Micro wind turbine at 5 meters height
- Thread starter freeflow
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I would like some real world examples on this as well.
I’m sure they don’t produce rated wattage, because windmill brochures spec nigh hurricane wattage output, but I’d like to know what they do output.
I’m sure they don’t produce rated wattage, because windmill brochures spec nigh hurricane wattage output, but I’d like to know what they do output.
I have made wind turbines
This is one I am working on at the moment , I have a 6m tower it will be going on , cheers.
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This is one I am working on at the moment , I have a 6m tower it will be going on , cheers.
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OzSolar
Whatever you did, that's what you planned.
I assume you want to know if small wind makes financial sense? The short answer is not even close at any height. Many make great claims but none can supply one shred of data to actually back up their claims. I'm talking about annual energy (kWH) data, not a snap shot of power (kW) during a high wind event.
Wind power is a cubic function. The main takeaway is that small wind turbines produce no usable power below 15 mph and most sites in the lower 48 have less than a few hundred hours a years above 15 mph.
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I own two… I suppose I could mount them and see…
OzSolar
Whatever you did, that's what you planned.
You should! Please set up some kWH data logging on them and then report back in year. I'd love to hear a small wind success story.
My problem is trees…
Most of my available yards have 160’ trees surrounding them. I got the turbines dirt cheap on clearance, before I learned how high they need to be placed…
I do own a 80 meter crank up tower for HAM radio… but it takes a LOT of concrete to mount.
Anybody in an area suitable for a windmill want one?
Humboldt Jared
New Member
Humboldt Jared
New Member
My neighbor has 1 0n a 120' tower and I see it spin often,so I've been thinking about it.
Hogheavenfarm
Regulation Stifles Innovation
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Mine is at 4 meters right now, it works during certain types of winds, but I have a 10 meter tower given to me but no way to transport it at the moment. Mine works when I have winds from the NW, as it is in a "funnel zone" between two buildings which creates a rush of wind through the gap at lower wind speeds. I was thinking of mounting it on a fixed position at the time, and using it has proven that concept to be correct for that position.
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
Bruh... two words...
"chain lube"
EDIT: LOL... watched the video after posting.
WHEW!!!!
SpongeboB Sinewave
Solar Enthusiast
The rule of thumb is 30 feet above nearby tree-top height, minimum. That being said, I had a small-ish turbine work OK at 10 meter height (30 feet) when there was wind. At low height, the wind can be turbulent which hurts your average power output.
Did you measure this 10 MPH wind ? That is not really high enough wind speed. Wind gusts don't really mean much but....
I'd put the turbine up as high as you can get it. That will help laminar (smooth) wind and get higher wind speed.
Wind is definitely fun ! Wind MPPT also works well.
boB
Did you measure this 10 MPH wind ? That is not really high enough wind speed. Wind gusts don't really mean much but....
I'd put the turbine up as high as you can get it. That will help laminar (smooth) wind and get higher wind speed.
Wind is definitely fun ! Wind MPPT also works well.
boB
bds70
New Member
Yes, if U can send it to Australia ??
bds70
New Member
What sort of turbines do yachties use, I see lots of boats with a small wind turbine mounted at some point. Surely they must work? Curious to know.
bds70
New Member
Sounds good (but is it all advertising crap) https://www.amazon.com.au/Turbine-G...9&psc=1&mcid=a43f6670e88c344d875e44309ac3b614
SpongeboB Sinewave
Solar Enthusiast
That one is probably a 200--300 watt turbine. Certainly not 8kW ! And even then, it's probably 200 watts at say, 25 MPH of wind.
Yes, it's crap. Small wind like these are notorious for bad advertising.
Yes, they can work pretty well on boats. There can be lots of wind there. Just nothing like they are advertising
boB
Hogheavenfarm
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"Wind MPPT also works well." @SpongeboB Sinewave
Please elaborate on this.
I built my own turbine and spent almost a year testing it to make sure it worked as I built it (it did), but now have an issue since its hooked to my new batteries. The wind speeds that used to power it well will not spin it at all due to the load on it. Unloaded it worked great, loaded not so much. Since the "controller" really only controls the dump load, nothing prevents it from being directly hooked up to the batteries at all times. Unlike solar, where the panel feed go into a controller, the turbine goes directly to the battery, and the "controller" is fed from the battery just to monitor the state of charge. I heard that an mppt controller (capable of high and variable voltage) can be fed with the turbine leads, and that I might be able to program it to start charging at a specific voltage, allowing the turbine to spin up before connecting to the battery. I have a few PWM controllers but they wouldnt handle the voltage, in a 30mph wind it will put out 105v at 240rpm , I have it graphed up to that point, but extrapolating that curve could put it at 130v in higher winds.
Wind is much more complex than solar!
