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The KidWind Project is a team of teachers, students, engineers and practitioners
exploring the science behind wind energy in classrooms around the US. Our goal is to
introduce as many people as possible to the elegance of wind power through hands-on
science activities which are challenging, engaging and teach basic science principles.
While improving science education is our main goal, we also aim to help schools
become important resources for students, and the general public, to learn about and
see wind energy in action.
We have three primary means of meeting our goals
Teacher Workshops - Over the past 2 years we have held over 78
teacher workshops in more than 12 stafes. These are typically free to
teachers and offer them time and materials to explore ideas for
introducing wind energy in the classroom. Check the list below for a
list of future workshops. If you are interested in having one in your
neck of the woods, send us a note or give us a call. We are happy to
go all over the US!
Product & Curriculum Development - In an effort to make materialsmore
teacher friendly (cheaper, rugged & standards relevant), we have developed a
wide variety of lessonsand kits to help teachersintroduce wind to their students.
In the summer of 2007 we will unveil Wind Energy Science: A Hands-On
Guide for Teachers- a 200 page guide with lessonsand ideas. We are also
developingsome new kits & parts to make teachingeasier.
Web Resources- http:// www.kidwind.orgis an extensionof the first two goals. Here you
can find information on workshopsand 100sof MB of videos,power point lecturesand
curriculum and construction PDFs. If we have written it, you can find it here for FREE.
Future Workshops & Events:
Kidwind has held workshops all over
the US, In the next few months we
are working to offer events in the
following states.
Indiana
Minnesota
West Virginia
California
Texas
New York
North Dakota
Locationsof PreviousKidwind Workshoos
For more information head to http://www,Kidwind,org
Check the WORKSHOP link to see more detailed schedules and apply online
Wind Turbine Kits
Basic PVC Turbine
These are some of the kits and materials that we offer
More doodads can be found at http://www.kidwind.org
:&;&#*=
The most affordable and
robust lab benchwind turbine
on the market. If you want to
start teachingaboutwind
energy in the classroomwe
recommendyou start here.
You can do somegreat blade
experimentswith a multimeter
and if you make somereally
great bladesyou can get the
motor w/ propellerto spin.
Geared PVC Turbine
$#ffi+
A ruggedminiaturewind
turbinewith a robustdrive
systemthat allowsfor much
greaterpowerproduction.Th
turbinewill lightLEDs,
incandescent
bulbs,small
motors,buzzersand our
favoriteproduct-the water
pump. Youmightevenuse
this turbineto chargebatteri
or fill a capacitor!
awing Basic PVCTurbine
SffiS,'-
g:gfjY:#tr+gryDesisned
to YAW (rotate) into
;the wind and is ideal for testing in
outdoorwindconditions.
Simulates
a "real"smallwind
turbinequiteaccurately.Students
can designand test differenttypes
of vanesand bladesto seewhat
type of designis the best!
EconomyGearedTurbine
'&M^r
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While this iSa great IOW
w:^5:;;:i,.;ffi
LU>L orLcr native, the gear box and
'nw
,ffi
f'ffi
hub are ngt as robustand if used
with many studentsthey may be
proneto breakage.It is great for a
studentdoinga sciencefair project
or a deviceto demonstratethe
powerof wind.
Motor, Pumps & Meters
L
Water Pumps & Loads
Finally,a low costwater
pumpsuitablefor a wide
--!
rangeof hobbyprojects.
Submersible,
Workson 26V. We carrylotsof load
components!
Turbine Hubs
The hub of the turbine is where
you attach the blades, This is
where the action is! We have
spent the better part of two
y e a r s d e v e l o p i n go u r h u b s !
T h e Yr u l e !
$F"ssg-
ls * +{ " ,i} s*S
Motors/Generators
We carry lots of motorsthat
are greatfor makingsmall
windturbines.Theyall have
highpoweroutputat low
RPM'
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Wind Data Loggers/Hand-Helds
Interested in collectingand monitoring
w i n d d a t a ? W e h a v e i n e x p e n s i v eg e a r
to help you get a better bearing on the
w i n d a r o u n d y o u ! F r o m h a n d - h e l d st o
data loggers, we have what you need!
