Wind power is the quickly becoming the largest renewable energy platform in the world. You might see these wind turbine generators popping up especially in rural areas. This is a great resource that needs to be tapped into by more companies and individuals at least for partial power use. Wind turbine electricity is very economical, and earth friendly.

Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the environment by the sun, the changes in the earth’s surface, and the spinning of the earth. This is the information that is used to build wind turbines. Since the sun heats surfaces at uneven rates it forms pockets of hot air, and that hot air then rises up and this forces cooler air to rush in to fill the gap. This rushing wind is what creates the power to generate the electricity.

Blades are one of the most important pieces of the equation. Today turbines use blades that are horizontal, and there are usually only three blades. The metal cannot handle more than that as it is too much stress. The blades are made of a lightweight sturdy plastic or fiberglass, they are concave, and somewhat off center for a better angle for catching the wind and spinning the blades efficiently.

The blades are connected to a double rotor assembly, which then connects to a magnet rotor through a pulley assembly, which is used on larger turbines or can be placed directly on the smaller turbines used for homes. This assembly makes the blades turn.

The magnet rotor is not used to turn anything it spins about a magnetic alternator which in turn creates a magnetic field. When the magnetic field goes over the wires of the alternator, an electrical charge is produced. The electrical charge that is produced is carried into a regulator that converts the natural electricity into DC power for home use.

Now you have had a crash course in how a wind turbine works, you can imagine the potential. As you see it is a bit more complicated than one might first realize. It is however quite simple at its core. Harnessing the wind for energy use has been around for a long time. In days past it was used to turn wheels for different types of uses such as running a saw at a saw mill.

The turbines look futuristic compared to windmills of old with the three blades that are aerodynamic. They do have some similarities, but not the old world charm; however they are much more efficient for the needs of today’s communities.