UPDATED: 2018-03-28
Like my Solar Project (explained here http://www.computersense.co.nz/forums/sh...hp?tid=118) I got stuck in to play with Wind Power Generation in a Grid Tie configuration.
Just like my Solar Project, I decided to dive in and learn from my mistakes - to me, its more of a hobby but with great results and I can easily afford mistakes.
Before I ordered anything, the first decision was to figure out what turbine would best meet my requirements.
While living in suburbia, my first consideration was the neighbors (unfortunately) - firstly the turbine noise and then the aesthetics before deciding what type of voltage I needed (AC or DC and whether to use 12V, 24V or 48Volt).
While the traditional Wind Horizontal Axis Turbines (HAT) you see everywhere are by far the most efficient, they supposably generate a lot of noise and in a built-up area can cause a neighbor-problem while not even mentioning what damage could be caused if the Turbine self-destructed.
I had NO choice other than to choose a Vertical Turbine (VAT).
After weeks of investigating viable Turbines, I chose to ignore the cheap Chinese "Lantern" versions (which didn't come anywhere near my power requirements) and get this 750W Smart Wind Turbine (from eBay and an awesome seller "makemu.eu" with really fast shipping - good seller but the VAT Output specifications proved to be very overrated - read on).
The Wind Turbine came with 3 blades but I opted to upgrade and purchase at the same time another set of 3 blades (6 in total) - I had this "feeling" I would need them.
The Turbine also came with a 3-Phase AC to DC Voltage Rectifier which was neat (and in case I had chosen a DC Input Inverter).
The Turbine (like most) uses a 3-Phase (three-phase) Generator.
3-Phase is good for minimal voltage loss over long runs of cable.
This particular Turbine I chose has a 0-36 Volt AC / 750 Watt Generator.
Now, remember, this is a "Grid Tie" Story...
Next on the list was a Grid Tie Inverter.
Because I had opted for a 3-Phase 0-36 Volt Generator I decided to get a decent and compatible 3-phase 1000W Inverter without having to convert AC to DC before the Inverter input (there are various types/models to choose from including DC input from a DC generator).
I elected to add a WiFi Dongle and Dump Load Resistor (although I would not need the Dump Load Resistor in Grid Tie but thought it would come in handy if I wanted to experiment).
During testing (at ground level), I found that the Turbine would never reach a speed high enough to generate sufficient voltage to trigger the 3-Phase Inverter (even during a recent hurricane - at ground-level the wind was too buffered and erratic for a VAT).
The "start" voltage to the Inverter was too low and it only triggered when the Generator was turned with an electric drill before it started feeding back to the Grid (this is when I started to realized my worst fears).
I knew from this point on that I had become a victim of all those YouTube videos and Internet hype over how efficient VAT is on a domestic scale.
It's sort of like those BLEEP'ers on the Internet who still believe the World is "flat".
Flat Earthers = VAT Turbines
Normal Folk = HAT Turbines
Real Folk = Solar
I wasn't about to give up on my investment and continued to install this VAT Turbine on a decent mast - I already knew from my electric-drill tests that I had unwittingly become a "Flat Earther".
Knowing VERY well that this VAT Turbine would NEVER generate enough power (without the help of a powerful electric-drill running at full speed that would destroy the VAT's Blades).
So I had ordered and received a MUCH smaller 300W DC Input Inverter before the Turbine was finally installed on the mast - my heart was already torn to pieces by YouTube crap and I knew that this was bound to be an EPIC failure
With the Wind Turbine permanently mounted (as shown here), I had the 1000 Watt Inverter and smaller 300 Watt Inverter hooked up and ready to generate me some free power.
As you can see in the image above, I fed the 3-Phase AC from the VAT directly in to the 1000W Inverter then connected the AC/DC Rectifier in parallel.
YouTube told me to do this so I can benefit from lower start-voltages to the smaller 300W Inverter when the wind is not strong enough to trigger the 1000W Inverter
With a week of gale-force winds I predicted and confirmed the results:
ALERT: The 1000 Watt Inverter did not triggered once! - It was shortly disconnected because of it's standby power consumption.
ALERT: The 300 Watt Inverter kicks in for a few seconds every few minutes or more.
I must say that the 300 Watt Inverter kicks in VERY quickly (less than a second when its required 11.8 Volts is met - which was advertised as 10.8 Volts).
