Is my site suitable for wind?
Wind generators will operate at almost any location. In general you want an
average annual wind speed of at least 12 MPH. The turbines will produce
power at lower speeds, but these sites will provide a much longer term
payoff.
Please review the following items, then click here to answer the real question
of "How much electric power will a turbine produce at my site?"
To determine site suitability, consider the following items with a very
critical eye.
1. Look at local wind maps for the "annual average wind speed" at your site. Use the national
map to the right for a rough estimate, or click here for state and local wind speed maps. These
maps are rough estimates based on a certain elevation above the ground. It is important to
choose a map at an elevation as close to the installation height for your turbine as possible.
Annual average wind speed at your site, and NOTHING ELSE, will determine how much power a
wind turbine will produce at your site. The only way to know annual average wind speed for sure
is to measure and log average wind speed, over the course of a year, at your installation location.
2. Are there a lot of tall trees?
3. Is the site "protected" from the wind by land formations, trees, structures, or other obstacles?
4. Is the site in a valley where wind is "funneled", or on the edge of a Mesa, or on top of a hill or
mountain providing increased (or decreased) wind?
5. Is your preferred installation location at least three hundred feet from anything that will be as
tall as the turbine?
6. Are coniferous tree deformed on one side due to wind conditions? (This is called the Griggs
Putnam Index and can give a good indication of the annual average wind speed)
7. How far is your electrical interconnection point from the turbine site? This affects cable costs,
and long runs may require special equipment like transformers.
Locations vary wildly in their suitability for wind. Local conditions may make locations in low wind
speed areas excellent, and conversely can make locations in high wind areas very poor for wind
turbines. Some great sites are too far from an electrical interconnection location to make grid-tied
installations viable.
How much power will my turbine produce?
Your electric bill is billed in units called kilowatt-hours, abbreviated kwh.
DIY Wind turbines have energy curves that show projected kWh production of the unit versus
annual average wind speed. Simply look up your annual average wind speed and read the
probable annual energy production in kwh for each available turbine. Select the turbine that most
closely matches your power usage, since most utilities do not pay much for power generated in
excess of your usage.
The truth is that the only way to know for sure how much power your turbine will produce is to
know the annual average wind speed at turbine hub height at the exact location where it will
be installed. There is only one way to measure annual average wind speed, and that is to
erect a tower and mount an anemometer (a device that measures wind speed) at the planned
turbine hub height - and to log wind speed data for one full year. When you talk to wind turbine
installers, you will find that the cost to do this averages $2000 to $4000 dollars!
How tall does my tower need to be? Is a taller tower always better?
The professional installers will tell you that taller towers are always better. Ask them "better for
who"? While it is true that going from a 30 ft tower to a taller tower increase your power output in
most locations as follows:
30 ft tower = 100%
60 ft tower = 143%
90 foot tower = 175%
120 foot tower = 200%
the most you typically benefit from installing a REALLY tall tower is twice the power output. The
down side of tall towers are that they are difficult and costly to install, and difficult and costly to
maintain, and they are also rather unsightly. Tall towers also more often run into zoning,
permitting and insurance issues and are a significant cause of unhappy neighbors.
Do you know another way to double your power output without a massive tower?
Yes. Install another small wind turbine on a 30 foot tower instead! These towers are easy to
install, and most importantly allow a turbine to be maintained by its owner - not a specialized wind
turbine installer. Other benefits are that no crane is required for installation, minimal foundation
requirements, extremely low cost towers, minimal zoning approvals required, and neighbors
aren't horrified by the monstrous tower you have planted on your property.
Low cost turbines, installed by DIY'ers with the assistance of licensed professionals can save a
lot of money, and keep things simple and clean.
Wind generators will operate at almost any location. In general you want an
average annual wind speed of at least 12 MPH. The turbines will produce
power at lower speeds, but these sites will provide a much longer term
payoff.
Please review the following items, then click here to answer the real question
of "How much electric power will a turbine produce at my site?"
To determine site suitability, consider the following items with a very
critical eye.
1. Look at local wind maps for the "annual average wind speed" at your site. Use the national
map to the right for a rough estimate, or click here for state and local wind speed maps. These
maps are rough estimates based on a certain elevation above the ground. It is important to
choose a map at an elevation as close to the installation height for your turbine as possible.
Annual average wind speed at your site, and NOTHING ELSE, will determine how much power a
wind turbine will produce at your site. The only way to know annual average wind speed for sure
is to measure and log average wind speed, over the course of a year, at your installation location.
