Off-Grid Stuff

Like solar panels, windmills are also possibilities that are being fast explored as an energy alternative solution. In fact, windmills (also known as wind turbines or wind generators) are being used to drive much bigger machines than those that are run by the solar energy cells. For example, wind power has been used for centuries to power grain mills or large water pumps. Because of the amount of power and torque the turbines are able to produce, they can be effectively used to generate enough power to run a television, a personal computer or a refrigerator.

Wind turbines in Wainstalls, near Halifax. Photo: K. Ali

However, one significant constraint in the application of windmills to generate power is that wind turbines requires certain very important preconditions to be working. Unlike solar energy cells, which can get their fair share of sunlight on any sunny day, windmills need to be installed in open areas with sufficient and constant wind speed to turn the blades of the windmill. It has to be a very windy area, so as to say and that is a very difficult precondition to meet in today’s city life. Places with congested architecture or places, which simply do not have the required wind speed, are unsuitable for driving windmills.

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However, for places where sufficient wind speed is available throughout the day, the wind generators can prove to be real blessings as they can be used to generate sufficient electricity to run the appliances which are even difficult to be run on solar power. Nevertheless, the fact that you have to make a significant initial expenditure in the form of installing windmills and connecting them to your electrical wiring they are definitely worth a try if you live in a sufficiently windy region. Also, you should be prepared for some maintenance issues as these are new devices and your regular technician might not be an expert at repairing windmills. Therefore, you should consider yourself some trouble maintaining your own wind turbines , but as said before, if you can get them working, they are worth a try, simply for the pure joy of having an energy source as pure as wind. Coastal regions and hilly regions with lots of open spaces are ideal for windmill installation.