Y
ss*;
KidwindProject
2093 SargentAvenue
S a i n tP a u l ,M N 5 5 1 0 5
http://www.kidwind.
org
651-325-8149
thanconventional
energy.
I | " Windenergyis moreexpensive
I Wind's
variability
doesincrease
theday-to-day
andminute-tothewindvariations
minute
operating
costsof a utilitysystem
because
doaffecttheoperation
of oherplants.Butinvestigations
byutility
thanabout
engineers
showthesecoststo berelatively
small--less
(kWh)
2 mills/kilowatt-hour
atpenetrations
under5%andpossibly
Public
risingto 5 millsat 20%penetration.
Infact,whentheColorado
issued
Service
Commission
a rulingin 2001onthe161-megawatt
(MW)
windproject
in Lamar,
Colorado,
thecommission
determined
that
provided
windenergy
thelowest
costofanynewgeneration
resource
process
(except
to anXcelEnergy
solicitation
forone
submitted
bidding
Thecommission
thatunlike
theother
smallhydroplant).
alsonoted
project
generation
resources
considered,
theLamar
avoided
therisk
prices.l
offutureincreased
fuel
Andina recent
landmark
studyof
power
intotheNewYorkStateelectric
system,
a
windintegration
(3,300
MWofwindin a 34,000-MW
10%addition
ofwindgeneration
projected
system)
actually
a reduction
in payments
byelectricity
inonevear.2
customers
of$305million
to
ff Windenergyrequiresa production
tax credit(PTC)
theseeconomics.
True,
buteveryenergy
source
a achieve
to expect
wind
receives
federal
subsidies;
it isdisingenuous
significant
to compete
inthemarketplace
without
theincentives
enioyed
energy
byestablished
technologies.3
tax creditandacceleraled
depreciation
are
Theproduction
Q
The
helpful
to
big,
developers.
economic
only
out-of-state
vl
and
benefitsaren'tlocal,andruralelectriccooperatives
lt'struethat
municipal
utilitiescan'trsceivelhe samebenefits.
to reduce
thalpayfederal
taxescanusethetaxcredits
onlyentities
costs
taxcredits
resultin lowerwindenergy
theirlaxliability.
Butthose
if localentities
customers.
However,
forthebenefitof allelectricity
inwindplants,
thentheycanreceive
thetax
assume
equigpositions
is locally
held,
Whether
ornotthewind-plant
equity
creditbenefits.
andtheneedfor
windplants
resultinjobsforthelocalcommunity
operation.
localservices-both
during
construction
andduring
theaddedcountyandstatetaxesandfte landowner
Additionally,
thelocalandstateeconomies.
And
leasepayments
directly
benefit
fromlocalsources,
debttotheextentfiatdebtfinancing
comes
payments
service
staywithinthelocalcommuni$.
E
.g
a
ina cooperative
farmers
havejoined
together
Also,insomecases
plants.
theirtax
to buildandownwind
Inaggregate,
arrangement
to makefulluseofthetaxcred1ts.4
liability
canbesufficient
E
up"
Windenergy
is unpredictable
andmustbe"ba6ked
generalion.
ny convenlional
Nopowerplantis 100%reliable.
plantora wind
a conventional
During
a powerplantoutage*whether
plant-backupis provided
byfte entireinterconnected
utilitysystem.
Thesystem
operating
strategy
strivesto makebestuseofallelements
takingintoaccount
iheoperating
characteristics
oftheoverallsystem,
suchasplant
of eachgenerating
unitandplanning
forcontingencies
isalsodesigned
to
lineoutages,
Theutiliiysystem
ortransmission
whichoccurcontinuously.
Thisfeature
accommodate
loadfluctuations,
ln
alsofacilitates
of windplantoutputfluctuations.
accommodation
'tA
E
When
theColorado
Pnblic
issued
in2001anthe
ServiceCommissisn
a ruling
-MWwindproject
(pict$red
16-l
inLamar,
abovei,
thecommission
C0l0rad0
provided
dslennined
thatwindanergy
thelol.lesl
costofanynewgeneralion
process
t0anXcelEnergy
resource
submitted
solicitaiion
bidding
iexceptior
plant).
onesmallhydro
20%
windsupplies
Northern
andpartsof Spain,
Denmark,
Germany,
When
windis
sacrificing
reliability.
to 40%of electric
loadswithout
is required
to maintain
nonewbackup
addedto a utilitysystem,
systemreliability.
ensrgyfromexistingcoalplants,
lf windanergydisplaces
f,
fromwindplants
forelectricity
wl thenrateswill go up.Rates
power
todayarecomparable
to wholesale
electric
beinginstalled
power,
prices
if any,
Theincremental
costofwind
of 2.50t0 3.50/kwh.
