The struggle for the environment, the massive construction of country houses, summer cottages, the development of farms and the increase in the cost of electricity tariffs, without which a person cannot imagine a comfortable, convenient existence, made me think of alternative sources of electricity. So, at the beginning of the last century, in Denmark, a small country and therefore not requiring large-scale structures to solve such problems, the first wind generator was built using wind as a converter of kinetic energy into mechanical energy.
People used this ability for a long time. Remember the mills, which in our time we can only see in the movies, and before there were a large number of them all over the country. Alternative energy has recently become the most urgent topic, it is being discussed, both experts and ordinary people are discussing it. She made me remember the "well-forgotten old."
There are two types of structures using wind power:
- rotary or wind generators with a vertical axis of rotation;
- winged, with a horizontal axis of rotation.
What are their differences, advantages and disadvantages, optimal operating conditions?
The power of any wind generator depends only on the range of its propeller and wind power. Both devices use the lifting force of the wind or the force of resistance, only the location of the structure with respect to its movement is vertical or perpendicular, respectively.
Wind generators with a vertical axis of rotation do not require location directly along the movement of the air stream. They gain speed faster when the wind is stronger than the winged structures, they themselves react to a change of direction and maintain their rotation speed for a long time. The location of wind generators having a horizontal axis of rotation should be tied to the movement of the wind, and when it changes, the installation should turn around, which leads to the loss of a certain power.
In both generators, the main load is carried by the main components - the hub and the bearing-bearing mechanism. But wind turbines with a vertical axis of rotation require more frequent replacement of these parts.
When choosing a device, one should take into account the low-speed carousel appearance, therefore, to increase the efficiency and increase the torque, some manufacturers use multipliers instead of bearings. This increases power, but wind turbines with a vertical axis of rotation as a result become more expensive than their wing counterparts. And the question arises of the appropriateness of their use.
The service life of the structures is approximately the same - 15-25 years. In this case, it is necessary to observe the frequency and timeliness of the replacement of component parts and carry out proper care.
The efficiency of wind generators is almost the same in different designs.
The efficiency of rotary plants is 20-30 percent, and in horizontal - 25-35, respectively.
In price education, the policy of producers does not always correspond to reality and common sense. Prices for wing designs are much cheaper than their vertical counterparts. Sometimes this difference can be half the cost, or even more. This can be explained by the price of the main components, the degree of wear, and the use of permanent installations in the form of permanent magnets to strengthen the capacities .