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Advice for home wind turbine set up

Russs34

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Apr 6, 2022
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Hi , I’m new to all this I’m afraid ! I’m a qualified electrician looking to create a wind turbine set up , I live at the top of a very exposed hill in Teignmouth Devon , we seem to constantly have some kind of wind ! I’m trying to find some information about setting something up please , I’d like to store the power created, i’ve read forklift batteries are the best for this ! Many thanks Russ
 
Hello Russ and welcome.

If you want to make energy then solar is a much better place to start.

Those of us with actual experience in small wind will tell you that pretty much everyone ends up giving up on their wind turbine after a lot of aggravation and expense.

Or if you want to build your own turbine then check out Hugh Piggott's blog. It's proven to work but again you'll likely still be far better off with solar.

Good Luck!
 
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Hello Russ and welcome.

If you want to make energy then solar is a much better place to start.

Those of us with actual experience in small wind will tell you that that pretty much everyone ends up giving up on their wind turbine after a lot of aggravation and expense.

Or if you want to build your own turbine then check out Hugh Piggott's blog. It's proven to work but again you'll likely still be far better off with solar.

Good Luck!
That’s really interesting thanks , I’ve looked into solar but I was thinking it was going to be quite costly?
 
That’s really interesting thanks , I’ve looked into solar but I was thinking it was going to be quite costly?
That's a common misconception but 99.99% of people will get far more energy out of solar than wind for the same money.

The other common misconception is thinking you're that .01%.

What turbines are you looking at? Do they have a power curve? Do they publish an AEO (annual energy output)?
 
That's a common misconception but 99.99% of people will get far more energy out of solar than wind for the same money.

The other common misconception is thinking you're that .01%.

What turbines are you looking at? Do they have a power curve? Do they publish an AEO (annual energy output)?
It was just a diy kit I found on eBay , no technical info , I contacted the guy a couple of days ago but he’s never got back to me , is there any chance you could point me in the right direction for a some simple info and cost of a solar system please ? I would like to store the energy and mount the panels on a flat garage roof ! Many thanks
 
There is a detailed and long thread somewhere in here about a guy who went down this road. Turned out badly. As I recall, it was simply the physics involved and the size of the turbine. Need big (really big) blades to make the math work.
 
It was just a diy kit I found on eBay , no technical info , I contacted the guy a couple of days ago but he’s never got back to me , is there any chance you could point me in the right direction for a some simple info and cost of a solar system please ? I would like to store the energy and mount the panels on a flat garage roof ! Many thanks
You'll be far better off spending the time detailing exactly what is it you want to run then sizing the system.

This is probably the most logical place for you to start. https://diysolarforum.com/resources/system-energy-audit-and-sizing-spread-sheet.12/
 
if you have good wind I really hope you'd give it a go. For urban settings wind is pretty much without hope as one will need quite the swept area the calmer or even turbulent wind becomes.

I am plowing through anyway as I can't really expand anymore on my solar setup and I have favorable wind conditions.

I learned to first check out the local code and see what legally can be put in terms of swept area.
Then see here
if one can expect anything worthwhile given the constraints due to local code.

For the wind speed average I bought a cheap weather station and placed it where the turbine will be operating.

The project is back on track again but trying to figure everything out is time consuming. Luckily there are people pitching in with ideas and suggestions.

If you have high turbulent wind then that rules out a HAWT if one would ask me. a VAWT, even though less efficient, is what I am betting on at the moment.
 
IIRC average household daily electricity consumption is about 15kWh in England, so it is possible that you can make it work with something rated about 7kW or better (Check the wind turbine calculator!)

Reality for small turbines seems to generally be pessimistic. With 10mph winds, a 7m diameter turbine mounted about 20m up is only going to produce 1-2kW. They are also louder than you might think. (Checking your weather right now shows a 6mph wind speed expected for the whole day. That would just barely make 15kWh.)
 
micro wind turbines are dead on arrival I am afraid. At least that is what the physics suggest

I do respect that this site is hosted and funded on the correct side of the pond but please let's not involve arms, elbows, thumbs and what have we to already further confuse a topic that is highly confusing in nature.

One thing most can settle on is metric. Yeah I know the frensh again. But I'll tell you this. I love them.
 
One thing most can settle on is metric. Yeah I know the frensh again. But I'll tell you this. I love them.
I thought I was using local units... doesn't UK use mph for roads and wind speeds? I prefer metric for almost everything, although I will admit I have to mentally convert m/s to kph or mph for it to be useful to me.
 
If you have high turbulent wind then that rules out a HAWT if one would ask me. a VAWT, even though less efficient, is what I am betting on at the moment.
Can you share a VAWT model that you have personal experience that works? I've been hard pressed to find a single VAWT that can document that it produces any energy and I've been looking for over 20 years. Every single one I've seen has come and gone leaving a mess behind it.
 
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Can you share a VAWT model that you have personal experience that works? I've been hard pressed to find a single VAWT that can document that it produces any energy and I've been looking for over 20 years. Every single one I've seen has come and gone leaving a mess behind it.
of course I can not!!!!
I am building one as we speak!!!!

It's up to me and / or the contributions on that threat to see how far I get.
 
tht is what I am hoping to make and end to, unlesss they have rpm and open circuit output, and amp ratings attach to it. But then with warranties that extend to SYCO levels
 
of course I can not!!!!
I am building one as we speak!!!!

It's up to me and / or the contributions on that threat to see how far I get.
I've been catching parts of that thread and I'm certainly rooting for you.
 
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