Wind Turbine Tower Basics
Wind Turbine Tower Basics
Find out about wind turbine towers - getting turbines into clean air
windThe
tower (or
mast) on which a
wind turbine sits is an essential and often forgotten part of a wind turbine system. Raising a wind turbine high above the ground and surrounding obstacles such as trees and buildings increases its power output because
clean unobstructed air flows are less turbulent, stronger, and more reliable - particularly at low wind speeds. In addition reducing the amount of turbulent air hitting a
wind turbine reduces the risk of parts such as bearings wearing out and therefore reduces maintenance costs.
The cost of the
wind turbine tower can easily make up 50% of the total cost of the system, but money spent here is money well spent. It is much better to purchase or construct a slightly cheaper
wind turbine generator and spend a little more on the tower if there is a limited budget to be spent on the whole system.
Scaffolding Pole Wind Turbine Tower with Guy Wires
For the majority of domestic wind turbines the most cost effective tower is constructed from
scaffolding poles and held upright using
guy wires. A concrete foundation is required for the base of the tower and also for the guy wire anchor points. The only disadvantage of guy wires is that the
footprint of the turbine tower is much larger and safety around the wires must be considered carefully - for example fencing everything in to prevent children tripping over or running into the guy wires.
Free Standing Wind Turbine Towers
It is also possible to build a
free standing tower from thicker scaffolding poles, but a much larger (and therefore more expensive) foundation is required at the base and the structure, though looking nicer and taking up less space, will be inherently weaker than a
guyed tower. Free standing towers are more commonly made of a
lattice structure shown in the image above. Lattice towers can also be guyed making for a very strong wind turbine tower.
Tilt-Up Wind Turbine Towers
Installing a
wind turbine at the top of a tower can be both difficult and dangerous, therefore a
tilt-up tower is often preferred. In a tilt-up tower the base of the tower is fitted to a hinge which is bolted into the concrete foundations and often a
gin pole is also fitted to the base of the tower which acts as a mechanical arm to give leverage to raise the tower.
With such a system, the top of the tower can be tilted down to ground level for installation of the wind turbine or for future maintenance. The whole structure can then be manhauled or winched up to the vertical relatively painlessly and safely (see image above). At least two and more if possible people should be on hand to help erect the wind turbine keeping the guy wires taught and the ascent smooth.
A tilt-up tower must have guy wires on four sides (rather than the usual three) because it is impossible to safely
tilt up a tower with guy wires on just three sides.
Article Last Modified: 14:06, 28th Feb 2007Comment on this Article
If you have any comments on this article, please email them to
neil@reuk.co.uk.
Recommended Related Articles
People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:
PVC Wind Turbine BladesLearn how to make your own PVC wind turbine blades
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008windPhotos of PVC Wind Turbine BladesPhotographs of PVC wind turbine blades
Article Last Modified: 13:09, 22nd Dec 2006windMake Your Own Wooden Wind Turbine BladesFind out how to carve your own durable wind turbine blades from wood
Article Last Modified: 11:58, 24th Jan 2007windElectricity with Stepper MotorsFind out the basics of generating electricity with stepper motors
Article Last Modified: 17:07, 10th Jun 2008windPermanent Magnet GeneratorBuild a wind or water power system with around a PM Generator
Article Last Modified: 16:43, 6th Apr 2010wind | hydroDIY 2kW Wind TurbineRead about a home built 2kW wind turbine constructed from scrap
Article Last Modified: 08:46, 4th Oct 2007wind | recyclingStepper Motor Voltage Doubler CircuitDouble the voltage from a stepper motor using two bridge rectifiers
Article Last Modified: 10:45, 9th May 2007general | electric circuit | educationBridge RectifierFind out more about bridge rectifiers.
Article Last Modified: 15:33, 2nd Feb 2007electronics | wind | waveStepper Motor BasicsLearn more about stepper motors and their use in RE electricity generation
Article Last Modified: 09:54, 4th Apr 2007wind | educationSwitch from Inverter to Mains AutomaticallyPower a circuit directly from a power inverter, but with automatic mains power back up.
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008electric circuit | storage | general
|
|
|
