Wind Turbine Applications

One way of using wind power:

Consider a 40’x60’ barn that is used for:

(1) hay storage

(2) shelter for ewes and lambs for several weeks after birth in fall and winter for protection from predators

(3) shearing sheep twice per year

(4) fleece storage

(5) equipment storage

(6) storage for wood and metal project materials and sheltered area for working on them.

To date, the barn has not been electrified to minimize potential fire risk.

Electrical loads would include:

(1) lighting (200 watts maximum)

(2) shearer (150 watts)

(3) table saw, circular saw, drill (1 kw maximum)

(4) stock tank heater (800 watts)

Maximum electrical load at any time would have to be limited to 1 kw to match loads with available wind turbines.

During most of the year the area has west and southwest winds exceeding 10 mph starting between 10 am and 2 pm and continuing until sometime after midnight. Temperature inversions with little or no wind usually occur in the late October-early November and some periods of the winter, nominally for a maximum of 5 days. Sometimes in the winter, there are severe winds (greater than 25 mph).

The American Wind Energy Association has a decent webpage (http://www.awea.org/smallwind/smsyslst.html) that identifies questions to ask a supplier and a complete list of suppliers. Small Wind Electric Systems A U.S. Consumer’s Guide http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/pdfs/small_wind/small_wind_guide.pdf offers useful insights about installing a wind system.

Bergey appears to have a good reputation for providing wind generation packages. Breakdown on system costs from the Bergey (http://www.bergey.com/) and Wind Monkey (http://www.windmonkey.com/product-pricing.php) websites is:

Wind tower and generator $ 3170

Tower wiring kit (18m) $ 1375

DC Power center (5 circuit) $  850

Battery strings (120 VAC, 26.4 kwh) $ 2250

Inverter (1.5kw, modified sine wave) $ 1175

Total $ 8820

For comparison, Bergey does offer a 1 KW “value” system (http://www.bergey.com/Products/VPkg.Remote1.htm) for $7170.

In some cases, a home system would not be suitable for wind power application if total costs typically are less than $50 per month (350 kwh) and barely exceed $100 per month (1100 kwh) when a heat pump is used in spring and late fall-early winter.

Renewables Home - Virtual Nuclear Tourist - Tuesday March 29, 2011