Wind Energy Calculator
Explore the physics of wind power and how turbine size and wind speed affect energy output.
How This Works
This calculator demonstrates the cubic relationship between wind speed and power, which is fundamental to wind energy engineering.
Power Formula: P = 0.5 * ρ * A * v³ * Cp
- ρ (rho): Air density (standard sea level is 1.225 kg/m³).
- A: Swept area of the rotor blades (π * r²).
- v: Wind velocity in m/s. Notice that power is proportional to the cube of the speed—doubling the speed increases power by 8x.
- Cp: Coefficient of Performance. The theoretical maximum (Betz Limit) is 0.59 (59%), but real turbines typically achieve 0.35 - 0.45.