Wind Generators

A wind generator is a pretty neat device. Wind power is about the cheapest form of renewable energy you can add to your site. BUT! But before you rush out and buy a wind generator consider this: A lot of folk out there have made the wind generator purchase only to discover that although they think they live in a windy site the power output is less than anticipated.

The perfect wind site

From the above info you can deduce that having wind alone will not make a wind generator work. You need wind plus location. A wind generator likes smooth undisturbed air. Anything else and it will "hunt" and "twist" as it constantly seeks wind direction. Australia is starting to bristle with wind farms. They are so common now that most folk who have ventured on a long country drive (and not so long if you live close by) will have seen one. All wind farm sites share one thing in common: They are all located in flat open treeless plains, often near to the coast. Another good location is a hill top.

More Marginal locations

All this no doubt sounds somewhat sad if you are in a windy area but are surrounded by hills and trees. My suggestion here it to go fly a kite! Serious ... You can buy good kites very cheaply and they are really easy to fly. If you have the space to fly a kite, you can get your kite airborne and if you can keep it airborne all with a minimum of fuss and running around you will probably be in a reasonable location for a wind generator. Another option to asses your location is to buy a weather station complete with wind sensor and data logging. These devices aren't altogether out of the price range of many people and are available from electronics stores like "Dick Smith" or "Jaycar" here in Australia.

The final option to asses whether your site is any good for wind is to actually buy a small wind turbine and install it. This is what most people do. An AirX for example (see our products pages) is a very popular device and if it is a complete waste of space on your installation is is readily resalable.

Height

The higher you can mount your wind generator above the ground the better it will work. There is a considerable difference in wind speed in just 6 metres of height. It is not unfeasible to make and install towers up to 15 metres high.

Distance

Small wind turbines for 12 volt systems are limited in the distance that they can carry the electricity. To a certain extent all the battery charging wind turbines are limited by cable size and cost to being within 100 metres or so of the battery bank with one exception:

High Voltage AC Wind Turbines for Battery Charging

Alternating current (AC), unlike direct current (DC) has a distinct advantage, it can be carried over distance with less loss in a thinner cable than the equivalent DC voltage. Should you have a suitable hilltop where you can site a wind generator that is some distance form your power system then a high voltage AC wind turbine may be the answer. We have installed such a device on a hill top on an island in Bass Straight. The wind turbine is a high voltage (150 volts AC) unit and it feeds 150 volts AC over one kilometer to the battery bank located by the residence on the property. At the battery bank the 150 volts AC is converted into DC then controlled by a custom built AERL maximising controller and fed into a 24 volt battery bank.

Feeding Wind Power Into the Electrical Grid

Certainly this is possible (see our article on grid feed solar power systems). Unfortunately at this stage there are no Government rebates to help out here though, unlike a grid feed solar system you will have to foot the entire bill yourself.

You will need a quality wind turbine and a grid interactive inverter suitable for the chosen wind turbine. Naturally you will also need the permission of the electricity authority you intend to supply power to. I am often asked about this, at a guess I would estimate the set up cost at around $15,000.00 minimum for a 1000 watt turbine coupled to say a Solar Energy Australia or Latronics grid interactive inverter.

Unless you are in a particularly perfect site and have good mechanical skills (to maintain the turbine) I would suggest you are wasting your time and money ...

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