Wind Energy in Residential Areas Practicality and Efficiency of Turbines The Magic School Bus: Jared Weist, Daniel Estelle, Jim Peckham

Components of a wind turbine TOWER: Supports the weight of turbine mechanism and absorbs loads put on the turbine by external forces NACELLE: Attached to tower, rotates towards wind to maximize rotor speed, houses generator assembly BLADES: Blade design generally uses lift, the creation of a high and low pressure zone from the wind to move the blades. ROTOR: Holds blades, rotates in order to turn generator to produce power 1.Height of tower is set to catch higher wind speeds that exist at higher altitudes. 2.Nacelle contains generator, gearbox, assembly required to produce power. 3.Blades on the typical wind turbine work like aeroplane wings. 4.Rotor spins from wind, which is then gear to higher rpms to generate power. Image from kentwindenergy.co.uk/

What are the optimal conditions? Wind speed is high enough across the United States for wind turbines almost anywhere (NREL) Traditional turbines are required to be at least 300 meters away from any residential area due to volume. (BWE Bundesverband) Wind speeds increase in winter, especially around areas with lake effect. This is too wordy and needs to be cut down… just have the main ideas on the slide Image from nrel.gov/rredc/

Wind patterns in residential areas Wind speeds can vary due to differing landscapes (Chiras 223). Example: tree cover can cause turbulence and slow down wind speeds, or lakes can increase uneven heating, increasing wind speeds Houses can cause turbulence, the “valley” between houses accelerates wind and causes disruptions at ground level, as well as above ground level. (Chiras 223-4) Bat and bird death is an environmental factor that needs to be considered and avoided, and can impede the placement of turbines within their habitats.

Environmental Concerns Wind energy is a clean renewable source of energy, and as more and more energy is required to power the world, the environment has to be protected and considered more and more. (NREL) Wind turbines offset their carbon manufacturing cost in months. This means years of completely clean energy production. (Chiras 227) Turbines have minimal impact on the environment compared to other sources of energy, specifically fossil fuels without filtration systems. (NREL)

What is the wind vs power output? The maximum conditions for most windmills are around 35-55 mph. Slower speeds decrease the power output drastically. For example, if the wind speed decreases by half then the power output decreases by a factor of 8. Obviously every windmill has a different power output at different wind speeds, but most follow the trend shown below.

Cost vs Benefit On average, windmills produce $4000-$8000 worth of energy per year. The average size windmill costs around $50,000-$80,000. This makes the average payoff around 10-12 years. Image from thefiscaltimes.com Image from zibbett.com

Traditional vs modern wind turbines Below are some examples of wind turbines in use today and in the past. Image from danspapers.com Image from interberg.com Image from Wikipedia.org Image from connect-green.com

Future Wind Turbines Pros: More practical More aesthetically pleasing could lead to more desire Cons: Produce less energy Costs could outweigh most of the benefits Image from alternative-energy-news.info

Challenges: Wind patterns are never certain Costs could outweigh benefits or take too long to payoff Maintenance prices could be high because of new market Difficult to be approved of in many neighborhoods Image from solar.excluss.com

Works Cited "Building an Offshore Wind Farm." Kent Wind Energy. London Array Limited, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. <http://www.kentwindenergy.co.uk/building-wind-farm.php>. BWE Bundesverband WindEnergie. "The Structure of a Modern Wind Turbine – An Overview." The Structure of a Modern Wind Turbine An Overview. German Wind Energy Association, Sept. 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. <http://www.wwindea.org/technology/ch01/en/1_2.html>. Chiras, Daniel D. "Chapter 8: Wind Power – Meeting Your Needs for Electricity." The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society, 2006. 207-32. Print. "Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the Unites States" RReDC Online. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 16 Aug. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. <http://rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/>. Knoll, Aaron, and Katherine Klink. "Residential- and Commercial-scale Distributed Wind Energy in North Dakota, USA." Renewable Energy 34.11 (2009): 2493-500. Web. Simmons, Randy. "What's the True Cost of Wind Power?" Newsweek. N.p., 11 Apr. 2016. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.<http://www.newsweek.com/whats-true-cost-wind-power-321480> "Wind Energy Basics." Upper Great Plains Wind Energy. N.p., 2014. Web. 8 Nov. 2016.<http://www.plainswindeis.anl.gov/guide/basics/index.cfm>