Did you know?

Did you know about global warming? Sure, you think you do. It's pretty self explanatory, global warming, its right there in the title. The planet is warming. But what does this mean?

We should probably start with why. What causes this? Scientists have been looking for answers for decades, and the only way to explain the patterns is to include carbon emissions from humans, or greenhouse gases. These come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories, and electricity production. The cause of all these emissions: humans.

 The science behind this is simple. The "greenhouse effect" is the warming that happens when certain gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat. These gases let in light but keep heat from escaping, like the glass walls of a greenhouse.

 So why does this matter at all? The warming of the planet = melting icecaps. Also, the rate at which the planet is warming is faster than some species are able to adapt, which could cause mass extinctions. What this means is...

• Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches by the end of the century
• Hurricanes and other storms are going to become stronger.
• Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either.
• Species that depend on each other could become out of sync, like flowers blooming before bees become active.                                                                                                                          

These are just some of the effects of global warming.

What are the solutions? There are lots of options, but the one that this blog is going to focus on is renewable energy. And if you didn't get it from the title, more particularly focusing on tapping into the incredible source of wind energy.

what's my goal?

I meant to post everyday... sorry I missed a couple days. Aaaaaanyway....
So, my goal, with this blog? With researching wind energy? The point?

I want to spread the word about wind energy, and what this could mean for the world. And also, I want to share my own views on designing windmills, because I am designing my own! My windmill, though not completely finished yet, is going to be designed using lift and drag technology and a lot of the ideas incorporated from Ed Lenz's windmill.  

I have been drawing up designs, trying to find programs to test it on virtually, workin on it. I will get back to the blog later with some ideas. Thanks for staying posted! 

Vertical Axis Windmill Turbines

The little brother of the HAWT, the Vertical Axis Windmill Turbine, or VAWT, is a lesser known type of windmill. In HAWT design, there is a basic concept, not much variation, a typical model. In VAWT design, there are three basic models: Darius, Lenz2, and the Savonius.

The Savonius is a drag-type turbine, which means it works in the same way as a cup anemometer. The blades on a Savonius can't rotate faster then the speed of the wind, so they generate a high torque. They are the most inefficient VAWT design, because of the drag technology. They generally cannot self-start. These are best suited for grinding grain or pumping water.

The Darrieus turbine uses lift-technology. It is better suited for electricity generation than Savonius. They generate less torque.

A Lenz2 turbine is a hybrid between the two. It uses both lift and drag technology in a safe, efficient, slow running turbine. It is the newest species of VAWT, created my Ed Lenz over a course of four years.

Of course, this is only a snippit of information on each type. We will get into more specifics on each type later, as well as my theories on design. 

Darrieus Turbine

Lenz2 Turbine

Savonius Turbine

an introduction to HAWT's

By definition, a windmill is a machine that converts the energy of the wind into rotational energy. When you think of windmill, what is the first image that pops into your head? Probably something like --------------->

But what do these two have in common? The face of the windmill is straight up and down, the turbine is horizontally oriented. Both of these are Horizontal Axis Windmill Turbines, or HAWT's.

This is the most common type of windmill, the most popular, most used... but there is a little brother, the lesser known windmill that is know as a Vertical Axis Windmill Turbine.

First Post

This blog is going to be about wind energy, and what it means.

There are a lot of problems in the world right now, ice melting, sea levels rising because of (previous), and so much more. But at the basis of all of this is global warming. What caused that? The demand for energy.

Conventionally energy comes from burning things, like most common, fossil fuels. I won't even get into how destructive that is, but the point of my little environmental science lesson is this basic idea: The more we burn for energy, the hotter it gets.

Sure, there are other ideas for how to get energy out there, like natural gas for instance. Just because it has the word "natural" in it, people think it is good for the environment. That is incorrect. The only types of energy that is completely naturally derived is wind, water, and solar.

If you didn't know from the title, this blog is going to be discussing the wind part of that. Wind energy, windmills, and all that jazz.

So, welcome, there is a lot more to come.