With the current talk about global warming, and the impact of carbon emissions on our planet, focus is now shifting to green energy, and wind electricity has reigned supreme in this regard. People, organizations, and even governments are investing heavily in coming up with wind turbines to generate the much needed electricity. However, traditionally wind energy has been associated with huge installation costs, expensive turbines, and so forth. In this regard, researchers have come up with the less expensive Vibro wind set up, which uses less space, is not as expensive, and produces much electricity.

These Vibro wind panels will work like the solar panels do, where they will be fitted on top of buildings, where they will not only generate electricity, but will also convert even minor wind breezes. Unlike windmills and turbines that need plenty of space for them to be installed, the Vibro wind panels will herald a new dawn, where smaller and equally effective wind set ups will be used. It is worth noting that this project is being done in conjunction with engineers and architects, to ensure that it does not flop. This is also meant to ensure that the mechanical energy is easily converted to electrical energy. Conversion of the mechanical energy to electrical energy is being made possible by using a piezoelectric transducer.

The transducer used is a type of device which is usually made of ceramic or even polymer. Basically, it works by emitting some electrons when it is stressed.  But the scientists and researchers developing these Vibro wind set up, are also looking into alternatives to the piezoelectric transducer. In other words, they are also checking and evaluating the feasibility of using electromagnetic coils rather than the transducer. However, the advantages and disadvantages of using the latter are still being accessed, before a final decision is made.

The truth of the matter is that Vibration energy has been there for many years now, only that governments and policy makers have not accorded the necessary resources in making it better. But this form of generating electricity is ideal since it is clean, renewable, and does not pollute the environment in the slightest way. Once complete, this project has the ability to provide many households with clean and affordable electricity. Besides, it could set the precedent for better things to come, since the technology could be used elsewhere. Analysts observe that in the near future, soldiers for example will not need the heavy and bulky batteries they carry, and instead, they will make use of electrical energy as they walk. Even civil engineers, who usually rig buildings with sensors that can detect fires, may rely on vibration energy too to power those sensors. Otherwise, vibration energy is not a difficult concept, and is the same energy contained when a wind blows, and the leaves move and flutter.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, June 12th, 2010 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Energy Industry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.