Wind turbine general question

 

I'm considering a small turbine for the property, in the 500 to 1KW
range.  I notice that the ones I'm looking at seem to output at 24 or
48 volts.  Is this common for turbines in the power output range? Or is
it possibly just the manufacturer.
I've got a 3000 watt inverter that is 12V so, wanted to use it if
possible.

 


stubbsgarage wrote:

=================
I think windmills need a controller just like pv panels. Check out the
offerings at Solar Converters in Canada.

 

wrote:


12V turbines are available, here's an example
http://www.windenergy.com/documents/downloads/turbine_manuals/whisper/Whisper_100_200_Spec_Sheet.pdf

But unless you have short wire runs, you should consider a higher
voltage. For example, if the tower is 50' tall and 150' from the
batteries, then a 12V 1000W turbine would need (3) #2-0 wire, but the
48V version would only require #10. http://tinyurl.com/objbg  (pg. 6)

You can use a turbine of a higher voltage than your battery bank and
inverter, by using transformers or perhaps an MX60 charge controller.
Odds are though that it would be cheaper, better, and simpler to sell
the existing inverter, buy a new one, and rewire your batteries for a
higher voltage.

Wayne

 



Check with the turbine manufacturers. Unregulated types like the Hornet are
less fussy and depend on wind speed far more than the sink voltage.
Hornet product 12, 24 and 48 volt units but recommend the same unit (say
24V) for 12 or 48 volt installations depending upon mean wind speed.
Overcharging is avoided by switching a dump load on when battery volts get
high rather than by regulating the turbine output.

Be realistic about how windy your site is, I'm half a mile away from a huge
wind farm and it 'seems' windy. In fact I get about 30 mins a day of useful
wind!!

Pete.

 

Thanks for the info Pete.  I'm actually on the top of a hill on a 25
acre property, my "back yard" where I plan on putting the turbine is
completely open, no trees at all, and we get steady winds at least 4
days of the week.  After reading some of the other info posted, I would
simply opt to get another inverter to run off the turbine.

Hmm, I wonder if you can put the AC power from both invertors into your
panel at once??


Peter Mounsey wrote: