Wind Power, Equipment Types:

Axes

There are two primary types of wind turbines: horizontal and vertical.

Equipment Types:

Horizontal-Axis

Horizontal-axis wind turbines have blades that spin in a vertical plane like airplane propellers. The blades have a special shape so that when wind passes over them, it moves more rapidly over one side, creating a low pressure area behind the blade and a high pressure area in the front it. The difference between these two pressures creates a force which causes the blades to spin.


Vertical-Axis

The blades of vertical-axis wind machines work on the same principle as horizontal-axis machines: the shape of the blades causes a pressure difference when the wind blows over them and this causes the blade assembly to spin. In a vertical-axis machine, however, the blades spin in a plane that is parallel to the ground, like an eggbeater.

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