A number
of
among
allcuslomers.
willbenegligible
whendistributed
therateimpacts
ofwindandhaveconsidered
studies
haveexamined
portfolio
percentages
from
standard
thecostsof various
renewable
to range
arepredicted
residential
billimpacts
5%to 10%,andaverage
premium
Infact,somestudies
to a
froma savings
0f 25$/m0nth.
predict
fuels
in demand
forconventional
theaccompanying
decrease
higher
tofullycompensate
forslightly
willreduce
tuelprices
enough
wind
above,
lntheNewYorkstudymentioned
costsforrenewables.
Rates
frombothcoalandnaturalgasplants.
energy
displaced
fromthecoalandgasplants
were
emissions
decreased,
andharmful
reduced
aswell,5
energythan
Newnaturalgaspowerplantsprovidecheaper
ft
At
risinggasprices.
V windplants.Thisis notlikelywithtoday's
and
is
2.5q
to
30/kwh,
and
capital
0&M
the
fuel
cost
alone
$3/MBTU,
gasprices
haverisento morethan
amount.
Today,
costsadda similar
yielding
Andgas
inthe50t0 60/kwhrange.
a fuelcostalone
$6/MBTU,
past
years.
prices
in
Betting
on
havespiked
to morethan$'10/MBTU
futureishighly
risky,
whileenergy
lowgasprices
overtheforeseeable
willberelatively
stable
overtime.Ina recent
costsfromwindplants
found
thatthenatural
Berkeley
National
Laboratory
study,
Lawrence
gas"hedge
to be
estimated
value"
ofwindcouldbeconservatively
'l12
cenVkWh.6'7
on
wi*d turbinescan'tbeinstalled
7 Largetutility-grade
grid
upgrades
and
I the dishibution withoutexpensive
grids
power-quality
withweakdistribution
issues.Insituations
(longlineswiththinwiresandfewcustomers-maybe
evensinglephase),
can
in manycases
windgeneration
thiscanbetrue.However,
the
in amounts
upto about
tothedistribution
system
beconnected
transformer.
Onestudyofa rural
ratingofthenearest
substation
of
thatseveraltens
ofmegawatts
Midwestem
countyestimated
gridwitha
turbines
couldbeinstalled
onthelocaldistribution
power-quality
impacts.
andminimal
minimum
ofupgrade
expense
are
andclusters
offurbines
A number
ofsingle
windturbines
to thedistribution
system.s
currently
connected
premium
is
fora smallproject
Theenergy
billsarelikelyto besmall.
provides
a smallportion
ofthe
to exceed
50%.tf theproject
unlikely
is reduced
to about
2olo-then
fte premium
needs-say
communig's
viewthis
communities
1%if distributed
among
allcustomers.
Some
premium
investment
to obtain
localenvironmental
asa worthwhile
withwindpower.
benefits
andexperience
f'l Windturbineskill birdsandthushaveserious
imnacts.
Birdkillshavecaused
serious
Y environmental
States:
Altamont
concern
atonlyonelocation
intheUnited
scientific
to experience
oneofthefirstareasinthecountry
Passin California,
thewind
winddevelopment.
Over
thepastdecade,
significant
thatwindfarmsandwildlffe
cananddocoexist
community
haslearned
overall
impact
onbirdsis
Windenergy
development's
successfully.
compared
to otherhuman-related
extremely
low(<1of 30,000)
tratfic,
communications
towers,
andhouse
causes,
suchasbuildings,
with
othertall
cats.Birdscanflyintowindturbines,
astheydo
to airandwater
However,
conventional
fuelscontribute
strucfures.
pollution
thatcanhavefargreater
impactonwildlifeandtheirhabitat,
andhuman
health.
aswellastheenvironment
.l
produce
windturbines
f'l Windturbinesarenoisy,Modern
produce
Theturbine
a whooshing
I lJ verylittlenoise.
blades
turbulence
intheair,butthisnoisetendslo
sound
astheyencounter
noiseoftheblowing
wind.Anoperating
bythebackground
bemasked
'1000
feetis nomore
of750feetto
modern
windfarmata distance
noisythana kitchen
refrigerator.
myths
onwindenergy
al
Youcanfindmoreinlormation
gov/windandhydro/win
powerin
gam
d
erica/p
dfs/wpa/
wrvw.eere.
energy.