The problem is that the Turbine will NOT and NEVER reach an adequate rotational speed to either maintain a decent voltage for the 300 Watt Inverter and nowhere near enough to spark the interest of the 1000 Watt Inverter.
Yes, a sad BLEEPing story.
The average Voltage generated is around 6 Volts on a normal day and NOTHING above 12 Volts on a stormy day - very sad for a 36 Volt Wind Turbine rated at 750 Watts!
I spent the next few weeks staring at the Output of the VAT and hoping that something might magically happen - it never did
I hate to be beaten and wondered about trashing the VAT and erecting a small HAT (Horizontal Axis Turbine) and using only the 300W Inverter - maybe I could at least generate a "little" something rather than giving up...
Please learn from my experience and remember that a Wind Turbine is rated by the Generator that it uses. You will only achieve maximum-rated output if you spin the Generator with a powerful electric drill - too fast for wind to turn.
UPDATE:
Yesterday (2018-03-27) the Wind God was on my side and I noted that the small 300W Inverter was triggering quiet often (but getting only 1 bar output of 3 possible bars) but Voltage would not go above 12.5V. The Inverter needs 11.8 Volts to trigger.
I remembered reading about something that José said in his Post Reply about converting AC to DC before the Inverter.
So, while the VAT was generating 10 Volts, I quickly unplugged the AC/DC Rectifier (removing the 300 Watt Inverter) and the voltage suddenly spiked on the 1000 Watt Inverter to 19 Volts and the 1000 Watt Inverter suddenly triggered!
BLEEP I said to myself!
The 1000 Watt Inverter needs exactly 14.5 Volts to Trigger then turns off at 12.5 Volts.
I have not seen the VAT produce anything higher than 20.5 Volts but I am not always looking at it when wind-level is high.
So, at the moment, all is not lost - José has solved my problem and I will NEVER use a AC to DC Rectifier ever again!
Now I am about to buy a smaller 600 Watt direct 3-Phase Inverter from Aliexpress - only problem is that I cannot find a small Inverter that has WiFi like the 1000 Watt Inverter.
I will continue updating this blog... watch this space.
Like my Solar Project (explained here http://www.computersense.co.nz/forums/sh...hp?tid=118) I got stuck in to play with Wind Power Generation in a Grid Tie configuration.
Just like my Solar Project, I decided to dive in and learn from my mistakes - to me, its more of a hobby but with great results and I can easily afford mistakes.
Before I ordered anything, the first decision was to figure out what turbine would best meet my requirements.
While living in suburbia, my first consideration was the neighbors (unfortunately) - firstly the turbine noise and then the aesthetics before deciding what type of voltage I needed (AC or DC and whether to use 12V, 24V or 48Volt).
While the traditional Wind Horizontal Axis Turbines (HAT) you see everywhere are by far the most efficient, they supposably generate a lot of noise and in a built-up area can cause a neighbor-problem while not even mentioning what damage could be caused if the Turbine self-destructed.
I had NO choice other than to choose a Vertical Turbine (VAT).
After weeks of investigating viable Turbines, I chose to ignore the cheap Chinese "Lantern" versions (which didn't come anywhere near my power requirements) and get this 750W Smart Wind Turbine (from eBay and an awesome seller "makemu.eu" with really fast shipping - good seller but the VAT Output specifications proved to be very overrated - read on).
The Wind Turbine came with 3 blades but I opted to upgrade and purchase at the same time another set of 3 blades (6 in total) - I had this "feeling" I would need them.
The Turbine also came with a 3-Phase AC to DC Voltage Rectifier which was neat (and in case I had chosen a DC Input Inverter).
The Turbine (like most) uses a 3-Phase (three-phase) Generator.
3-Phase is good for minimal voltage loss over long runs of cable.
This particular Turbine I chose has a 0-36 Volt AC / 750 Watt Generator.
Now, remember, this is a "Grid Tie" Story...
Next on the list was a Grid Tie Inverter.
Because I had opted for a 3-Phase 0-36 Volt Generator I decided to get a decent and compatible 3-phase 1000W Inverter without having to convert AC to DC before the Inverter input (there are various types/models to choose from including DC input from a DC generator).
