Use of Wind Energy
Articles
Murat’s Passive Solar House
Copy of article from magazine: ”Youth Techniques” 1993-10, page 5 Solar house stands in meadow near the famous resort town Teberda (in Karachay-Cherkessia).It was built by its owner: Murat Khatukaev, the scientist by profession and a craftsman by vocation, saves on fuel and electricity. Premises are heated by a “warm wall” and illuminated by mirrors system. The system is not too difficult: the light coming through the end wall, is reflected from the mirror placed under an angle of 45 °, and falls down from the ceiling. With regard to the heating system, it- in today’s terms – is the intellectual property of Murat. Silently, he grins, but nobody succeeded yet to unravel the secret. Some “merchants” came from the neighbouring region (after a short message in the local press), they studied construction (just without breaking the walls), did not understand anything and offered him to sell the “know-how”. Khatukaev refused … he is thinking about creating a corporate enterprise. He would gladly sell the ready houses at a reasonable price to those wishing to save on fuel. By the way, even in the most severe frosts the room temperature does not drop below 12°C. Well, for house without a stove is not bad! on the picture: Murat Khatukaev records temperature in the house...
The philosophy of the use of a rotor type wind turbine
Installations that use wind energy are classified by the position of the rotation axis as the ones of horizontal axis and vertical axis. The most widely spread are horizontally axial installations. This happened due to the rapid development of military aviation and shipbuilding in the beginning of 20-s of XX century. To finance the development of a theoretical base of aircraft and ship propellers, huge funds were allocated in the leading countries of the world such as USA, UK, Germany, Japan and the USSR. This funding has continued for nearly 80 years up to present times. The type of a modern wind turbine has been dictated by these circumstances, since impellers have been a byproduct of theoretical and practical development of propellers. Nowadays, anyone who is interested in windmills will say that the efficiency of horizontal axis impeller (blade wind turbine) is within 0.6 – 0.7, and «clumsy» vertical axis one- up to 0.39. However, the research of the author of this article refutes these parameters. Actually, the theoretical efficiency factor of a blade wind turbine, according to one of the founders of Fluid Dynamics E. Zhukovsky, is 0.593. The real efficiency of a modern wind turbine, according to independent experts, is 0.42 – 0.43, which is very close to the value of 0.39 of a vertical axis wind turbine. But, according to the author of this article, the unenviable fate of vertical axis rotors has been determined by their impracticality, especially in aviation. To determine the correct shape of propellers and to test them in laboratory conditions, wind tunnels have been created. Theoretical errors in the simulation in...
Energy Efficiency Reduces the Average Energy Cost Per Square Foot in Buildings
In the midst of the current recession, cost cutting continues to be one of the key assignments given to business administrators at companies across the U.K. And, as economists point out, how companies conduct cost cutting can have an impact on the economy. At most companies, the easiest way to cut costs without compromising bottom lines is layoffs, which are also bad for the economy. There is, however, another way for companies to cut costs without chipping away at payroll: implementing energy efficient design. Long promoted by proponents of the green movement, the cost saving value of energy-efficiency is well known. However, most companies practice energy efficiency at a level that doesn’t generate a high energy efficiency rating. Instead of making systematic changes to outdated interior lighting systems and HVAC systems, companies often take smaller measures, such as replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs and turning off unnecessary lighting, which produces an annual utility bill that’s little different than if the measures hadn’t been taken. At some companies, taking small efficiency measures and not paying for energy-efficient retrofits is thought to result in the most money saved, which isn’t true. Although energy efficient retrofits can be expensive, most efficiency projects have a first-year ROI of 50 percent or more, which quickly turns energy savings into pure profit that impacts a company’s bottom line year after year. By implementing energy-efficient retrofits, companies can permanently reduce their annual utility bill by over 50 percent. To determine whether a building could benefit from energy-efficient retrofits, an energy efficiency consultant performs a building wide energy audit, which identifies problem areas and determines a...Статьи