34600_misconceptions.pdl
1www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/pdfs/xcel-w
decision.odf
2 www.nyserda.org/publications/win
pdl
d-integration-report.
3 Formore0nenergy
visitwww.earfttrack.net
subsidies,
4 MarkBolinger,
WindPower
A Survey
o{StateSupport
forCommunity
gov/eaiEMS/cases/)
(http//eetd.lbl.
Development
5 www.nyserda.org/publications/wind-inte
pdl
gration-report.
6 http://eetd.lbl.gov/ealems/reports/s6756.pdi
7 AhnGreenspan,
Federal
Reserve
Chairman,
testimony
at Senate
committee
hearing,
July10,2003
I Distributed
WindCoordinating
WindPower
Assessment,
National
Committee,
February
atwurw.nationalwind.org
2001,available
$mallproiectsthatmightbesuitablefor co-cpsor small
Q
Smallprojects
1J municipal
utilitiesarenotecanomical.
generally
thanlarger
windplants,
havea higher
costpermegawatt
However,
theincremental
costsoncustomers'
aswouldbeexpected.
page1:O GEWindEnergy
Reserved/P1x12335
Topphoto
AllRights
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. May3*05
00E/G0-10e005-2137
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Mythsand FactsAboutWind Energyand Birdsin the AltamontPass
The wind industryis committedto, and hasdemonstrated,
continualinnovations
leadingto greater
protection
and wildlife.Modernwindturbinesare far lessharmfulto birdsand
of the environment
otherwildlifethanplate-glass
windows,vehicles,pesticides
and evenhousecats. And unlikefossil
fuel powerplantsand otherindustrialprocesses,
windenergypowerplantsdo notemitany harmful
emissionsthatthreatenwildlife.Windenergyis cleanenergy,with no air pollution,no water
pollution,no greenhouse
gases,and no waste. The regional,nationaland globalbenefitsof
obtainingmoreof our electricity
fromthe windwouldbe enormous.
Still,one of the first wind projectsinstalledin the UnitedStatesdoes impactlocalraptors.The
AltamontPassremainsthe onlywinddevelopment
areain the U.S.thatexperiences
significant
bird
deaths(with"significant"
definedas deathsof individuals
of particular
speciesthatare numerous
enoughto possiblyimpactlocalpopulations
of thosespecies).Whilethe industryrecognizes
that
this situationrepresents
a realproblem,it is largelylimitedto this one areaand is notwidespread.
Unfortunately,
mediacoverageaboutAltamontoftengivesthe impressionthat all wind power
projectsare harmfultobirds,despiteoverwhelmingevidenceto the contrary. In part,this is due to
mythsaboutwind energythat are oftenrepeated.Left unchallenged,
thesemythsbecome
acceptedas true.Thefollowinginformation
attemptsto providea morebalancedviewand debunk
the mostcommonmythsaboutthe AltamontPass.
Myth: The raptordeathsseen in the AltamontPassare indicativeof a problemwith all wind farms
acrossthe U.S.
Fact: Wind projectsnormallydo not significantly
impactbirds. The AltamontPassis uniquein the
U.S. StudiescondUctedat a dozenotherwind projectsacrossthe countryhavefound low
impactson birds. Theseimpactsare dramatically
lowerthanotherhuman-related
sources
of mortalityfor birds(forexample,cars,buildings,
and communications
towers),
Myth: The wind industryis simplystudyingthe problemsat the AltamontPassand nottakingany
action.
Fact: Wind businesseshave implementedmanystrategiesto reducebird impactsat the
Altamont. Over the years,wind companieshavepaintedblades,reducedrodent
populations,added"perchguards"to preventperchingon turbinetowers,and tested
raptors'hearing,visionand avoidancecapabilities
to learnhowto reducebirdimpacts.One
particularlysuccessfulstrategygreatlyreducedraptorelectrocutions.
