Energy Alternatives

Create Wind Power - Windmill Design Development

To use and create wind power is not new by any means. For over 500 years windmill design went through a lot of development to improve its efficiency until the ideal structure was achieved. The wind machines of pre-industrial Europe were used in a variety of applications like in irrigation, water wells, sawmills, grain grinding, and drainage pumping. They were also used in processing products like cocoa, tobacco, spices, paints, and dyes.

The first windmill to create wind power by generating electricity was developed in 1888 by Charles F. Brush of Cleveland, Ohio. It was called the Brush machine and was based on the post mill design. It had a 17-meter diameter rotor with multiple blades. A large tail was attached to the Brush machine, which served to turn the rotor in the proper wind direction. This windmill was the first to use a step-up gearbox in generating electricity. The Brush windmill operated successfully for 20 years, but it had limitations; it only produced 17 kilowatts. It wasn’t fast enough to generate higher power.

In 1891, Dane Poul La Cour designed a wind turbine that applied aerodynamic principles used in the tower mills. The result was faster speed and greater power generation. Before the end of World War I, 25-kilowatt wind power machines were used in Denmark.

Smaller wind power generators appeared in the mid-1920s. These machines produced 1 to 3 kilowatts and were mostly used to light farms in the rural areas of the Great Plains. They were also used to charge radio batteries. Eventually, they were used to power larger home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines.

In 1931, Russia developed the Balaclava wind generator, the first machine that was able to supply bulk electricity. It operated successfully for 2 years and produced 200,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. More developments ensued over the years as wind turbine engineering improved. Eventually, smaller wind turbines to create wind power were created based on the same principles as those of the larger models. These machines are now being used to provide home wind power electricity.�

Did you find this article interesting? If you did, you can find my review and much more information here Create Wind Power. Find tips, suggestions and ideas on how you too can begin to enjoy the benefits of free renewable energy for your home at http://earth4energyedge.com/.

Copyright � 2009. Reprint rights are granted, as long as the article is not changed in any way, and the resource box is left intact.