How Wind Turbines Work: An Animated Guide [Gifographic]

You’ve probably driven past wind farming fields, and seen wind turbines from afar. You may have even seen one up-close, and wondered how it all works.

How do wind turbines generate electricity? Where does the electricity go? And what exactly goes into the mechanism to make it all happen? Read on to get your answers.

Interesting Facts about Wind Turbines

Did you know that the first wind turbine that could generate electricity was built way back in 1888? At the time, it could generate only 12 KW of power.

Here are a few more interesting facts about wind turbines:

• There are currently 48,000 wind turbines operating in the U.S. alone.
• The height of an industrial wind turbine can be 200 ft. or more. Their blades can even extend up to 300 ft.
• With 14,208 megawatts of energy generated, Texas tops all other states in quantity of wind energy generated.

How it Works

There are several elements that go into the process of wind turbines generating energy from the wind, and then powering up your home.

Let’s take a look at some of the crucial elements:

• The mechanics – There are several crucial parts in a wind turbine that allow it to generate power out of wind. First of all, you have the blades, the low-speed and high-speed shafts, the anemometer, and the wind vane. And then you have the controller, the generator, the yaw drive, and the brake. All of these parts play a role in the workings of a wind turbine.
• The blade – Among all of these parts, the blade is one of the most important elements for the functioning of a wind turbine. Due to its shape, the blade can control air pressure so that it can lift itself, and then rotate.
• Storage – The turbine’s generator is the part where electricity is generated. This is then sent for storage in a substation, and then distributed to a utility grid. It’s from there that the electricity gets transported to your home.

These are just some of the basics involved in the functioning of a wind turbine. There are plenty more details to cover, including the functions of each part in the turbine. To learn more about the mechanism, and which part is responsible for what, make sure you check out the following gifographic prepared by SaveOnEnergy.