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H61-04 · Module 4 of 7 · Pages: 20 · Worksheets: 6
Small wind turbines
Measure the wind before you buy, estimate real output and put up a small wind turbine safely, as a winter top-up to solar
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Whole series: Energy, €39
In short
- Wind power rises with the cube of the speed: wind twice as strong gives 8 times the energy. So the site is everything.
- Below roughly 4 m/s (9 mph) average wind at rotor height a small turbine rarely pays; panels are then better.
- The rotor must be at least 9 m (30 ft) above any obstacle within roughly 150 m (500 ft).
- Work out output from rotor diameter and average wind, not from the "rated power" on the box.
- A turbine must never be left without a load: it needs a controller with a dump load and a brake.
What's inside
Chapters
- When wind makes sense
- How much wind you have
- Wind power and the rotor
- Types of turbine
- Mast, height and site
- Power from the turbine: battery, controller and dump load
- Wind and sun together
- Permits, neighbours and nature
- Maintenance
- Common mistakes
- Printable checklist
Worksheets
- Output and wind at height
- Wind log
- Site sketch and distances
- Comparing turbines and quotes
- Turbine and mast inspection
- Wind turbine calendar
Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.
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