Solar Power Technical Information

Diy solar power combiner box

How wind turbines work

Types of wind turbines

Passive solar

Solar Energy Systems wiring diagram

Watts and Power tutorial

Wind Turbines

A back up or indeed an alternative to solar panels.

How Wind Turbines Work

Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns are modified by the earth's terrain, bodies of water, and vegetation.

The terms wind energy or wind power describe the process by which the wind is used to generate electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power, a generator then converts this mechanical power into electricity.

How do wind turbines make electricity? Aa wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity.

Anemometer:

Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data to the controller.

Blades:

Most turbines have either two or three blades. Wind blowing over the blades causes the blades to "lift" and rotate.

Brake:

A disc brake, which can be applied mechanically, electrically, or hydraulically to stop the rotor in emergencies.

Controller:

The controller starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 65 mph. Turbines cannot operate at wind speeds above about 65 mph because their generators could overheat.

Gear box:

Gears connect the low-speed shaft to the high-speed shaft and increase the rotational speeds from about 30 to 60 rotations per minute (rpm) to about 1200 to 1500 rpm, the rotational speed required by most generators to produce electricity. The gear box is a costly (and heavy) part of the wind turbine and engineers are exploring "direct-drive" generators that operate at lower rotational speeds and don't need gear boxes.

Generator:

Usually an off-the-shelf induction generator that produces 60-cycle AC electricity.

High-speed shaft:

Drives the generator.

Low-speed shaft:

The rotor turns the low-speed shaft at about 30 to 60 rotations per minute.

Nacelle:

The rotor attaches to the nacelle, which sits atop the tower and includes the gear box, low- and high-speed shafts, generator, controller, and brake. A cover protects the components inside the nacelle. Some nacelles are large enough for a technician to stand inside while working.

Pitch:

Blades are turned, or pitched, out of the wind to keep the rotor from turning in winds that are too high or too low to produce electricity.

Rotor:

The blades and the hub together are called the rotor.

Tower:

Towers are made from tubular steel (shown here) or steel lattice. Because wind speed increases with height, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity.

Wind direction:

This is an "upwind" turbine, so-called because it operates facing into the wind. Other turbines are designed to run "downwind", facing away from the wind.

Wind vane:

Measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive to orient the turbine properly with respect to the wind.

Yaw drive:

Upwind turbines face into the wind; the yaw drive is used to keep the rotor facing into the wind as the wind direction changes. Downwind turbines don't require a yaw drive, the wind blows the rotor downwind.

Yaw motor:

Powers the yaw drive.

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Types of wind turbines

Modern wind turbines fall into two basic groups: the horizontal-axis variety, as shown in the photo, and the vertical-axis design, like the eggbeater-style Darrieus model, named after its French inventor.
Horizontal-axis wind turbines typically either have two or three blades. These three-bladed wind turbines are operated "upwind," with the blades facing into the wind. The other common wind turbine type is the two-bladed, downwind turbine. Horizontal axis turbines are the most common type used today. DOE research focuses on development of horizontal axis turbines.

GE Wind Energy's 3.6 megawatt wind turbine is one of the largest prototypes ever erected. Larger wind turbines are more efficient and cost effective.

Size of wind turbines

Utility-scale turbines range in size from 50 kilowatts to as large as several megawatts. Larger turbines are grouped together into wind farms, which provide bulk power to the electrical grid.
Single small turbines, below 50 kilowatts, are used for homes, telecommunications dishes, or water pumping. Small turbines are sometimes used in connection with diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaic systems. These systems are called hybrid wind systems and are typically used in remote, off-grid locations, where a connection to the utility grid is not available.

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OUR UNITS ARE SUPPLIED WITH THE GENERATOR/TURBINE, PROPELLER, MAST & FIXINGS, MOUNTING BASE PLATE AND CONTROLLER. (Excluding 3.3Kw)

Passive solar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Passive solar design is a broad category of solar power techniques and strategies for regulating a building's indoor air and domestic water temperatures, using climate, site features, architectural elements, and lanscape materials. The goal is typically to increase the comfort, efficiency and reliability of a building, while reducing its operating costs and dependence on other sources of energy for heating and cooling.
In new United States residential construction, properly-designed passive solar heating and cooling is surprisingly cheap to construct, and commands premium prices. In areas with more than two weeks of frost, passive solar heat adds about 15% to the cost of new construction. In areas with fewer frosts, it has no extra construction costs for heating. Passive annualized solar heating shifts heat from one season to another, and these systems can reduce cooling costs as well.

History

The ancient Greeks and Romans used solar design features in their housing, but the first passive solar houses of the modern era were built in Germany after the first world war, when the Allies occupied the Ruhr area, including most of Germany's coal mines. These designs were studied in the United States, but had little influence on builders.
The first passive solar house in the US was designed in 1940 by George F. Keck for a Chicago area real estate developer named Howard Sloan. Keck had designed an all-glass house for the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago and was surprised to find that it was warm inside on sunny winter days, even though the furnace hadn't been installed yet. Keck was not aware of the research being done elsewhere on solar architecture, but he gradually started incorporating more south-facing windows into his designs for other clients, and by 1940 he had learned enough to design a passive solar house for Sloan.
Sloan built a number of passive solar houses in the 1940s, and his publicity efforts influenced a number of other builders during the postwar housing boom (Sloan is also credited with popularizing the term "solar" to describe his houses). But some builders of that era didn't realize that the houses were designed to face south, and many were built facing other directions, which hurt their reputation. Critics also pointed out that windows and doors weren't always properly sealed. Public interest declined by 1950 due to cheap oil and general prosperity, until it was revived after the 1973 oil cisis.

Our systems have a survivable wind speed of 60 m/s (134 Mph)

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