Residential Wind Turbine – Important Facts
The performance of a residential wind turbine system is greatly affected by the unit’s power curve. The power produced by the wind generator is determined by the power curve of the unit and is measured in watts or kilowatts. It is important to determine how much wind velocity your site location is capable of producing. Once you have determined the wind range, you should install a wind turbine system that has a power curve that matches this velocity.
How to Select a Residential Wind Turbine
If you are in the market to purchase a small wind turbine, the diameter of the rotor of the turbine or the swept area is a major factor when making your purchasing decision. Keep in mind that most small wind turbines work at about 10 to 20 miles per hour.
Residential Wind Turbine – The System
The advantage of living on a large tract of land, i.e. one acre or more, affords you the opportunity to capture the wind and turn it into your own renewable power source. If you have a good wind resource, a small residential wind turbine can cut your electricity bill by 50 to 90 percent.
The workhorse of the system is the wind turbine, which also costs the most. The blade diameter or rotor of the turbine produces the power by sweeping the wind. The generator or alternator converts the sweeping rotation into electricity. The turbine is kept pointed into the wind by the body or tail. Finally, the tower lifts the system allowing the benefit of being in the higher air to gain maximum efficiency for the system.
How Do I Find and Measure the Wind
You can start by visiting the world-wide-web and going to the United States Department of Energy’s website under the heading Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy which provides wind power classification maps of the United States. These maps provide estimates of the wind resource as expressed in wind power classes. Each class represents a variety of mean wind power density or equivalent mean speed at specified heights above the ground. The maps are based on average wind speed. You’ll want a location that gives you consistent wind speeds.
Next, to calculate local wind conditions, visit a science or weather equipment store to find your wind speed equipment. The data collected should be sufficient to help determine the size of your residential wind turbine needed.
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