Wind turbines and Energy

Question

ok so i was thinking about how wind turbines are driven mechanically and was wondering why they dont try to use magnetic energy instead to free up the energy it takes to turn it mechanically. My thoughts is that is would create more energy because the the wind would have an easier time turning the turbine...am i missing something here??

Answer 1

Maybe they're made that way so that if it gets too windy, it doesn't stuff the generator up. I think it needs to be mechanically connected so that if it does get to windy, the generator can cope. Here's a reference to show you what I'm talking about.

http://www.solarnavigator.net/wind_turbi...

Answer 2

There is one major difference between large commercial , and small wind turbines. This is because small turbines usually make 12, 24 or 48V DC - very useful for charging batteries, and then use a solid state inverter to convert to your mains supply.

Commercial turbines generate Mains directly - and are usually "Grid tied" This means they have to add to the grid when they can - at the same frequency. The simplest way (currently in use) is to use a gearbox to speed up the output. This not only is wasteful and inefficient - it has led to turbines being known to be noisy!

Did you ever wonder why turbines all turn at the same speed or are turned off completely ? This is because a few are used to monitor output - If there is no wind - they are USING electricity to power a big fan !!!!! - what a waste  :-(  When they see that the output exceeds what they are using because of wind - they turn the others on to assist in collecting it, although they need to be spun up to sync before turning on.

This old fashioned technology comes directly from steam turbines - again wasteful as wind is not that predictable.

The next generation are slightly more expensive. Yes they do-away with the gearbox and use Neodymium magnets in a larger rotor hub. These are quiet, and chop the power generated to manage it more effectively. Basically saddling a horse to give better control and use through better management of the output - rather than trying to control the wind.

Permanent magnets are the way to go - so you're right in that respect.

After this comes efficiency. The best permanent magnet generator designs - ae actually used inside American US nuclear Subs. The patents are freely available if you want to look. They've invested a lot of US$ into efficiency - so why not turn this to good use for humanity ? - it's Your $$ they spent.

Answer 3

Yes you are missing something.  Wind turbines use magnetic fields to generate electricity.

Answer 4

The field coil is an electrical magnet.. The real problem is to keep them in sync. They need to run at a precise 60 HZ plus a few degrees. As the rotation they must keep the rotation steady. It is not all that good in Texas ,as the wind blows in the day and at night when we need the lights the wind stops.