Windmills have been a traditional way of harnessing one of the most common elements in order to provide power. Often times, windmills were used for other tasks such as grinding grain or pumping water. Over the years, the windmill has developed into the electric turbine, which uses the power of the wind to create electricity.

Traditional Windmills

There have been records of the use of wind-powered machines from as far back as the first century AD, however, it was not until the 9th century that the first actual windmill was recorded. This was the vertical windmill. The horizontal windmill that is used today was invented during the 1180’s.

Vertical windmills are the first design and were used for doing a variety of tasks, such as pumping water, grinding grain, or even as sawmills for cutting lumber. When used to pump water, they can be used to bring water in from a well or other source to an area that does not have it’s own supply, or they can be used to pump flood water out of an area or drain water to enable a community to reclaim land.

In fact, these windmills are still used today in areas where electrical lines would be difficult to run. They provide necessary services for communities who do not wish to use modern conveniences powered by electricity. These communities are usually religious or those who wish to live as natural a life as possible. Recent years have seen an increase in the use of windmills due to concerns that fossil fuels may run short. In addition, the wind is a renewable and cost effective solution for small area use.

 

Electricity Windmills

Electricity windmills are those that are used primarily for generating electricity and have evolved into wind turbines. Wind turbines do not produce as much energy as fossil fuels, however, they can provide a significant advantage by producing electricity for a home or small community in areas where electricity has yet to reach or where placing lines would be unrealistic.

With the invention of more modern means of creating larger amounts of power, most windmills have fallen out of use. However, the increase in environmental awareness and conservation has sparked a renewed interest in this power source. All except the historically preserved windmills are self-regulating and some are capable of adjusting themselves in order to move into the prevailing wind.  At first these adjustments required significant fine tuning and required that the windmill be manually adjusted. Most modern wind turbines are self-adjusting and regulating to ensure that the maximum amount of energy and power possible is generated at any given time and wind condition. In fact, it is not uncommon for small communities who use windmills to provide the power companies with the excess power generated by the windmills.  This is usually done in areas where electricity is available but the home or community owners choose to use power provided by windmills or wind turbines instead of through other power sources.

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