I elected to add a WiFi Dongle and Dump Load Resistor (although I would not need the Dump Load Resistor in Grid Tie but thought it would come in handy if I wanted to experiment).
During testing (at ground level), I found that the Turbine would never reach a speed high enough to generate sufficient voltage to trigger the 3-Phase Inverter (even during a recent hurricane - at ground-level the wind was too buffered and erratic for a VAT).
The "start" voltage to the Inverter was too low and it only triggered when the Generator was turned with an electric drill before it started feeding back to the Grid (this is when I started to realized my worst fears).
I knew from this point on that I had become a victim of all those YouTube videos and Internet hype over how efficient VAT is on a domestic scale.
It's sort of like those BLEEP'ers on the Internet who still believe the World is "flat".
Flat Earthers = VAT Turbines
Normal Folk = HAT Turbines
Real Folk = Solar
I wasn't about to give up on my investment and continued to install this VAT Turbine on a decent mast - I already knew from my electric-drill tests that I had unwittingly become a "Flat Earther".
Knowing VERY well that this VAT Turbine would NEVER generate enough power (without the help of a powerful electric-drill running at full speed that would destroy the VAT's Blades).
So I had ordered and received a MUCH smaller 300W DC Input Inverter before the Turbine was finally installed on the mast - my heart was already torn to pieces by YouTube crap and I knew that this was bound to be an EPIC failure
With the Wind Turbine permanently mounted (as shown here), I had the 1000 Watt Inverter and smaller 300 Watt Inverter hooked up and ready to generate me some free power.
As you can see in the image above, I fed the 3-Phase AC from the VAT directly in to the 1000W Inverter then connected the AC/DC Rectifier in parallel.
YouTube told me to do this so I can benefit from lower start-voltages to the smaller 300W Inverter when the wind is not strong enough to trigger the 1000W Inverter
With a week of gale-force winds I predicted and confirmed the results:
ALERT: The 1000 Watt Inverter did not triggered once! - It was shortly disconnected because of it's standby power consumption.
ALERT: The 300 Watt Inverter kicks in for a few seconds every few minutes or more.
I must say that the 300 Watt Inverter kicks in VERY quickly (less than a second when its required 11.8 Volts is met - which was advertised as 10.8 Volts).
The problem is that the Turbine will NOT and NEVER reach an adequate rotational speed to either maintain a decent voltage for the 300 Watt Inverter and nowhere near enough to spark the interest of the 1000 Watt Inverter.
Yes, a sad BLEEPing story.
The average Voltage generated is around 6 Volts on a normal day and NOTHING above 12 Volts on a stormy day - very sad for a 36 Volt Wind Turbine rated at 750 Watts!
I spent the next few weeks staring at the Output of the VAT and hoping that something might magically happen - it never did
I hate to be beaten and wondered about trashing the VAT and erecting a small HAT (Horizontal Axis Turbine) and using only the 300W Inverter - maybe I could at least generate a "little" something rather than giving up...
Please learn from my experience and remember that a Wind Turbine is rated by the Generator that it uses. You will only achieve maximum-rated output if you spin the Generator with a powerful electric drill - too fast for wind to turn.
UPDATE:
Yesterday (2018-03-27) the Wind God was on my side and I noted that the small 300W Inverter was triggering quiet often (but getting only 1 bar output of 3 possible bars) but Voltage would not go above 12.5V. The Inverter needs 11.8 Volts to trigger.
I remembered reading about something that José said in his Post Reply about converting AC to DC before the Inverter.
So, while the VAT was generating 10 Volts, I quickly unplugged the AC/DC Rectifier (removing the 300 Watt Inverter) and the voltage suddenly spiked on the 1000 Watt Inverter to 19 Volts and the 1000 Watt Inverter suddenly triggered!
BLEEP I said to myself!
The 1000 Watt Inverter needs exactly 14.5 Volts to Trigger then turns off at 12.5 Volts.
I have not seen the VAT produce anything higher than 20.5 Volts but I am not always looking at it when wind-level is high.
So, at the moment, all is not lost - José has solved my problem and I will NEVER use a AC to DC Rectifier ever again!
Now I am about to buy a smaller 600 Watt direct 3-Phase Inverter from Aliexpress - only problem is that I cannot find a small Inverter that has WiFi like the 1000 Watt Inverter.
I will continue updating this blog... watch this space.
