do windmills use electricity? i thought they provided electricity. we have plenty of wind in oklahoma!?

11 Comments

1. dsl67 says:

   March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

   Wind turbines actually do consume in their normal operation. The turbines have complex control systems which control blade pitch, sensors, metering, etc, all of which consume power.

   When the turbines are up and running in optimal conditions, they will produce more electricity than they consume. However, in low wind or no wind, they can be consuming more electricity than they produce.

   You can think about it the same way as a normal power plant. The plant building has lights, controls, pumps, fans, etc. all of which consume electricity. When the plant is running, the building will be supplied by the plants generators, but if the plant is shutdown, the building still consumes electricity and must get that electricity from the power grid.
2. campbelp2002 says:

   March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

   You are right that windmills make power, not use it. I am sure there are wind powered generators in your state.

   There are. I just googled up the source.
3. Joe M says:

   March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

   windmills do not use electricity. the whole purpose of them is to create electricity using the wind….
4. lunatic says:

   March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

   Windmills can produce electricity as well as perform other mechanical tasks. If the purpose of the windmill is something other than producing electricity, then you need to supply it with power for things light light and heat.

   The term windmill comes from one of the first uses being a way to "mill" wheat into flour using the wind.
5. enchanted fairy says:

   March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

   Windmills generate energy, not use it.

   The city of Cleveland is currently building a score of them, and expects to run power to the city itself and all nearby suburbs within years.

   Currently, there is one windmill which provides power for 1/2 of the entire city.
6. double_nubbins says:

   March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

   Windmills make electricity. But the problem with them is that they only make electricity when the wind is blowing. If you live somewhere that is windy all the time it can be beneficial to put up a windmill. In other places, windmills are good for small jobs.
   In many places they use a windmill to generate the power to pull water out of the well for the cattle to use. That way it doesn’t matter exactly when it pulls the water up, just as long as it does it often enough for the water trough to keep water in it.

   If you want to use a windmill to power your house though, you have to run the electricity that is made by the windmill through a little device that converts it to the kind of electricity used in your house. You lose some of the electricity in the process. You may also consider using a windmill to charge up batteries to use to power your house more consistantly. But again, some of the electricity is lost in the process.

   The most common thing that I’ve seen is to use the electricity made by the windmill to feed electricity back in to the power grid that the electric company uses, and then you get a reduction in your electric bill every month.
7. Tommy says:

   March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

   Strictly speaking, a windmil doesnt produce anything; it just turns wind power into mechanical power, unless a device is attached to it. Originally, the wind mill was just that, a mill that ground grain, powered by the wind.

   Now, the modern-day windmills have huge propellers whose tip speeds reach or approach supersonic speed. At these speeds, the tips produce an enourmous amount of static electricity that needs to be grounded out or it will interfere with whatever powerplant the windmill is turning.

   After saying all this, there are some windmills, smaller ones, that are powered and consume electricity. These windmills are used in orchards to move cold air around to keep the crop from freezing during very cold times. Farmers set out smudge pots and turn these "essentially huge fans" on to keep their crops safe.

   Cheers!
8. allan says:

   March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

   Windmills are constructed to produce Electricity through wind energy. The helps in the turning of the blades of the Big fans and in turn produce energy .
9. NJM says:

   March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

   No they dont use electricity……..they produce it with wind
10. byderule says:

    March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

    WIND MILLS DO NOT GENERATE ELECTRICITY ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

    look at the name
    you say wind MILLS they are only used to MILL or grind flour from wheat or corn in the preceding centuries in Holland and also in Spain,

    wind power generators are not called wind mills
    they are propellers on towers that turn turbines to generate electricity ,you can see many of those in Denmark.

    another wind power is propellers that turn a drive shaft that operates a pump ,to pump water in isolated places,these can be found all over the world,These are called wind pumps

    BELIEVE IT OR NOT
11. Ally says:

    March 10, 2010 at 7:32 am

    http://www.ocgi.okstate.edu/owpi/OKWindInfo/Other.htm#none

    Lots of information!