The Truth About Small Wind Turbines; Real world

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the truth about small wind turbines

The truth about small wind turbines is that they are not always the right solution for your power generation. Here’s some information that less scrupulous small wind turbine makers, dealers, and installers would rather you didn’t know.

Why would not these guys tell me the truth?” you’re presumably thinking. “They have small  wind turbines for sale!” Sure enough, I’m guilty as charged. We want happy customers, too, and the two can’t be reconciled until we’re honest with you, our customer. the truth is that wind turbine sales account for a small portion of our business, and while we would be sad to lose you, we will still be able to feed our children.

Is a home wind power generator, however, a viable option for you? Because living in a windy place is not always the most significant criterion, the result may surprise you. In fact, even if there is a lot of wind, many properties are not suitable for wind turbine installation (for reasons we’ll explain). If you want to go off the grid and generate your own electricity, though, you should almost certainly consider constructing a home wind turbine, even if your region is not particularly windy.

Here is what we’ll cover in this article :

What Homeowners Need to Know about small wind turbines 

1-Roof Mounting  small  turbines .

Never, ever, ever place your wind turbine for residential on your roof. This comes up frequently since the tower accounts for a significant portion of the turbine’s cost, and customers are always seeking for methods to save money. But this isn’t the way to go about it. If you want a productive wind turbine, the data show that installing a wind turbine directly on the roof just doesn’t work, To generate enough energy, the turbine needs to be much beyond the roofline, which you wouldn’t be able to do unless you built a tall tower on your roof, which isn’t the safest location to put a big machine. It’s risky, stupid, and costly.    

2-Safety. 

  “Ensure that the wind turbines generators  can be securely repaired and operated,” which, given current technology, entails ensuring that the tower can be safely lowered to the ground.” To put it another way, instead of working on a wind turbine 100 feet in the air, consider a tilt-down tower.

3-Small Wind Turbines in windy areas

People frequently overestimate how windy their location is. They forget about the days when the wind does not blow and only recall the days when it does. Such is the nature of man. Before even contemplating a small wind turbine, you need to know the yearly average wind speed for your location. Installing a data-logging anemometer (wind meter) at the same height and position as the intended wind turbine and letting it run for 3 to 5 years is the gold standard. The truth is that it is typically far too expensive for small wind turbines, and while logging for a year can give you some indication and is the absolute minimum for useful wind data, it is far too short to be particularly trustworthy.

If you do install an anemometer and monitor the wind for a year or longer, compare the annual average wind speed received from your anemometer data to the yearly average wind speed acquired from the nearest airport or meteo-station for the same year. This will tell you whether your location is windier or windier than that airport or meteo-station, and by how much. Then compare the statistics from that year to the long-term yearly average wind speed to get an idea of what to expect in the long run, adjusted for your specific location. It won’t be accurate, but it will greatly improve the use of your short-term anemometer data.

If you want to get any economic advantage from small wind turbines, you’ll need at least 5 m/s yearly average wind velocity. Even with government subsidies, a solar is a superior option in most cases. Let’s take it a step further and say your backyard is rather windy, with an annual average wind velocity of 6 m/s (13.4 mph) at 100 feet. You pay $50,000 to have a 6 kW wind turbine erected on your property. The turbine should be spinning in lovely, clean, laminar air, and it should produce approximately 13,000 kWh per year if the installation does its work well.

Where the wind turbines need to be located ?; 

Manufacturers damned lies on  Location 

Small Wind turbines rely on the wind to generate electricity. This message appears to have been missed by not just the majority of small wind turbine users, but also many manufacturers and installers of such devices. The flag-ship machine of one of the world’s largest makers of tiny wind turbines, based in the United States (since bankrupt, though its turbines are still sold), has a 12 meter (36 foot) tower. Their salespeople are trained to persuade you that it will generate 60% of your power bill.

Small Wind turbines rely on the wind to generate electricity. This message appears to have been missed by not just the majority of small wind turbine users, but also many manufacturers and installers of such devices. The flag-ship machine of one of the world’s largest makers of tiny wind turbines, based in the United States (since bankrupt, though its turbines are still sold), has a 12 meter (36 foot) tower. Their salespeople are trained to persuade you that it will generate 60% of your power bill.