2. Are there a lot of tall trees?
3. Is the site "protected" from the wind by land formations, trees, structures, or other obstacles?
4. Is the site in a valley where wind is "funneled", or on the edge of a Mesa, or on top of a hill or
mountain providing increased (or decreased) wind?
5. Is your preferred installation location at least three hundred feet from anything that will be as
tall as the turbine?
6. Are coniferous tree deformed on one side due to wind conditions? (This is called the Griggs
Putnam Index and can give a good indication of the annual average wind speed)
7. How far is your electrical interconnection point from the turbine site? This affects cable costs,
and long runs may require special equipment like transformers.
Locations vary wildly in their suitability for wind. Local conditions may make locations in low wind
speed areas excellent, and conversely can make locations in high wind areas very poor for wind
turbines. Some great sites are too far from an electrical interconnection location to make grid-tied
installations viable.
How much power will my turbine produce?
Your electric bill is billed in units called kilowatt-hours, abbreviated kwh.
DIY Wind turbines have energy curves that show projected kWh production of the unit versus
annual average wind speed. Simply look up your annual average wind speed and read the
probable annual energy production in kwh for each available turbine. Select the turbine that most
closely matches your power usage, since most utilities do not pay much for power generated in
excess of your usage.
The truth is that the only way to know for sure how much power your turbine will produce is to
know the annual average wind speed at turbine hub height at the exact location where it will
be installed. There is only one way to measure annual average wind speed, and that is to
erect a tower and mount an anemometer (a device that measures wind speed) at the planned
turbine hub height - and to log wind speed data for one full year. When you talk to wind turbine
installers, you will find that the cost to do this averages $2000 to $4000 dollars!
How tall does my tower need to be? Is a taller tower always better?
The professional installers will tell you that taller towers are always better. Ask them "better for
who"? While it is true that going from a 30 ft tower to a taller tower increase your power output in
most locations as follows:
30 ft tower = 100%
60 ft tower = 143%
90 foot tower = 175%
120 foot tower = 200%
the most you typically benefit from installing a REALLY tall tower is twice the power output. The
down side of tall towers are that they are difficult and costly to install, and difficult and costly to
maintain, and they are also rather unsightly. Tall towers also more often run into zoning,
permitting and insurance issues and are a significant cause of unhappy neighbors.
Do you know another way to double your power output without a massive tower?
Yes. Install another small wind turbine on a 30 foot tower instead! These towers are easy to
install, and most importantly allow a turbine to be maintained by its owner - not a specialized wind
turbine installer. Other benefits are that no crane is required for installation, minimal foundation
requirements, extremely low cost towers, minimal zoning approvals required, and neighbors
aren't horrified by the monstrous tower you have planted on your property.
Low cost turbines, installed by DIY'ers with the assistance of licensed professionals can save a
lot of money, and keep things simple and clean.
National Wind Resource Map
If your site is relatively open and has a good wind resource, there are two
more considerations:
Do I want to interconnect to my utility to "sell" power back to the grid?
If so, contact your electric power utility and ask for their "distributed generation
interconnection requirements and agreement". These documents will tell you if you utility will
allow interconnection, and if so what the requirements and costs are. Many utilities are
friendly to wind and will even pay you a premium for your wind production. Others will charge
a monthly fee for the "privilege" of net-metering, which damages your payoff.
If you plan to interconnect with the utility, make sure that they will accept the grid-tied
inverter included in the package you select.
Also, you must consider the distance from your installation location and the utility
interconnection point (usually your electric service panel/circuit breaker box, or near the
existing utility meter). You will lose power on long runs from the turbine to the
interconnection point, although thicker and more expensive wire will reduce the losses).
Please note, with a grid tied setup, your system will not feed power back to the grid (or your
home or building) when utility power is out! This is for the safety of linemen fixing your utility
power. It is possible to design a small, grid-tied wind system with battery backup but this
adds significant cost and maintenance requirements. If you already have a solar power or
other system with battery backup, you should be able to use the battery charging version of
our turbines for additional battery charging capability. Please contact us for questions and
details.
What if I do not want to connect to the utility, but rather to use batteries to store
power and use it for another application.
If so, you will need a battery bank, battery box or safe, vented, storage location, and an
"off-grid inverter" or DC powered loads. In this scenario, the wind generator charges
batteries, the batteries connect to a DC load or to an inverter which switches DC battery
power to AC power to run common AC powered loads.
It is possible to design a small, grid-tied wind system with battery backup but this adds
significant cost and maintenance requirements. If you already have a solar power or other
system with battery backup, you should be able to use the battery charging version of our
turbines for additional battery charging capability. Please contact us for questions and
details.
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