Wind TurbinePackages Vs SolarTechnology Solutions

By Roger G Brown
If you take the time to analyze
wind turbine kits you should
also look into the concept of
solar power as an adjunct to
your plans. The basics of power
harvesting are about the same
and the systems are very similar.
The best way to get going with
renewable might be to employ a
device like a hybrid that uses
both technologies.
There are many things that are
alike between the 2 concepts:
Ultimately, all renewable energy
comes from the sun. The sun
obviously supplies the radiation
that heats the collector panels
but it also causes most of the
wind. The way it does that is by
heating the ground and the heat
radiating from the ground heats
and expands the surrounding
air. That dissipation of heat
from the ground is what causes
the vast majority of our wind.
Both need a power inverter to
finally convert the mechanical or
heat energy into AC or
alternating current that can be
used in an energy consuming
system. The power inverter is
needed with both a solar panel
and wind turbine kits (but not
when you are only charging a
battery). Not everything is a
similarity though. In a several
ways these systems are also not
alike:
First of all solar has no moving
parts and is a very passive form
of energy production. The units
themselves are very low-profile
and aren't really an issue for
neighbors like windmills can
be.Solar also isn't constrained by
physical stress limits like a wind
turbine is. Windmills cannot
operate in super high wind
conditions. They will "furl" to
keep from destroying
themselves in a storm for
example. Both of these
renewable power creation
systems have their pros and
cons and there is no reason to
categorically rule either one out
unless you happened to be
constrained by local ordinance,
as is often the case with
windmills.
If we are going to wean
ourselves from fossil fuels and
get ourselves off the electricity
grid, we are going to have to
start getting serious about both
of these technologies. The
hybrid versions of these
products will continue to
capture market share and prices
will keep coming down
accordingly.
As prices drop, it won't matter
so much about whether you
happen to live in an area of the
country that has a certain
number of good days for sun or
enough wind speed for a
windmill - as it does now.
Summarizing - it is wise to be
careful in your analysis of all
available home energy systems
that use renewable sources.
Wind turbine kits and solar
collectors are not in any way
incompatible.