Basedon earlier
research,projectownersmodifiedtheir equipmentby insulatingwires,coveringsome
exposedelectriccomponentson poles,and relocatingoverheadpowerlinesto protect
raptors.The industryis continuing
todayto testnewmeasuresto reducebirdkills,and to
put into effectthosethat are helpful. One of the most promisingof these is to replaceolder,
smallerturbineswith fewer new, largeturbines,oftenreferredto as "repowering".
Recently,projectownersin the AltamontPassannouncedan "aggressiveadaptive"
managementplanto cut raptormortalityby 35o/o.Projectownerswill shutdown some
turbinesin the winter,relocateor permanently
removeabout100of the highestrisk
turbines,removesomeof the oldernon-operating
infrastructure,
and continuetheir
commitment
to repowering.
Myth: Strategiesto reducebird impactsin the AltamontPassare relevantto otherwind projects.
Fact: The AltamontPassis uniquein the U.S. No otherwindprojectcombinesa similar
Birdmortality,
topography,
raptorpopulation,
and old turbinetechnologies.
especiallyraptor
are not
mortality,
at otherwindsitesis alreadyquitelow,so mostmanagement
techniques
likelyto be applicable
elsewhere.
Myth: Raptorsare killedin the AltamontPassbecausethe site is in a migratoryflyway.
Fact: A wind projectin a migratoryflywaydoesnot necessarilyposea threatto birds. The San
Gorgoniowindresourcearea,about400 milessouthof theAltamontPass,is in the same
flywayas the AltamontPass. 25 millionbirdspassthroughSan Gorgonioevery
migratory
year,butthereis no significant
raptoror birdmortalityat thatsite. The presenceof birdsin
an areadoesnotconnoterisk,nor is buildinga windplantin a migratory
flywaya riskto
birds. Raptorsare mostlikelykilledin AltamontPassbecauseit hasa highyear-round
raptorpopulation,
an abundantpreybase,and manysmallerturbinesthat are sited
relativelycloselytogether.
Myth: The windturbinesin AltamontPassare verydangerous
to birdsin general.
Fact: The annualnumberof birdskilledby collisions
withwindturbinesin AltamontPassis about
one birdfor everyfiveturbines.Thisis probablylessthanthe numberkilledeachyearby
the averagehousecat. Altamontis importantnotbecauseit is dangerous
for birdsin
general,but becauseof the numberof raptorkills. Thisis a keydistinction,
becausethe
rate of raptordeathsat otherwind sitesis muchlower.
Myth: Tensof thousandsof birdshavediedbecauseof the windturbinesin AltamontPass.
Fact: This is actuallytrue . . . whenlookingover20 years(22,000birds).Butthat numbershould
be viewedin context.In the U.S.duringthatsametime:
. 2 billionto 20 billionbirdswerekilledin collisions
withbuildings;
o 1.2billionto 1.6billionin collisions
withautosandtrucks;and
. 100millionto 600 millionin collisions
withcommunications
towers.
And the AltamontPasswindprojectprovided100,000California
homeswithclean,
emissions-free
electricity.
The implication
thatAltamontPassis dangerous
to birdsin generalis false.
Myth: The evidenceof raptordeathsat AltamontPassmeansthatwindenergycannotcoexist
with birdsand otherwildlifeand newwinddevelopmentshouldthereforebe halted.
Fact: Wind projectsaroundthe nationhavebeenshownto poseminimalrisksto birdsand other
wildlife.Thewindenergyindustryhasworkedhardoverthe pastdecadeto reducethe
impactof windturbineson wildlifesuchas birdsand bats. Thoseeffortshavelargelybeen
very successful- wind turbinesand wildlifecan and do coexistsuccessfully.
The wind industrywelcomesscrutinyof, and comparisonwith,all of the impactsof all
sourcesof powergeneration.Manyextensivestudiesof aviancollisionsat windfarmsmost of themfundedby projectowners- havebeencarriedout, a factthat contrastsgreatly
with the lackof a systematiceffortto monitorbirddeathsresultingfromfuel
mining/extraction,
emissions,pollutionand habitatloss associatedwith otherenergy
sources. Any publicor privateresearcheffort,regulatoryeffort,or legislativeproposal
designedto quantifythe impactof powergeneration
on birds,bats,and otherwildlifeshould
encompassall powersources,notjust wind.
