Wind Turbine Design

There are numerous alternate designs for wind turbines for generating electricity. The design that is predominant now is shown below, and these types of wind turbines are being installed all over the world. 

Here is an oldie by goodie.

https://www.mywindpowersystem.com/2011/08/27/wind-power-history-charles-brush/

My grandfather, Helmer Liffengren lived on a ranch near Draper, South Dakota. He installed a windcharger that generated electricity for his home. My mother remembered that when the wind blew briskly he would go home so he could listen to the radio.

Helmer's son, my mother's twin brother, Luverne Liffengren, lived south of Draper, South Dakota on a ranch that was off the grid, not by choice. This was in the 1930's up to about 1960.  

They had an old wind charger that used to provide power but no longer worked well.  Luverne generated his power with a very loud old car engine.  He stored power in car batteries that filled the top floor of his old garage.  The power system was 32 volts, I think, though I am not sure - he got rid of the system when I was about 12 in 1960+-, when they extended commercial power to the ranch.

I think the power was used for lights, to pump water, fans, drills, and not sure what else. The appliances all had to be low voltage.

They used an outhouse, and propane for heating. Wish I had some pictures. 

Bird safety is a big issue in the world of wind turbines. In order to reduce the danger for our flying feathered friends, engineers created the Vortex Bladeless wind energy generator, which is shaped like a tall, thin straw rather than having large rotating blades. The device harvests energy from swirling vortices in moving air, and since the bladeless wind energy generators are tall and thin, several of them can be installed in the space that a single blade turbine takes up. Its creators say the Vortex Bladeless cuts manufacturing costs by 53 percent and maintenance costs by as much as 80 percent compared to traditional turbines, and it has a smaller carbon footprint too.

Click to read more

https://www.engadget.com/2016-11-05-six-innovative-wind-turbine-designs.html

https://www.linquip.com/blog/types-of-wind-turbines/

https://craighullinger.blogspot.com/2014/09/how-much-electricity-comes-from.html

https://www.illinoiswindmills.org/wind-turbines

http://www.texasescapes.com/MichaelBarr/Wind-Chargers.htm