Wind turbine

Since 2013, a small windmill has been turning gently in the wind on the roundabout on Prinsenstraat. It is a wind turbine or wind engine, a small metal windmill. The MOT installed this wind turbine with information board as an eye-catcher, because it is a good example of the use of wind power as a natural propulsion.

What is a wind turbine?

Everyone knows the large wooden and stone windmills that have been built since the Middle Ages to power heavy tools, such as grinding stones. These traditional windmills must always be operated by a miller.

Since the 19th century, windmills that can operate unmanned have been developed for pumping water and later for generating electricity. We call these “self-regulating” wind turbines.

What are they for?

Wind turbines were mainly built to drive pumps. Groundwater was pumped up to provide water for people, animals and plants. In low-lying areas such as the polders, wind turbines were used to pump away excess water.

In many places in the Netherlands, but also in Flanders, polders are still being drained with these types of windmills.

How do they work?

There are dozens of models of wind turbines, from very simple to quite complex. The most important feature is that they position themselves in the direction of the wind and can therefore turn unmanned when the wind direction changes. This is done by a weather vane that is perpendicular to the wing (the blades).

This mill has two vanes that can rotate around their axis. By changing the position of the vanes, the mill moves more or less in the direction of the wind and therefore turns faster or slower. The main vane ensures that the mill faces the wind, the auxiliary vane places it out of the wind. The position of the vanes is controlled by a float in the water to be pumped.

Where does this wind turbine come from?

This mill was built in the 1960s by the Bosman company in Piershil (South Holland) in the Netherlands. The Dutch patent number is on the vanes. After years of service in the polder, it was taken out of service and moved to Grimbergen after a thorough restoration.

Why is it here?

The MOT works on techniques that use natural power. This mill converts wind energy into a rotating movement that can be used to drive tools. At the Liermolen and Tommenmolen, two departments of the MOT, you can discover how this natural power of water and muscles works. No coincidence then, a wind turbine near the MOT!