Page1 of I
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2t4t200s
How to harnessthe wind ... Studentscompetefor bestturbine design
By Lorraine Cavener
Times-News correspondent
February,25 2004
TWIN FALLS - Anybodyplanningto build a wind turbinemight wantto consultwith Nick Mindock or DanielMoreno.
Mindock and Moreno aren'tengineersand don't have collegedegrees,but the two Twin Falls High Schoolseniorswon a model
wind turbinedesigncontestat the schoolTuesday.
Engineersand supportedby the College
The contest,sponsored
by the Magic Valley chapterof ldaho Societyof Professional
of SouthernIdaho,Twin FallsHigh SchoolandEHM EngineersInc.,was heldin conjunctionwith NationalEngineering
Week. "We chosethis competitionbecausewind energyis a big topic now," saidRichardHawkes,a memberof the engineers
group."ldahoranksl2th or higheras far aswind."
he said. "It's not beentapped,"Hawkessaid.
But Idahohasonly threeor four working wind generators,
Thirteenteamsof two to threestudentseachcompetedusing turbineswith bladesconstructedfrom 5- by 8-inch note cards.
Among otherspecifications,
the turbinescouldhaveup to eightbladeswith a maximumdiameterof 24 inches.
The contestwasjudgedby connectingthe turbinesto a computerand
measuringvoltageand current.Sampleswere taken every minute and data
downloadedonto a spreadsheet.
Materialsusedto constructthe turbinebasesincludedPVC, copperpipe,
wood dowelsandcardboard.Spraypaintwas usedon someof the blades.
Orla Ll/alshand her twin brother, Brian,
both seniors at Twin Falls High School,
test their working modelof awind turbine
Tuesdayat the school.Thecompetitionwas
held by the Magic Valley chapter of the
Idaho Society of Professional Engineers.
Photo by ASHLEY SMITH
The Times-News
"We wantedto jazzit up a bit," saidKatie Harding,who alongwith partner
Nicole Bulcherbuilt a turbinefashionedaftera pinwheel."Whenwe were
little kids, we werefascinated
with pinwheels,"Hardingsaid."We took that
ideato makeblades.The bladeshavea flap to directthe air in."
The teamdid not spendany money,shesaid."We usedstuff we found
aroundthe house."
Virginia ReynoldsandJosieMorsealsobasedtheir turbineon a pinwheel.
throughthe back.So we put a
"Whenwe movedit, we noticedair escaped
platebehindit," Reynoldssaid."lt goesa lot fasterthatway."
Eric NutschandJaredAdamsuseda largepaperfunnel-likeobjectbehind
their turbine,reasoningthat a funnelwould give morewind.
Inertia,torque,velocity,andRPM -- which the boys learnedaboutin their physicsclass-- wereall factoredinto the
Nutschsaid."Thisis all physics,"Adamssaid."After a certainamountof torque-- you needenoughto turn the
ekperience,
motor-- afterthatyou want asmuchRPM as possible,"he said. The ratioof torqueandRPM is dependentuponthe shapeand
angleof the blades,Nutschsaid.
"lf you havea steepangle,it will give you moretorque,"he said."A shallowanglegiveshigherRPM. You haveto balance
that.HigherRPM will give you morevoltage."
While AdamsandNutschhadput a lot of thoughtinto their turbine,Mindockand Morenoexplainedwhat it wasthat gavetheir
machinethe winningtouch."ltwasthe asymmetrical
airfoil," Mindocksaid."We maximizedthe lift while minimizingthe
drag." The bladeswereplacedas far out as was allowableto getthe maximumtorquefor the lift of eachblade,he said.
Morenosaidthey debatedaboutthe shapeof the blades."We researched
the shapeof the blades,"he said.A book on helicopter
bladeswas usedfor research."Differentshapesproducedifferentlevelsof lift anddrag,"Morenosaid.
For their efforts,MorenoandMindockwon engineeringcalculators,
complimentsof the CSI mathandengineering
departments.