I am weighing the possible mppt option against longer blades with a bigger swept area. (42" blades being considered, 30" blades now)
Please elaborate on this.
I built my own turbine and spent almost a year testing it to make sure it worked as I built it (it did), but now have an issue since its hooked to my new batteries. The wind speeds that used to power it well will not spin it at all due to the load on it. Unloaded it worked great, loaded not so much. Since the "controller" really only controls the dump load, nothing prevents it from being directly hooked up to the batteries at all times. Unlike solar, where the panel feed go into a controller, the turbine goes directly to the battery, and the "controller" is fed from the battery just to monitor the state of charge. I heard that an mppt controller (capable of high and variable voltage) can be fed with the turbine leads, and that I might be able to program it to start charging at a specific voltage, allowing the turbine to spin up before connecting to the battery. I have a few PWM controllers but they wouldnt handle the voltage, in a 30mph wind it will put out 105v at 240rpm , I have it graphed up to that point, but extrapolating that curve could put it at 130v in higher winds.
Wind is much more complex than solar!
I am weighing the possible mppt option against longer blades with a bigger swept area. (42" blades being considered, 30" blades now)
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SpongeboB Sinewave
Solar Enthusiast
Either you don't have enough wind or your turbine may be stalling by being loaded down to too low of voltage.
Assuming it's being stalled, then MPPT might help to get it started and then when the wind speed increases, the MPPT will let the turbine voltage rise and put out more power instead of just limiting by the fixed load voltage.
But the turbine voltage vs. power output curve really has to be a good match for that turbine. That is where it is hard to get the accurate curve. To do it right, but quickly, a wind tunnel is needed because the wind speed has to be constant for each point in the graph while the input voltage is varied at the wind speeds.
For a HAWT like yours, what normally is wanted is to keep the wind speed to blade tip ratio constant. That ratio is usually somewhere around 5:1
You rarely see a graph from a wind turbine manufacturer like that. It's typically just power vs. wind speed when the turbine is loaded into the battery voltage with a dump load like you mention.
But you have to be careful that when you have high speed storm conditions that the turbine voltage does not exceed the maximum allowed voltage of the controller which can happen when the batteries are full. That's where a Clipper comes in handy to limit that voltage at the turbine output terminals. Some times the furling mechanism of the turbine is enough to limit that voltage but can't always count on it.
Another advantage of MPPT for wind is that you can start with a higher voltage turbine than is rated for your battery voltage so if you happen to change battery configurations, that turbine can still work.
boB
Assuming it's being stalled, then MPPT might help to get it started and then when the wind speed increases, the MPPT will let the turbine voltage rise and put out more power instead of just limiting by the fixed load voltage.
But the turbine voltage vs. power output curve really has to be a good match for that turbine. That is where it is hard to get the accurate curve. To do it right, but quickly, a wind tunnel is needed because the wind speed has to be constant for each point in the graph while the input voltage is varied at the wind speeds.
For a HAWT like yours, what normally is wanted is to keep the wind speed to blade tip ratio constant. That ratio is usually somewhere around 5:1
You rarely see a graph from a wind turbine manufacturer like that. It's typically just power vs. wind speed when the turbine is loaded into the battery voltage with a dump load like you mention.
But you have to be careful that when you have high speed storm conditions that the turbine voltage does not exceed the maximum allowed voltage of the controller which can happen when the batteries are full. That's where a Clipper comes in handy to limit that voltage at the turbine output terminals. Some times the furling mechanism of the turbine is enough to limit that voltage but can't always count on it.
Another advantage of MPPT for wind is that you can start with a higher voltage turbine than is rated for your battery voltage so if you happen to change battery configurations, that turbine can still work.
boB
Hogheavenfarm
Regulation Stifles Innovation
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Yes, I believe it is stalling due to being loaded at low voltage, during testing with no load it worked perfectly.
Since I have a controller on the dump load, can I just put a 150v mppt on the input feed from the turbine (and stay under 150v on the feed)?
The controller hooked to the battery will prevent overcharging by activating the dump load at 14.6v, and then the mppt would allow a spinup before it reaches charging levels?
The furling mechanism does work, as I saw it operate this past weekend in the 50 mph gusts. The 7 blade configuration is also supposed to limit the output by blocking wind flow at higher rpm. Maybe a simple voltage sensing relay could short the feed into a dump load if its greater than 125v?
Since I have a controller on the dump load, can I just put a 150v mppt on the input feed from the turbine (and stay under 150v on the feed)?
The controller hooked to the battery will prevent overcharging by activating the dump load at 14.6v, and then the mppt would allow a spinup before it reaches charging levels?
The furling mechanism does work, as I saw it operate this past weekend in the 50 mph gusts. The 7 blade configuration is also supposed to limit the output by blocking wind flow at higher rpm. Maybe a simple voltage sensing relay could short the feed into a dump load if its greater than 125v?
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