Urban Windmill Design – A Step Ahead
New Windmills Designed for urban usage are comming to power urban homes with windpower.
When we think of the word ‘windmill’ our mind automatically conjures up the image of the common three rotor design which can often be seen out to sea and also on hill tops. These windmills are known to work well in relatively smooth airflows and high wind speeds. Hence, the conditions where they are located and the technology match. Larger turbines have also been built because of the remoteness of these locations and his has helped in generating sufficient amounts of electricity. But in comparison, urban areas are different.
Finite resources are being usurped gradually for generating electricity and people are carrying out extensive research to come up with alternative sources of energy for generating electricity. Wind is a very useful option because it is a renewable resource and it will never end. This means that it can be used as much as preferred without it being used up. Also, as compared to other sources which are used for generating electricity like coal, wind does not emit any harmful gases which can be damaging to the environment. Also, non renewable resources are very costly to purchase whereas wind energy is relatively cheaper. All one has to do is install windmills.
But urban windmills are another story because special conditions like wind speed and turbulence have to be taken into account. A number of such windmills are now being used in cities although the concept of urban turbines is still in development. There are numerous designs available in case of urban windmills and people can pick an urban windmill design as per their power preference and the conditions. Most designs comprise of small windmills because larger ones have greater requirements which are hampered by urban life.
Usually an urban windmill design will give an output of about 100 kilowatts which can aid people in cutting down their electricity bills by almost 45%. This can be very highly useful because production costs can be reduced. Electricity used in factories can be generated with the help of windmills and this can reduce energy consumption from other sources. However, before choosing an urban windmill design to be installed, there are several factors which need to be considered.
First off, it is vital to evaluate to check the site conditions before choosing a windmill design. Such a design should be selected that it can deal with the physical and other constraints related to that area. Windmills need a wind speed of at least 10 miles per hour and they need to be elevated high because urban areas are full of buildings which can block the wind or reduce its turbulence and speed. Also, there is another problem that the wind speed continues to change direction abruptly. Therefore, some urban windmills designs have been developed which can help in concentrating the wind through different ways.
Furthermore, windmills also generate a lot of noise which can be obtrusive and disturbing in urban areas. There are electric windmills which can be used or small windmills which do not make as much noise as larger ones. In a nutshell, an urban windmill design should be chosen with care to fulfill one’s needs and requirements.
