Wind Turbine Sizing

When you have the occasion to pass one of the giant wind farms, it's really quite a sight (or site) to see. The sun glints off the metal (or the moon and starshine glints at night)

and the arc of the rotors can be almost hypnotizing. This circle dance in the wind can strike some as quite pretty. However, it leaves out a very important component for our consideration; namely, the wind turbine.

Without the wind turbine, the wind towers would only be very large pinwheels, and just as powerful. Therefore, the wind turbine is incredibly important, and the wind turbine size has almost everything to do with it.

The size of wind turbines, or the area of the disc covered by rotor and wind speeds, of course, determines how much energy can be harvested in a year. So, in this case, size matters quite a lot, because, nothing tells you more about a wind turbine's potential. Typically, a turbine with a 600kw electrical generator will have a rotor diameter of some forty-four meters, or one hundred forty four feet. If you double the rotor diameter, you get an area that is four times larger. You also get four times as much power output from the rotor.

Utility wind turbine size, of course, is another matter. Utility scale wind turbines are typically classified by their size. A small wind turbine is less than 50kw. Intermediate

wind turbine's sizing is 50-500kw. Large wind turbines are over 500kw. Small and intermediate sized turbines make up the bulk of the older installed turbines, but the sizes of wind turbines installed in the late 1990's and later are generally 600kw and larger. Smaller wind turbines used for residential applications can range from 400w to 20kw, depending on the amount of electricity you wish to generate. The typical home use is 9400kw hours of electricity in a year. To help determine the amount you need, you should set about establishing an energy budget. The reason for this is because energy efficiency is less expensive than energy production! Reducing your home's electricity use will probably be more cost effective, and, consequently, will reduce the size of the wind turbine you will need.

Rotors and motors, kilowatts and energy budgets, it's enough to make your head spin! Don't get overwhelmed, though. All this technology that you absorb now will be more than worth it in the long run. Just imagine greeting the sun at dawn and, not only being thankful for a new day, but thankful for the power that will be running your home.