aligned with the wind direction for maximum power, a vane like tail rudder is also installed behind the wind wheel.

Because of the unstable air volume of wind turbine, its output is 13 ~ 25V alternating current, which must be rectified by the charger, and then charged to the storage battery, so that the electric energy generated by wind turbine into chemical energy. Then with a protective circuit of the inverter power supply, the chemical energy in the battery into 220V AC mains, in order to ensure stable use.

Usually people think that the power of wind power generation is completely determined by the power of wind turbine, and they always want to buy a larger wind turbine, but this is not correct. Current wind turbines simply charge a battery, which stores the energy. The amount of power a person ends up using is more closely related to the size of the battery. The size of the power depends more on the size of the air volume, not only the size of the nose power. In the interior, small wind turbines are more suitable than large ones. Because it is more likely to be driven by a small wind volume to generate electricity, a continuous small wind, will provide more energy than a gust of wind. When there is no wind, people can normally use the electric energy brought by the wind, that is to say, a 200W wind turbine can also be used through the combination of large battery and inverter, to obtain 500W or 1000W or even greater power.