How to Use Wind Turbines to Offset Your Business Electricity Bill
Global
NRG micro wind turbines are able to generate renewable energy from wind
at low wind velocities in singular and multiple applications. They can
be used on a variety of sites including home roofs and gardens; high
rise and factory building rooftops; municipal and government buildings;
schools; universities; sporting fields; railway stations and tracks;
parks; clubs, shopping centres; along roads. They are also used in
conjunction with the patented NRG Economizer power storage system, which
allows homes and small businesses to reduce their electricity bills from
35% to 100%. The NRG Economizer system also has multiple applications in
high rise buildings, factories, schools and public buildings, where a
significant amount of renewable energy can be generated and stored for
later use. They are also used in hybrid solar/wind street lighting.
Solar
PVs are a very expensive and inefficient way of generating renewable
energy, for they only work effectively for around 4 hours a day if the
sun is shining; this usually occurs, outside peak demand for
electricity, which occurs in the early morning at around 7.00 am to
10.00 am and between 4.30 and 10 pm later.
Wind turbines however are able to generate renewable energy 24/7
when wind is available, taking up only a fraction of the space required
to site solar panels. A geared
wind turbine of up to 50KW can generate at a 40% load factor at wind
speeds of just 4.2 m/s (15.2 km/hr).
NRG
wind turbines have been designed to address past constraints such as
size, noise, vibration and output, bringing new technology and solutions
across multiple markets, for homes, businesses, mines, farms and rural
and remote areas, to capture kinetic energy from wind.
The
renewable energy is then fed through electricity inverters to supply
building power, or through grid controllers and inverters into the grid
and energy storage units.
How wind turbines work
Wind power involves
converting kinetic wind energy into renewable electricity using wind
turbines. A wind turbine comprises of 3 or 5 propellers-like blades
mounted vertically or horizontally which make up the
rotor. The rotor is
attached to a tall
tower or pole which can be mounted in the ground; fixed to a wall
mounting, or a rooftop. On average wind turbines need to be
located about 20m high, where the
winds are clearer and stronger.
Wind comes is caused
by atmospheric changes; changes to temperatures and pressures which make
the air move around the surface of the earth; all of which is brought
about by the sun. Wind energy
can be regarded as a form of free energy.
Vertical and horizontal axis turbines used for residential electricity generation
Conversion of wind into electricity via a wind turbine
Wind power driving the turbine is converted into electricity through magnets moving past stationary coils of wire known as a stator. As the magnets pass the stator AC electricity is produced. It is then converted into DC electricity using inverters.
A Rotor generator
The benefits of wind power
Wind power is a
clean energy that can be relied on to supply low cost renewable energy
for the present and the future, creating energy without using fossil
fuels, producing greenhouse gases, or radioactive or toxic waste. Wind
power helps reduces GHG emissions.
Small wind
turbines can be installed in areas which normally are inaccessible to
large scale wind turbines. They are low noise and do not cast the
rotating shadow of large turbines that affects people’s and animal’s
heath.
A single wind
turbine can be sufficient to generate enough energy to power a
household. A bank or matrix of wind turbines can cumulatively be
aggregated to provide an impressive amount of power. By joining one
matrix with other matrixes of wind turbines through a control centre it
is possible substantial amounts of power which can equal the output of a
60 MW coal fired power station, yet cost only a fraction of its cost to
build. These matrixes can be built and installed in a quarter of the
construction time it takes to build a similar coal or gas fired power
station.