Wind turbines require the presence of wind. For good results, Not just any wind, but the type that flows smoothly and laminarly. At 30 feet, that is impossible to find. At 60 feet, it is typically impossible to find. It’s sometimes found at a depth of 80 feet. Getting there usually necessitates a 100-foot tower. Installed, the towers cost as much as or more than the turbine itself. The number of towers required for a wind turbine to reach its full capacity is determined by the location, as well as the trees and structures surrounding it. The wind is chaotic close to the ground, making it a poor fuel for small turbines.
For a site with no obstacles (buildings, trees, etc.), the graph shows how a change in tower height impacts the available power in the wind: A higher tower may frequently be financially beneficial in addition to getting above turbulent air since so much more energy can be gathered.

Wind turbines function effectively when placed in calm, non-oscillating air, and their energy output is well-predictable, as seen by the statistics. Honest manufacturers do not mislead or exaggerate; their turbines can perform as claimed in terms of clean, laminar wind flow. However, even if the average yearly wind velocity is still 5 m/s at that height, the turbine’s power production will be significantly lower than you’d anticipate for the same number if it’s mounted 40 feet up. This is part of the problem and it is impossible to predict the impact of the turbulence in the wind but it impairs the energy production potential of any wind turbine. Whether it’s on rooftops or not. You need to understand how well to locate the wind turbine.

Do The manufacturers  test theire small  turbines ?

Most Manufacturers of small or home wind generators will frequently make promises that are contradicted by the laws of physics. Power curves and energy production promises are frequently overstated. This is, in reality, the rule, not the exception. Manufacturers who tell it like it is are the rarity. Many manufacturers have never taken their turbines through rigorous testing in real-world scenarios. Some companies have never tested their turbines before selling them to unwitting clients. This isn’t a joke! We have a front-row seat to the actual operation of many different brands and models of turbines since we offer grid-tie inverters for tiny wind turbines.

The annual Energy  of small wind turbines 

Apart from obtaining a functional product, the one metric you’re looking for as a small residential wind turbine owner is how much power it could generate in your area. Hopefully, you now know the yearly average wind speed for the height at which you intend to install your turbine and have chosen a location with low turbulence. Forget about the manufacturer’s promises; it turns out that the diameter and average wind speed are the greatest predictors of small turbines’ energy generation. For a grid-tie horizontal axis wind turbine of sufficient efficiency, here is a calculation to determine estimated yearly average energy production:

E [kWh] = 2.09 • Diameter 2 [m] • V 3 [m/s]

the annual energy of a small wind turbine

It estimates the energy in kWh per year, the diameter of the turbine rotor in meters, and the yearly average wind speed for the turbine hub height in m/s. A Weibull wind distribution with a factor of K=2 is used in the equation, which is approximately correct for inland locations. The wind turbine is designed to have a 30 percent total efficiency from wind to electrical power.

That is a fair efficiency figure in the actual world. The following table demonstrates the relationship between average yearly wind speed, turbines size, and annual energy production: This is the amount of energy that a decent horizontal-axis wind turbine can produce if it is built at the right location and height. However, these are the upper limits; if your turbine generates anything close to the amount indicated by this chart, you should be pleased! Most modest wind turbines installations underperform substantially; in fact, the average appears to be approximately half of the energy production projected (and many do not even reach that). There are a variety of causes for poor performance; poor site selection, with more turbulent air than planned, is frequently one of them.

Small Wind Turbine Real World Performance

In comparison to their energy output ratings, most (some would argue all) installed small turbines perform abysmally poorly. This is the conclusion of a number of studies, most of which were conducted on behalf of governments that support wind turbines.
There are a few similar themes that go across all of the reports: Small turbines placed on buildings or on roofs do not operate. Period. On the rooftop, there is very little wind, and it is quite chaotic. This is insufficient “fuel” for wind turbines.
The vast majority of installations exaggerate the potential wind supply. The majority of small wind turbine installations fall short of expectations, typically by a large margin. Because wind speed is the most essential parameter for turbine energy output, getting it incorrect has significant repercussions (the power in the wind is proportional to the cube of the wind speed, thus double the wind speed and the power is 2 * 2 * 2 = 8 times as much). You must be honest with yourself about your yearly average wind speed.

