Wind turbine Controll

heresjohnny

Hey Guys

Interested in building a small wind turbine in back garden. Just wanted to know how difficult it would be/ how much it would cost to make the following

2011

What you see above to me is a glorified battery charger.

IMHO batteries are not the way to go. Batteries are expensive, are only good for so many charges and then need to be replaced and disposed of (which is also expensive). Disposing them is also not very ecologically friendly either, which is generally the whole point of wind turbines!! Many batteries are a hazard in terms of explosion risk as well as taking up considerable space. Cold weather is bad for them too.


If I were doing it I would rather sync with the mains a unit such as "Emma". Check out www.coolpower.ie
Use the power as you generate it rather than try to store it.

It is also important to note that maintenance costs are high as wind turbines suffer by their nature from high mechanical wear.

This is just my opinion, sorry if I sound dismissive. I am not trying to put you off, it is a good project. It is good to see people looking at greener alternatives. Good luck with it!

DublinDilbert

heresjohnny wrote: »

Hey Guys

Interested in building a small wind turbine in back garden. Just wanted to know how difficult it would be/ how much it would cost to make the following

There's a couple of euros worth of components there. The circuit charges the batteries to a set point then pulls in a relay to dump power into a dummy load. If you don't need the manual over ride buttons, you could just use one Schmitt trigger and a relay.

It would be good if your dump load was a water heater or something so you can use the power to heat water rather than dump it.

2011

It would be good if your dump load was a water heater

That is what Emma does

Bruthal

2011 wrote: »

What you see above to me is a glorified battery charger.

IMHO batteries are not the way to go. Batteries are expensive, are only good for so many charges and then need to be replaced and disposed of (which is also expensive). Disposing them is also not very ecologically friendly either, which is generally the whole point of wind turbines!! Many batteries are a hazard in terms of explosion risk as well as taking up considerable space. Cold weather is bad for them too.


If I were doing it I would rather sync with the mains a unit such as "Emma". Check out www.coolpower.ie
Use the power as you generate it rather than try to store it.

It is also important to note that maintenance costs are high as wind turbines suffer by their nature from high mechanical wear.

This is just my opinion, sorry if I sound dismissive. I am not trying to put you off, it is a good project. It is good to see people looking at greener alternatives. Good luck with it!

Well id backup what you say, i have seen this circuit now a few times, been asked a few times to make it up, a lot of maintenace on batteries etc alright.
I think a grid connect inverter is the way to go alright, and maybe meter what its producing, or connect to a suitable immersion heater etc, depending on turbine size.

DublinDilbert

I think grid connect is the way to go, if you have a seriously big wind turbine.

If its only a small turbine, I would float charge some batteries and heat water with it. Apparently you can get quite good results even just heating water over night with a small turbine.

My maths are open to correction here, but we'll give it a go:-

1Kw = 1000J/s = 1KJ/s
Tank = 120L = 120Kg
Temp rise = 25 -> 65C = 40C
specific heat of water is 4.186 kJ/kgC
Energy Required = 4.186 * 120 * 40 = 20092.8KJ
As we've 1KJ/s => Time in hours = 20092/3600 = 5.5 Hours

Bruthal

DublinDilbert wrote: »

I think grid connect is the way to go, if you have a seriously big wind turbine.

If its only a small turbine, I would float charge some batteries and heat water with it. Apparently you can get quite good results even just heating water over night with a small turbine.

My maths are open to correction here, but we'll give it a go:-

1Kw = 1000J/s = 1KJ/s
Tank = 120L = 120Kg
Temp rise = 25 -> 65C = 40C
specific heat of water is 4.186 kJ/kgC
Energy Required = 4.186 * 120 * 40 = 20092.8KJ
As we've 1KJ/s => Time in hours = 20092/3600 = 5.5 Hours

Its a fair while since i did any of them calculations, certain to be right id say, although to get a steady 1KW from a turbine would probably need a 3KW turbine, which would probably backup the battery method being better on small ones. Battery is like a buffer/capacitor sort of setup charging during good turbine running conditions, or even if winds are intermittent.

2011

I think grid connect is the way to go, if you have a seriously big wind turbine.

Why not for a small turbine? Do you think that it would not be finically viable? Batteries have their own risks and expenses! The Emma unit as shown on the link above allows grid connection (the ESB are in agreement).

What do you mean by big, over 10kVA Smaller turbines are not lightly to show a return within 10 years anyway.

Bruthal

2011 wrote: »

Why not for a small turbine? Do you think that it would not be finically viable? Batteries have their own risks and expenses! The Emma unit as shown on the link above allows grid connection (the ESB are in agreement).

What do you mean by big, over 10kVA Smaller turbines are not lightly to show a return within 10 years anyway.

If your in a suitable area i would of thought any size would work on grid alright. Either way, when you considder rated output v actual average output, you would probably want a reasonable size anyway, 2-3kw size maybe.

2011

My maths are open to correction here, but we'll give it a go:-

1Kw = 1000J/s = 1KJ/s
Tank = 120L = 120Kg
Temp rise = 25 -> 65C = 40C
specific heat of water is 4.186 kJ/kgC
Energy Required = 4.186 * 120 * 40 = 20092.8KJ
As we've 1KJ/s => Time in hours = 20092/3600 = 5.5 Hours

So what you are saying is that it will take 5.5 kW hours to heat the 120 liters of water by 40 DegC. This is equal to 5.5 units of electricity. This would cost about €1.10

To generate an average of 1kW per hour for 5 hours would probably mean having at least a 3 kVA turbine and a good wind! There are also many losses to take into account; volt drop, charging/discharging batteries, etc. Also the turbine can not generate if the wind is too light or strong!

So if someone is doing this on a small scale it shouldn't be for the money! A €1.10 saving on the odd good day will take a while to repay a few thousand euro investment. Also suitable storage has to be found for the batteries, they have been known to go on fire and extream cases explode! I am sure storing them in your house would have implications with your house insurance policy.

Bruthal

2011 wrote: »

To generate an average of 1kW per hour for 5 hours would probably mean having at least a 3 kVA turbine

Just what i suggested myself a couple of posts back.

I actually dont think anyone would be doing it for the money really at the moment myself.

2011

Just what i suggested myself a couple of posts back.

Great minds.....:D

Bruthal

2011 wrote: »

Great minds.....:D

Or both useless minds:D

ted1

Look at recycling existing components like a small ups or an alternator from a car.

Bruthal

ted1 wrote: »

Look at recycling existing components like a small ups or an alternator from a car.

I think the likes of a car starter motor might need too high a rotation speed to generate any decent output.

Actually i was thinking you said starter motor, but id say the alternator would need a high speed also to generate useful power.

Bruthal

2011 wrote: »

To generate an average of 1kW per hour for 5 hours would probably mean having at least a 3 kVA turbine and a good wind!

Calling it a 3kva turbine i would say is technically more accurate than calling it a 3kw one as well.