Second-place
winnersJustinDoble,ChertGriffith andGregKahlawon $60 BamesandNoble gift certificates,
andthird-placewinnersDamondIshamandEric MacMillan won $30 BamesandNoblegift certificates."Eachdesignis
differentandhasuniquecharacteristics,"
Eberleinsaid."Therearea numberof differentwaysto accomplishthis endeavor.
Somewaysaremorereasonable."
1
Whatcan thesemini windturbinespower?
Kidwindmodelwind turbinesare designedfor use in scienceclassesor as a hobby
or sciencefair project. Theyare designedto producea measurable
amountof
powerso you can performvariousbladedesignexperiments.They are not
specifically
designedto light bulbs,spin motorsand chargebatteriesbut they can
if you havea goodfan and manageto designsomeefficientblades.
Our kits come with a varietyof loadcomponents- incandescent and LED light
bulbs' small DC motors, fuel cells, water pumps and buzzers. Someof our
turbinescan powerall of thesedevicesbut somecannot.Thisis importantto
understand!Whenin doubtyou shouldhookup your meterto makesurethat you
are makingenoughvoltageto do the job you want the turbineto do.
ts bffid
How much power can KidWind turbines make?
The Basic and the Yawing PVC turbines use the sameDC motor as a generator.
As we have not "gearedup" the drive train we can createdlimitedamountsof
power. With a nicebox or roomfan and well designedbladeswe can create,at
maximum,about 1-1.5volts at 50 -100mA. Thisis not reallyenoughpowerto
light a bulb,but will run the smallDC motorwith the propellerattached....and
many peoplethink that is cool!
If you needmore poweroutputthen you haveto gearup the drivetrainlikewe
have done on the Geared and Yawing Geared PVCTurbines. Usingthe same
fans theseturbineswill produce3-4 voltsat 100-500mA.Thisis plentyof power
to run small lights,pumps,motors,buzzersetc. If you needmore powerthese
are the turbinesto buy...butthey might costyou somemore becauseof that
gearbox.
Why can't the Basic or Yawinq Turbines make enouqh iuice!?
Poweroutput on a small DC motor is relatedto how fast we spin the drive shaft
(RPM)and how hard we can turn it (torque). With regularfansand studentmade
bladesit hardto get enoughRPMto makethe littleDC motorsmakeenough
powerto run bulbs,etc.
You needRPMin the 1000srangeto makevoltageover 2 voltsand if you did that
on a directdrive systemyour bladeswould be movingvery fast-so fast they
wouldfly out!! On the gearedsystemswe havea7:I gear box hookedto the
smallDC generator.So if the bladesare movingat 200 RPMthe driveshaftis
travelingat 1400 RPM. Whilethis requiresmore torqueto overcomethe frictionin
the gearboxit is somethingwe can live with to make more power.
Fuel Cells
We developedthe GearedPVCWindTurbinewith this applicationin mind. Usingthis
wind turbineyou can generateenoughelectricityto run a simplefuel cell electrolyzer
(greatonescan be purchased
from Kidwindor at the FuelCellStore.com).The
electrolyzerwill createhydrogenand oxygenin a storagechamberwhichyou can
recombineto generateelectricity. You coulduse this storedelectricityto run the
mini-waterpump,a smallDC motoror you can attachit to a fuel cellcar and see
how far it travelson two minutesof wind producedelectricity.The ultimatein closed
looptravel!
To run this deviceyour turbineneedsto produceat least1.5 volts. More than 2.5
volts for sustainedperiodscan alsodamageyour fuel cell so be careful.
Liqht Bulbs & LEDs
Youcan use a gearedwindturbineto lightsmallincandescent
bulbsor LEDs.Lately
we have been using small LEDsthat are found in the ForeverBright ChristmasLight
set. LEDsrequiremuchlesscurrentthen incandescent
so they are easierfor the
just makesurethey
turbineto light. Youcan alsouseother bulbsfrom flashlights
are designedfor low voltageand low current. The BasicPVCwind turbine can power
someLEDswith reallygreatbladesand highwind speeds.
LEDlightsneedat least 2.O volts to light, but very little amperage. LEDsalso
requirethat the electricityruns in the "right" direction. If your turbineis making
morethan 2 volts,but the LEDis not lightingtry reversingthe turbineoutputwires
that are connected
to the LEDbulband try again.
