Wind powered turbines are one of the most reliable kinds of green power sources in the world.  They are designed to generate power by transforming the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy, which is then either harnessed directly (in the case of windmills, for example, which were used to transform corn into flour, or to pump water for irrigation) or connected to an electrical generator that generates a DC electrical output that can be used in a more general sense.  In this publication I will be talking about the type of wind generators that output electric energy, as this is more useful to us.

Wind turbines are basically large windmills, with gigantic blades that rotate as a result of the wind and produce energy from the conversion of the winds power.  Wind turbines are constructed of fiberglass, aluminum, steel along with various other space age materials.

Wind generators have several negative impacts on the environment.  They are quite visible, and very unsightly since they must be located in proximity to windy, fairly open terrain to be feasible – attempts to position them off the coast have been met with a lot of success.  Wind Turbines require a great deal of energy in their production, energy which is typically fossil-based, and therefore it takes considerable time before they are positive in terms of carbon emissions – this period can be anywhere from 2 to 6 years.  They are often associated with the killing of birds that can be mutilated as they pass through the turbine blades during migratory passages although this issue is heavily debated.

This alternative energy article is brought to you via trade leads from the Wind Turbines section of our b2b website.

With all of the downsides aside, wind turbines should be a logical choice when talking about a broad strategy for renewable energy, in those areas that are well suited to them.  Once constructed, wind turbines are amazingly efficient in a larger sense – they generate energy from a natural, eco-friendly renewable resource, without the social or environmental penalties that we incur with the consumption of fossil fuels – there is no need to mine for fuel or to transport it – there arent any greenhouse gas pollutants generated, and no need to contain, treat, or to eliminate wastes.

At the low end of the spectrum, turbines can be as small as 4 feet in diameter and might be capable of only a few hundred watts of output.  On the large end of the scale, turbines can be as massive as 200 feet in diameter and may be capable of generating three to four megawatts of power.

Like with photovoltaic solar power generation, there might be rebates available for construction, and energy in excess of that which we are using can be sold back to the grid.

Wind speed is affected by terrain and increases with altitude, so wind turbines are generally installed on top of large towers.  In a typical application, the wind turbine sits on top of a tall  tower and generates direct current that is used to charge batteries – this stored charge is ultimately utilized by flowing it through an inverter which changes the low voltage direct current power into high voltage AC power for use in household applications.  By concentrating numerous turbines into wind farms a vast amount of power can be stored and harnessed, perhaps for a whole city or town.

Due to the fact that the wind doesnt blow all of the time in many areas, wind turbines are used as adjuncts in hybrid systems with many different technologies like photovoltaic panels, batteries, and diesel generators to generate a consistent source of electricity.

Unlike fossil-fuel power stations, wind turbines are clean – they dont manufacture the CO2 emissions that are thought to be causing greenhouse gases or the SO2 emissions that cause acid rain.

Contemporary wind turbines are divided into two major categories, namely horizontal axis turbines and vertica turbines.  Todays horizontal axis wind turbines are actually superior at capturing the wind than vertical axis machines given the same amount of swept area (which is the size of the circle traced by the outside tip of the rotor blades).

Solar panels can be used to change the vast energy of the sun to some other kind of productive energy.  In general the resultant power will be available in the form of heat (to heat a home for example) or electricity which can be used to power anything from a mp3 player to a whole business.
In this article we are going to discuss the larger residential and industrial panels that are designed to generate electricity for the  home or business, where these panels are typically put on the top of the roof or in close proximity to the home if space allows.  We are going to focus on the kind of panels that generate electricity – known collectively as “Photovoltaic” panels.

Solar panels are a great way to cut energy costs and to cut your carbon footprint, and to become more self-sufficient.  They are now becoming extremely popular in inner-city areas where alternative energy advocates and law makers are creating incentives for this safe and quiet alternative energy source.   The state of California, for example, has been offering massive rebates on up-front capital cost in acquiring and installing a residential solar system. 
After the panels are installed, energy from the unit is used to power the home, or, when electricity is being made that exceeds what is being used, re-routed for use on the grid, where it is purchased back by the electrical power provider.  There will be times when you are making income from your panels.  With rebates factored into the initial pricing it will generally take from 16 to twenty-five years to get back the initial expense, at which point the system will essentially be generating electricity from the sun without cost.

This alternative energy snippet courtesy of trade leads from the Energy section of our Business to Business website.

One little-known fact, however, is that solar panels are initially contributory to greenhouse emissions due to the fact that it requires an input of power to manufacture a solar panel, that this power is most often carbon-based, and front-end loaded, and that therefore there is a time period during which the cell has actually added to carbon emissions rather than detracted from them.  Until such time as the solar panel has produced electricity equivalent to the energy used to manufacture it (its fossil-emission payback period) it is actually a contributor to carbon emissions.  This fossil-emission payback period is generally considered to be 5 to 8 years.

Low power panels are generally available in 12 v or 14 v configurations, whilst many high power  panels are only available as 24 volt.  As solar panels are Direct Current, you may generally need a power inverter that changes the voltage from one-voltage as Direct Current to high-voltage AC to make it the same as the energy that enters the building and the power grid.

Todays solar panels are made of twin sheets of silicon, doped with phosphorus and boron particles.  New technologies such as Amorphous silicon solar panels are a powerful, emerging array of photovoltaics that differ in voltage, wattage, structure, and manufacture than traditional photovoltaics which use crystalline silicon.  A new type, known as H-AS solar panels are produced in a similar way, but they are made just 1 micrometer thick by depositing polymorphous silicon at high pressures and temperatures.

Solar panels are generally maintenance free and almost all of the manufacturers will supply a guarantee of electrical output sometimes for as long as 25 years.
Solar panels are installed on the side of your house that gets the maximum solar exposure—in places that are south of the equator this is the north-facing aspect, and in places that are north of the equator it’s the south-facing aspect.