I'm stuck indoors today by a fierce winter storm, winds gusting 60-70kph (30-40 mph for the unconverted). Huge amounts of wind power coming into the 8' diameter wind turbine, but no need for me to stand there shivering. I thought I would put myself to use with a posting about a very good book I recently read.
Wind Power Renewable Energy for Home, Farm, and Business
by Paul Gipe
www.wind-works.org
395 pages, illustrated in colour (photographs & technical diagrams)
Technical appendices
This is the fourth edition of the book, the previous being published in 1983, 1993 + 2004. Much has been added to this edition, including many of Gipe's subsequent experiences. Responses to the previous version have helped shape this edition. Paul Gipe strives to give something to any reader, whether he may be a hobbyist, a farmer, a technical professional, or simply interested in wind power for its own sake. The book isn't like a college engineering textbook; it is approachable and readable. Since he packs it with photos of hard-working mills in every imaginable landscape, there's plenty of eye-candy to keep you turning the pages.
The text of the book jumps quickly into the workings of the wind, not the machines themselves. There is a good reason for this - understanding the wind is necessary if you expect to understand the working of a wind turbine. The topic can get mathematical and technical, so I believe this can turn some people off. Paul Gipe links our day-to-day experiences to the patterns and behaviour of wind and its scientific properties. This makes the non-technical reader more comfortable with the subject than if he were to delve directly into the tables of numbers. Gipe introduces us to the statistics in side-bars that do not interrupt the flow of the text. The non-technical reader can skip them if he wants, the more egg-headed among us can reach for our pocket calculators.
Armed with knowledge of the wind, Paul Gipe can now make us aware of wind power's limits. Hardly a glowing endorsement of limitless energy - Gipe sees things quite the other way around. When a user has a realistic expectations of the power that can be captured from the wind, this person can now make rational decisions and not face disappointment later. In the long run, reality wins, and Gipe wants the rose-coloured glasses off. There is a lot of hype these days about "alternative" and "renewable" energy sources, but many of them aren't as "easy" as the fossil fuels they're supposed to replace. The difficulty is a knowledge gap. The more we want to educate ourselves, the better choices we all can make about our energy supply (in this case, wind power).
Chapter 6: Finally more wind turbines! The basics of the machinery and comparison of numerous types is here. Gipe conscientiously does not ignore wind-mills and wind-pumps, and sets us straight on the terminology. The technology has evolved over centuries and each era of human history has used wind for its particular needs.
A subject that I harp on at times on this forum, and which I don't think is given its due attention, is working safely around the towers and elevated spinning masses that are inevitable when building wind turbines. Gipe addresses this too, and with several chapters gives the reader as much of an introduction as he can to the installation of the turbines, the tower, and to "cutting costs, not corners". Here an excerpt from the book would be helpful:
"When I first wrote this chapter in 1982, I believed most homeowners with a modicum of tool skills and common sense could safely install a household-size wind turbine themselves. I figured, "Heck, if I can do it, anyone can. I've since learned that's not true. I can't say whether this conclusion is due to a decline in our collective knowledge about how to use hand tools or work around machinery, or to my becoming more cautious over the decades. I've certainly made my share of mistakes... Unfortunately my position in the wind industry does make me aware of the mistakes of others - including some professionals - have made, and the injuries that have resulted. As a consequence I now believe that homeowners should only attempt installing wind turbines less than 3 meters (10 ft) in diameter on lightweight tilt-up guyed masts. Homeowners should avoid installing larger turbines, freestanding truss towers, or heavy-duty guyed towers without hands-on training. A book is no substitute for the hands-on learning that's required."
I also doubt that people are becoming more accident-prone or clumsier, but I would agree that media like the internet make a hobby like ours appear easier than it really is. The successful guys have put a lot of thought, trial-and-error, and sweat equity into their work, but it doesn't usually isn't obvious because it doesn't make pretty pictures and isn't as glorious as the end product. Everyone eventually confronts the reality that DIY will only take you so far before calling in a professional is the prudent way to go. Speaking for myself, I still worry about my equipment, and have had accidents and close-calls of my own. Considering Gipe's statement above, I think I know why he doesn't write much about building wind turbines as we see them on Fieldlines, though he does give a nod to Hugh Piggott.
Gipe has many tales to tell. There are plenty of success stories (and horrible failures) to go around that they are woven in throughout the book. He has pictures of workers hung from dizzying heights washing the bugs off the MW size turbine blades, ancient derelict Jacobs windchargers in "before and after" poses as they are rebuilt for a new life, and factory workers dwarfed by the stator rings of Enercon direct drive generators. There are many personal stories about people who've jumped in to wind power, either to be challenged by balky technology or confronted with a daunting learning curve, yet ultimately finding success and satisfaction.
Finally, Gipe looks at where today's trends are going with wind power, and what wind power can do to fit into industry and people's lives. This book isn't about saving the planet, nor carbon credits, and Gipe has virtually nothing to say about coal or nuclear power. He is focused on practical ways to bring wind power into more common use and overcoming its limitations. Government policy, community economics, utility company short-sightedness, and even NIMBY can be viewed as obstacles to the widespread use of wind power. Paul Gipe, sees this differently, however. He recognizes the place that all of these pieces have in the puzzle, and shows us how they can fit together.
Paul Gipe also recommends reading books by Mick Sagrillo, periodicals like Windpower Monthly and Home Power and carrying on one's research with various NGO's, industry organizations (like the AWEA, CanWEA, DEWI etc.) and also offers numerous references to manufacturers of "needful things" like inverters, batteries, griphoists and hardware.
When I read through the appendices, I was dismayed by what was missing from the wind atlas illustrations. Every other continent in the world was shown, but missing from North America are Canada and Mexico! Canada has a wind energy atlas almost as detailed as the US has, and the data is as freely available as anything else on the internet. Canada is not ignored by Gipe in the rest of the book (just the opposite in fact), therefore I can only assume it's an honest mistake and will be corrected in the future. Some reference to ocean winds around NA would also be useful, since offshore wind power is coming of age.
I paid full price for Wind Power on Amazon, (50 USD/60 CAD) but if you want a bargain, I bet there are used copies out there, especially with numerous previous editions that have come before.
I have been experimenting with wind turbines for nearly 5 years, and I have read about the technology, the wind itself for longer than that. I was schooled in engineering therefore have a technical background that relates to these machines, somewhat. I did not, however, invest in a rigorous understanding of wind power - usually educating myself with the internet like we all do these days. The authoritative value of Paul Gipe's book is apparent when compared to the little pieces scattered everywhere on the 'net, yet compiled so well in this one book. It is a MUST READ for any member of this forum.
