For centuries the wind has been used to generate energy and to cool and ventilate buildings in a natural way. A lot of those traditional techniques were left unused after the industrial revolution. The last decades they return in several forms. The energy of the wind can be used, by means of windmills, to drive tools that for example grind grain or pump water. Nowadays it is no longer necessary to directly use this energy, which can be converted into electricity, transported and temporarily stored.
Windmills come in many forms, but nowadays they are often very big to efficiently generate energy.
The wind can be used to create airflows in a building and with that make natural ventilation possible. The best known traditional example is the wind towers of Hyderabad, that rise above the buildings and brings fresh air in the buildings by means of openings that are directed to the wind. Especially in areas with a dominating wind direction the power of the wind can be used as a ventilation motor. By using the lower pressure area that is created as the wind blows along a building, air can be sucked from the building. But even if the external wind isn't used, then air transfers within the building must still be stimulated.