Anothercoolexperimentif your turbinecan createmorethan 2 volts is to see many
LEDsyou can lightversusregularChristmasbulb. LEDrequiremuch lessamperage
so you can lighta longlineof thesecomparedto the regularbulbs.
Small DC Motors
The powerneedsof most smallDC motorsis pretty minimal.Especially
if you are
usingonesthat havea low voltagerating. The GearedPVCWindTurbinecan easily
powera variety of small DC motorsand the Basrcand YawingPVC WindTurbinescan
weaklypowera few as well. Lookfor small DC motorsin brokenelectricattoys. You
can alsofind a widevarietyof at Kelvin.com,
Pitscoor All Electronics
an online
electronics
store.
You needaround.6 - .8 volts to powera smallmotorwith propeller.
Low Voltaqe Water Pumos.
Kidwindhas found a low voltagewater pump that workswell with our GearedWind
Turbines.You needto producearound2.5 volts for thesepumpsto run well and a
gooddealof torqueas pumpingwaterrequiresa greatdealof energy. This is one of
our favoritedemonstrations
usingwind energy. We typicallyhook it up to sometype
of graduatecylinderand seewhoseturbinebladescan pumpthe most amountof
waterin 1-2 minutes! Do not try to run 6V or 12V aquarium pumps using our
wind turbines it will not work!
.-*,-::.:::::'
.l
*
idHjlto MorePower:Howto ImproveYourBlades
,iiniij
K i d w i n dm o d e lw i n d tu rb i n e sa re d e s ignedfor use in scienceclassesor as a hobbyor
sciencefair project. They were createdto allow studentsa cheapmethodto perform
v a r i o u sb l a d ed e si g ne xp e ri me n tsq uite quickly. They ar e not specifically
designe dto l i ght
bulbs, spin motors and charge batteriesbut they can if you have a good fan and manage
to designsome efficientblades. Having efficient blades is a key part of making
power from a wind turbine. Sloppy, poor made blades will never make enough
energy to do anything. ft takes time and thought to make good blades so get to
it!!!
O n e t h i n g y o u mu st a l w a ysth i n k a b out when makingtur binebladesis, "Ar e my bl ades
c re a t i n g D R AG? " . S u re yo u r b l a d esar e pr obablycatchingthe wind and helpingto s pi n
the hub and motor drive shaft, but are they slowingyou down as well? Becauseif they
a re a d d i n gD RA G yo u r w h o syste mwill slow down and in most caseslow RPMm ea nsl es s
power output. The faster you go the more power you make!
Some tips on improving blades:
.-Manytimesstudentsmakeverybig,longb|ades
thinkingbiggeris better. Well in the turbinebusinessbiggeris better,but students
and teachershave a very hard time makinglong bladesthat add lots of drag and
inefficiency.See what happenswhen you shortenthem a few centimeters.
.@-oftenstudentswi||settheang|eoftheb|adestoaround
45o the first time they try to use the turbine. Try makingthe bladesflatter towards
the fan and see what happens. Pitchdramaticallyaffectspoweroutput, play with it
a bit and see what happens.
.@-Inanefforttoreducedragtryusing2,3or4blades.
.-Inefforttoreducetheweightoftheb|adesuse|ess
materialor lightermaterial.
.W-Thesmootheryourb|adesurfacethe|essdragyouwil|
have. A bladewith lots of tape and roughedgeswill havemoredrag.
.@-MakeSureyouareusingadecent|ysizedboxorroomfan.
Somethingwith at leasta diameterof t4'-L8".
. BLADES VS. FAN - Are your bladesbiggerthan your fan? That couldbe a
problemas the tips of your bladesare not catchingany wind and arejust adding
drag.
.@-Arethetipsofyourb|adethinandnarroWorwideandheavy?
The tips travel much fasterthan the root. That meansif you have lots of junk out
thereyou will add more drag.
Theseare a few ideasto helpyou improveyour turbineblades.For more information
headto www.Kidwind.org
and lookfor the BladeDesignLessonunderthe curricular
materials. Thereare lots of helpfullinksand ideasthere to helpyou makethe best
blades.
How to ReduceBladeDrag! !
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