While electricity could be brought about from energy by the sun, wind energy comes from wind turbines. Wind power is without question a form of solar energy, since wind flow is caused by atmospheric heat from the sun. Power originated by wind comes free, clean and is a wonder part of energy that proves to be an alternative to fossil fuels. Electricity that is started from wind is pollution-free and emits no greenhouse gases.

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How Wind Generates Electricity

Wind turbines use propeller blades that travel in the wind to create electricity from wind. As the wind turns the blades, a connected shaft rotates. This shaft that rotates connects to a certain generator which creates electricity by the use of motion.A wind power plant is a series of wind turbines that send electricity through transmission lines. Utility companies then aquire this electricity and give it to homes, businesses and other public buildings such as schools and hospitals. 

Since the 1990s, wind power has been the fastest growing source of electricity. The development of most of the wind power comes from Europe, however; The United States still has a very large potential for wind energy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. wind resources could satisfy all electricity requirements for the nation. There are many projects underway to build the infrastructure to support the generation of electricity from wind on a large scale.

Wind power plants cannot be brought up in all areas. The available wind resources in a region must be adequate to make a power plant economically beneficial. The U.S. Department of Energy is administering wind studies to ascertain the best areas to generate electricity from wind. 

Wind Turbine Benefits for Homeowners 

Homeowners can benefit from wind power by investing in small wind turbine systems. Using a residential turbine to create electricity from wind helps reduce pollution and provides a buffer against energy shortages and energy price inflation.   There are several factors to acknowledge before purchasing and installing a residential wind turbine. If your home turns out to be a good candidate for a small-scale wind power system, it can prove to be a cost-effective alternative to electricity bought from your local utility company. 

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A residential wind power system can be either standalone or attached to the power grid. For a standalone system, a backup power source such as a battery is required for times when wind is not feasible to give electricity. A wind power system that is connected to the power grid is a more practical solution for homeowners who want to benefit from electricity from wind. When wind levels are low, power requirements are met by electricity from the utility company.  

Both standalone wind power systems and systems that are connected to the power grid require an average local wind speed of about 10 miles per hour. The U.S. Department of Energy is a good touch point for information about the suitability of different areas in the country for residential wind power systems. 

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Wind plays an incredible and important source in areas where wind becomes abundant. Wind power is actually a shape of solar energy because the sun acts out a vital role of wind flow. Any description of solar energy should include wind power information. Like solar power, wind power is a green energy source that is a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. Wind power does not play a role in green house gas emissions. It is a clean, always available and renewable power source.   

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According to 2009 wind power information from the World Wind Energy Association, about 1.5% of global electricity usage is generated by wind power.  The use of wind energy throughout the world is growing, with many European countries such as Denmark, Spain and Portugal using wind power for a meaningful portion of domestic energy requirements.   

How Wind Power Works 

Wind turbines are made to furnish the power of the wind.  A wind turbine has propeller blades comparable to those used by airplanes.  Electricity is formed as the wind moves the turbine’s propellers.  A large-scale wind farm consists of a number of wind turbines that are attached to the electric power grid.  Smaller wind turbines can be used to supply power directly to nearby locations.  However, because wind is irregular in many areas it is not always achievable to use a small wind turbine as a primary power source.  When composing a smaller turbine for wind power, information about wind circumstances in the local area should be taken into account. 

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Residential Wind Power 

Residential wind turbines are an eco-friendly change of energy source for homes with large lots in rural areas with a 10mph average wind speed.  According to wind power information from the American Wind Energy Association, installing a residential wind turbine will usually lower a home’s electricity bill by 50 to 90 percent.  For residential use, wind power is used along side with electricity from the power grid of the local utility.  A small-scale wind turbine is installed near the residence and energy is changed into electricity that is used directly in the home.  When wind is available and electricity is being created, the amount of power purchased from the utility is decreased.  When more electricity is generated than is needed by the home, it cannot be stored. However, many utilities will purchase it back from the homeowner.

Wind turbines used by a home has an estimated life span of 20 years and requires very little maintenance.  An 80 to 120 foot tower is required for a residential wind turbine to work effectively and should be included with the turbine.  The return on investment for a residential wind power system is usually 6 to 15 years.  Due to the savings in utility bills that it offers, installing a wind power system is a good way to increase the value of a residence. 

When contemplating installing a home energy system that uses wind power, information about utility company support should be obtained.  More and more utility companies have offer programs to buy back surplus electricity from residence wind turbines.  The American Wind Energy Association reports that residential wind turbines are currently used by homes in 47 of the 50 U.S. states. 

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When people think of solar energy, they marvel at the technological advances of modern science. However, solar power theories have been around for over 180 years.  In 1839, a French scientist named Antoine César Becquerel, discovered an interesting occurrence, called the photovoltaic effect, during an experiment he was conducting.  The photovoltaic effect is the creation of a voltage in a material when exposed to electro-magnetic radiation from sunlight.

This discovery happened while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made with two metal electrodes located in an electrolyte solution; similar to how a car battery works.  Antoine-Cesar Becquerel discovered that while the electrolytic cells were exposed to light, they produced electricity. The more light he applied, the greater the amount electricity produced.  Becquerel had basically created a solar powered battery.  This type of battery is called a photovoltaic cell.  A collection of these cells wired in series or in parallel is called a solar panel.

In 1883, almost 50 years after Becquerel’s discovery, Charles Fritts created the world’s first photovoltaic cell using selenium coating sheets with a micro-thin slice of gold.  For the next six decades scientists and inventors continued to perform research with solar energy, both with private funds and corporate assistance.  One typical inventor named Clarence Kemp from Baltimore created and patented the world’s first commercial solar energy water heaterAlbert Einstein published a thesis on photoelectric effect and subsequently received the Nobel Prize for his discoveries.

While working for Bell Laboratories, an American inventor named Russell Ohl created and patented the first ever silicon solar cell in 1941.  Bell Laboratories continued to pursue Ohl’s invention and in 1954 released the first crystalline silicon solar panel.  These solar cells produced an incredible level of efficiency achieving a 4% return on overall energy production.  In the years that followed this pioneering development, scientists throughout the world enhanced Bell Laboratories’ innovation and quickly developed solar cells producing 6% efficiency on overall energy conversion.

Research and development into solar electric technologies grew rapidly and produced its first real usage at the dawn of the space age, more precisely, its use in space satellites.  It’s not viable to fire satellites into space which depended on refueling or operated on conventional batteries which would eventually die.  A renewable power source was needed to let satellites to remain in orbit for much longer without needing to be recharged.  Solar power fit that requirement entirely.  In 1958, NASA launched the Vangaurd Spacecraft, which became the first artificial satellite to reach Earth’s orbit and the first satellite to be powered by solar power.

America was the original country to fund the large scale research and development of solar cells, which in 1980, yielded 20% efficiency on overall energy conversion.  By 2000, American companies had created numerous solar cells capable of producing 24% efficiency.  In 2008, Emcore Photovoltaics and Spectrolab proclaimed that they’ve reached new levels of power by designing a solar cell which yielded 28% efficiency.

No one knows where the future of solar energy will lead us.  However, as more and more applications employ the use of solar electric power, both the cost and efficiency of solar cells will develop to encourage more wide spread adoption.  Someday, solar panels will be able to generate the bulk of the energy required to support the constantly growing hunger of our hi-tech, modern civilization.