zondag 10 april 2011

Small wind tubines. Usefull or not?

Sound like a good idea, doesn’t it? Wind is everywhere and free, so we all put a small wind turbine on our roof to make our own electricity. Another advantage is that wind turbines are low tech, so they must be cheap to produce and have a long lifespan.

Well, it turns out that that is not the case. After extensive testing in the Netherlands and the UK it turned out that the lifespan of small wind turbines is only about 5 years. They turn around at high frequencies, so there parts wear easily. And within these 5 years they are not capable to generate enough energy to pay themselves back. The problem is that the blades of these windmills are small which makes the torque they generate small. Also the available wind power in suburban areas is limits because of all the buildings.
There is probably a great future for wind energy, but small wind mills is not the answer. What we need is very large windmills placed in open areas. Offshore windmills at sea is a great idea. Bummer that they are so expensive and that it is not that easy to get the energy they produce inland to the consumers.

15 opmerkingen:

  1. I think it's quite usefull cuz It's not cost much and give nice effects.

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  2. amazing what technology can do for us, great post keep em coming

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  3. hmm..i think we really just need a new design for these things

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  4. Clean energy is so important, glad they're working towards this.

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  5. sucks they cant last that long! They're such a good idea.
    followed
    http://ttroton.blogspot.com/

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  6. Wow, I thought they would be a good idea but I guess not

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  7. maybe find a way to make them out of a cheaper yet more resistant material? I'm sure that will happen in the future when better materials are made or current ones get cheaper.
    followed

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  8. not useful for me, but what do i know??

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  9. oh, and i just started following your blog!

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  10. Yeah ive known about the downfalls for years. No doubt we need to get off oil but wind is certainly not the way to go, unless we completely rethink how we obtain the energy. These mills are simply not a viable solution.

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  11. Nice thoughts, I like the idea of windmills at sea, far away from the ugliness they provide on land!

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  12. Really useful... Nawww. Too small to make an impact?

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  13. To bad they don't work well, it sounds like a pretty good idea.

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  14. about parts being worn off, it seems to be just a technical problem which could be solved...

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