Wind Power Benefits

Wind power is quickly becoming more popular as a renewable energy source as more and more people begin to look into harnessing the wind as a viable energy alternative. There are still some obstacles to overcome before wind power benefits will come to the fore of alternative energy options. The challenge for residential wind energy, is the actual building and installation of a windmill or wind turbine. There are local ordinances and building regulations that must be considered before undertaking the installation of a wind turbine.

For residential use, a large turbine is turned by blades on top of a very tall tower to generate electricity from the conversion of wind energy. Since the blades must be above anything that would obstruct the wind, the windmill must extend above any nearby trees and as a result may be rather unsightly. A wind turbine can also generate quite a bit of noise pollution, which is why there are typically ordinances restricting where you can place one. It’s generally not too desirable to have a windmill smack in the middle of your backyard, so you will need to have quite a bit of land to use one.

Windmills in general are just simple machines that are powered by the prevailing winds. Within the windmill are a series of rotating blades. In earlier times, it was common to use these blades within larger, wider windmills, to grind up grain and even to pump water.

Today the internal blades of windmills are used to create electricity to power our homes and businesses. This is an extremely valuable turn in direction considering our ever-increasing power needs today. Combined with an increasing population and we really have quite a problem. Therefore, harvesting and inventing new ways to collect energy from sources that are renewable is critical.

An important consideration before turning to windmill power is the average wind speed in your area. Obviously, to create power you are going to need to make sure that there is enough wind to turn the blades of the turbine. Therefore, it is always a good idea to look into how much wind your area usually has on a semi-constant basis. Wind turbines typically need a wind speed of 7-10 mph before they are able to start producing electrical power on any sort of usable scale. The ideal wind speed for producing power is 12-20mph.

The larger the average wind speed in your area, the more electrical power you will be able to produce. You can find your local wind resource map by looking in several places. This information can be obtained from your national environment department and is also sometimes published online. Just perform a search for your area.

With some proper planning and research you can reap your own wind power benefits.

green wind power benefits