How to install a wind turbine

Low “Cut-In” Wind Speed Is a Myth

The cut-in wind speed is either the wind speed at which small turbines begins to revolve or the wind speed at which it begins to operate, depending on who you ask. It is about 2.5–3.5 m/s (5.5–8 mph) for most small wind turbines, and it is a completely useless metric.
At high wind speeds, there is no energy in the wind to gather for the turbine. While seeing your costly yard toy spin may make you happy, it isn’t accomplishing anything useful in a breeze like that: To give you an idea, at 3.5 m/s wind speed, a wind turbine with a diameter of 6 meters can realistically produce just 120 Watt. That identical turbine would be rated at 6 kW (or more, as shown in the following section), thus power generation during cut-in is minuscule. Furthermore, because of the way grid-tie inverters function, you’re just as likely to lose energy around cut-in wind speeds in order to keep the inverter powered as you are to make any energy, resulting in a net loss of power generation.

Cut-in wind speed is a thing of the past. It makes no difference.


The truth about  “Rated Power” 

After cut-in wind speed, rated power is one of the least interesting characteristics of any small wind turbine.
The issue with rated power is that it provides no information on energy output.
The problem with rated power is that it only occurs at a “rated wind speed.” The problem is that there is no industry standard for rated wind speed. Because wind energy grows as the cube of wind speed, the difference in rated power between 10 m/s (22 mph) and 12 m/s (24 mph) is significant (27 mph). For example, at 10 m/s, that 6-meter wind turbine from the previous section should produce 5.2 kW, but at 12 m/s, it should create 9 kW!  
The majority of industry experts think that 11 m/s (24.6 mph) is a good-rated wind speed. When you get above it, the turbine should start furling, governing, or shutting down to defend itself from being destroyed. Those who do not will most likely have a brief and torturous existence. If we agree on 11 m/s, the following is an equation for a reasonable rated power number:

power of a wind turbine

Frequently asked questions 

How much power can small wind turbines generate?

There is no single answer to this question, The amount of energy that a small wind turbine can produce is not a fixed number because there are many factors that affect the power produced  Among these factors are the length of the blades, the type of the turbine, the wind speed, and the location of the installation.

why are small wind turbines a bad idea?

  Small wind turbines may be the wrong idea and maybe your best choice. This does not depend on what people say, it is about you. I tell you how; If you are in need of electricity and you live in a really windy area, and you have sufficient capacity to install and do the necessary maintenance, as you do when it comes to repairing your car in this case, there is no problem. Now the bad option is if you are in a location that is not suitable for installing wind turbines and you do not have the ability to maintain and install. I tell you, save your money and invest it in installing solar panels and everything could be fine.

Are small wind turbines worth it?

 There are a few instances where a small wind generator is an excellent choice: If you live off the grid, a wind generator is an excellent addition. Wind and solar energy tend to work well together; sunny days are few likely to be windy, whereas windy days are more likely to be cloudy. In the winter, when solar panels are in limited supply, wind turbines provide the greatest electricity.

  1. If you reside in a very windy area with a high electricity tariff, a micro  wind turbine may be cost-effective. 
  2. if your province, state, or nation offers rebates or other incentives that make installing a small turbines for residential  affordable .
  3. If you are off-grid you should definitely  install a smaller, less expensive system  to power your house . 
  4. if you want to go green and help saving the environment by   using your land for windmills or any other renewable systems  .

What are the best wind turbines for sale in 2021; Top reviewed

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missuri 11 blades wind turbine2000 Watt 11 Blade Missouri General Freedom II Wind Turbine hot-dipped galvanized with zinc-plated hubs! Resists Rust – No need for painting or special coating for up to 50 years under normal conditions.Check Price
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cordlessblowerTumo-Int 1000W 3Blades Wind Turbine GeneratorGreat Performance

High efficiency of wind energy conversion.
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Low vibration and low noise during operation.
Adjust direction automatically to maximize efficiency.

High-Quality Material and Ingenious Design

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cordlessblowerWindmax HY400 500 Watt M500 Watt Max/400 Watt Rated
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cordlessblowerMarsrock Small Wind Turbines-high wind energy utilization.
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ECO-WORTHY 800W 12V/24V Solar Wind Turbine Generator Kit
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Wind turbines for homes are a fantastic idea that should be used in the future, especially if they prove to be effective. To minimize air pollution and establish environmental balance, it is beneficial to convert to renewable energy of any form. Wind turbines for homes are a fantastic idea that should be used in the future, especially if they prove to be effective. To minimize air pollution and establish environmental balance, it is beneficial to transition to renewable energy of any form.



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