Wind generated power holds out a lot of hope for the future, given the current worldwide concerns pertaining to global warming. This source of power requires little investment; it is clean and non-polluting and what’s more, it is totally renewable. The power of wind has of course long been harnessed by man to run mills, and power vessels across oceans. The perils of burning fossil fuels to create power are beginning to wreak havoc with the Earth’s natural rhythm, and if mankind is to stop destroying the planet, we need to depend more and more upon wind energy.
Now, setting up wind turbines to generate power is all very well, but we do have to make a provision for Wind Turbine Monitoring to ensure that everything goes as per plan. This requires that the critical components comprising of the tower, the blades, gear box, shaft and generator be constantly monitored. This requires that sensors like encoders, accelerometers, encoders, temperature sensors, oil sensors, etc be used to monitor the functioning of the unit.
The thing about wind turbines is that they are usually installed in places that are usually away from civilization, and where there is a lot of exposure to the wind and rain. This is what makes it essential that there be constant monitoring of the over-all functioning of a wind turbine. One major concern with Wind Turbine Monitoring is the fact that one has to make use of lengthy cables to be able to check all the readings from the various sensors.
However, it is now possible to do remote monitoring using wireless technology. This obviously has some big advantages. Today, even the most inaccessible of locations can be easily monitored through this wireless technology. Also, these are easier to maintain and therefore cheaper to run. Because of this monitoring, one is constantly able to take the necessary steps to prevent any down time. The upkeep can now be completely pro-active rather than reactive. This will not only bring down the cost of upkeep, but also generate more power that is cheaper.
The whole thing about any source of energy being dependable is its viability, and this depends on how efficiently and cheaply the power gets produced. As far as wind turbines are concerned, real time monitoring is the key to achieving this viability. It is critical that more wind power plants be made viable so that we have more of our power come from non-polluting sources, and for that Wind Turbine Monitoring is a must.
As technology improves and wind turbine technology becomes state of the art, the increase in efficiency is going to make a quantum difference in the output obtained from these power plants. These will eventually be able to join together and make a large grid of clean and green power. With the advances that IT has made, we can look forward to the day when remotely operated and monitored wind power plants will satiate a large part of the global demand for clean power.
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About Guest Blogger
Peter Thompson is a freelance writer with interest on renewable sources of power. He has written a number of articles on the importance of Wind Turbine Monitoring. If you'd like to guest post for US check out our Write for Us page for details about how YOU can share your knowledge with our online community.
From Skopje, Macedonia, Also works as Software Quality Assurance.
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