Wind Power Applications
Forget what you think! It is just an unwarranted assumption that wind power can only be used to generate electricity. The number of applications it can support directly or indirectly is also unbelievable. Thanks to its environment-friendly nature, pretty soon all these applications would be used at large scale by the forth coming generations. Speak of any application, either household or industrial; wind energy has earned a place in almost every sector and continues to be a prime ingredient of many yet to be relinquished innovations.
Water pumping for example is an application where wind power is being used extensively both at homes as well as in businesses as a standalone system. Water, as it is well known, is the secret of our lives and as such a reliable and continuous supply of clean water in one of the basic needs. Needless to say the most widely consumed element on the surface of this earth must of course be mad available to the public in the least expensive way that is possible. Mechanical water pumping systems have been used since long however its efficiency has always been not up to the mark. Hence, the wind electric pumping system, which works on the basic principles of a mechanical pump except that the water pumps is electrical and the electricity required to run it, is produced by wind power. Here the energy transformations are quite efficient yielding tremendous water output and as a blessing – it is maintenance free!
The water pumping system is simple and comprises mainly of a turbine, pumping head and equipment sizing. The volume of water that is to be pumped in depends on the size of the turbine being used, total pumping head and of course the wind speed. The turbine’s performance is also dependent on its rotor diameter and they are typically installed by system designers at high altitudes to subject it to optimum wind speed. The pumping head refers to a combination of the static head, the well drawdown and pipe friction. The first denotes the distance between the water storage tank outlet and the water level below the ground i.e. the water table and the well drawdown is the level up to which the water levels off while pumping. There could be losses due to friction in the pipe during pumping which can be compensated with extra pumping heads.
Similarly other household applications that are run using wind power include refrigeration and freezing, as heaters and coolers, and lighting. In industries, the applications using wind power are ever growing. It is primarily used for applications with low fuel efficiencies. Some applications that are employing wind power include telecommunications especially in radar systems. It is used as a navigational aid in pipeline control systems. Further uses have been identified in weather forecasting, seismic monitoring, cathodic protection and last but not the least in air-traffic control (ATC) systems. Wind power systems for industries are manufactured with more robustness and are expected to be maintenance free or with minimal maintenance than household applications.
