bySTELLA JONES

A wind turbine is an electricity producing machine that turns or transforms the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy and the mechanical energy produced is converted into electricity.

Windmills were first used as early as 200 B.C. in Persia, but the first known practical windmills were built in Iran in the 7th century.
And these were the first vertical axis windmills with very long vertical drive shafts with six to twelve rectangular shaped blades or sails. These machines were built to mill grains and draw up water.

The Dutch used a different type of machine which was the horizontal axis windmill. They primarily employed the use of these windmills to drain most areas of the Rhine River to reclaim land. They also used these contraptions to draw fresh water and to grind grains as well.

The first known windmill operated to generate electricity was a battery charging machine built by James Blyth in Scotland and it was first installed in 1887. The first windmill to commercially produce electricity was built in the United States by Charles F. Brush, and this took place in 1888 and by 1908, there were already 72 wind driven electric generators and all of them were horizontal axis wind turbines.

HAWT’s or horizontal axis wind turbines are the common forms of propellers used to turn wind turbines or wind electric generators. This concept was taken from airplanes. And these types of propellers are very effective when used on airplanes and wind turbines as well. The axis of the rotor shaft is parallel to the wind and the ground. Almost all grid connected wind turbines are built using the propeller type on a conventional horizontal axis.

Horizontal axis wind turbines are cost effective only on certain circumstances and in some urban sites, these supposedly ideal conditions are not being enjoyed. The deployment of these horizontal axis wind turbines are being ruled out in urban sites because they are too noisy. If they are to be used, they have to be installed away from people and that is going to create some problems because the generator should be as close to the load as possible. This will do away with the need for additional expenses for the upgrades of old distribution grids. This is where the VAWT or vertical axis wind turbines come into the picture.

Vertical axis wind turbines or VAWT’s are more effective and are a quiet alternative to HAWT’s. They can give up 50% more power than the electricity produced by the conventional horizontal axis wind turbines. Huge towers are no longer a requirement, the need for gearboxes and yaw mechanisms to face wind direction are eliminated. And with less moving parts, this means fewer chances of breakdowns and less maintenance requirements and costs.

Vertical axis wind turbines can be mounted much closer to the ground, this option will make maintenance a lot easier, safer and make more efficient power transfer. The vertical axis wind turbines will start to turn and generate power at lower wind speeds as low as 6miles per hour or 10 kilometers per hour and they are practically very silent, perfect for urban conditions.

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