Connect Solar and Wind Turbine in parallel ?
- Thread starter ElFred
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Solar Guppy
Red Cobra Guppy
No, they have different voltage ranges and the wind requires a special controller of its own to regulate for over speed conditions ( typically )
chrisski
Solar Boondocker
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You do something like this.
Solar Charge controller—> busbar—> battery
Wind Charge controller—> busbar —> battery.
Please note the wind charge controller is a bit more and includes things like a divert load.
Lots of people have used wind to augment solar. The solar always makes power; it’s hard to screw up. Wind augmentation to solar is rarely successful.
I stopped my wind augmentation in part because I could not get a cheap, off the shelf wind controller to match the voltage of a lithium battery.
Solar Charge controller—> busbar—> battery
Wind Charge controller—> busbar —> battery.
Please note the wind charge controller is a bit more and includes things like a divert load.
Lots of people have used wind to augment solar. The solar always makes power; it’s hard to screw up. Wind augmentation to solar is rarely successful.
I stopped my wind augmentation in part because I could not get a cheap, off the shelf wind controller to match the voltage of a lithium battery.
New person here, and I clicked this thread because this is what I planned to do. Where I live we are on our 6th day of no sun, but I do generally have a steady wind 5-8mph on average if the weather station on the house is accurate.
If I rely on solar only on a week like this, and they happen fairly often in the late fall and spring, I would be at nothing.
Looking to learn more.
If I rely on solar only on a week like this, and they happen fairly often in the late fall and spring, I would be at nothing.
Looking to learn more.
You will need more sustained wind than 5-8 mph (minimum double or 12-15 mph for a few watts) and a wind turbine with large blades and clear foreground of 100+ yards and a minimum tower height of 50+ feet, otherwise, the physics of wind won't have enough power to turn your blades to turn your alternator to produce current to travel to your charge controller and into your battery. Lots of variables that you have not considered. Generally, unless conditions and the site of the wind turbine are perfect and you have lots of money, wind is not viable or reliable. Gusts are too short, one needs CONSTANT wind energy, hour after hour after hour after hour. Kind of like solar production with lots of clouds but some sun actually doesn't produce much power unlike CONSTANT sun hour after hour after hour after hour.
I have a solar system and a wind turbine, but it's been calm for a week and the skies have been dark overcast and snowing. Therefore, I've had to supplement the low solar production with my gasoline generator. Some days / weeks are like that. Micro hydro would be the only constant power source IF all conditions for it were optimal.
For wind info search these forums and read Hugh Piggott's Wind Blog
I have a solar system and a wind turbine, but it's been calm for a week and the skies have been dark overcast and snowing. Therefore, I've had to supplement the low solar production with my gasoline generator. Some days / weeks are like that. Micro hydro would be the only constant power source IF all conditions for it were optimal.
For wind info search these forums and read Hugh Piggott's Wind Blog
Years ago when I was racing I had a wind turbine that was strapped to the inside of my trailer for the race car, it was under 24' tall. I had welded a "flag pole" on the back bumper of the motor home and when I got to the track for the weekend I would put up the wind turbine. Nothing solar. It was easy to find me in the paddock all you needed to do is look for the wind mill. Typically road racing tracks have lots of nothing around them, so there was ALWAYS a good wind. We could lay in the back at night and hear the windmill start to flutter as it spun too fast, we are sleeping right under it. I had two lead acid batteries strapped to the back of the motorhome for power. (Long before lithium batteries of any kind). We ran everything in the motorhome but the AC off those two batteries and never had power issues. TV Microwave, switched the fridge over. The rates the track charges for electricity are just insane....so the less you could use the better, and some places had rules against running a generator....they say for noise but I think it was to force you to use their power.
In all those years, some "weekends" going for four days we never ran out of power, I never used "shore power" to charge the batteries while there and IIRC it did not take long to charge them when we got home. I know I forgot one weekend and the microwave would not work, so expensive track food, but the fridge and TV worked just fine.....I refused to flip the breaker and use their power for anything but AC....I will eat a crummy $5 burger.
Currently I live basically in the middle of a field, I have played with that old turbine from time to time in the years I had given up racing (health reasons), and wanting to power some of my shop I think it would work.
What is the diameter of that turbin blade set?
I am going to shoot from the hip here, guessing 36"-42", fairly big, and it took 3 of us straining to get it mounted.
About 6 years ago my health went south and it has not seen the light of day. Now getting back on my feet and feeling like doing, and this is something that always interested me. I plan on getting it out this weekend and seeing if it will still work. I have no idea on the brand.
Ok, that sounds like a decent turbine!
Mine are 400W nokacheepies. Useless unless hurricane is here...
It is big, I remember having to take off two blades to make it fit in the trailer.....a normal 24' enclosed car hauler. When ever we put it up I took so much flack for having bought "the big one". It was a heavy beast.
chrisski
Solar Boondocker
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I would like to see a write up and pictures if this!!
Hogheavenfarm
Regulation Stifles Innovation
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Blade size and diameter is important to calculate this - my best guess is below, others may have better data -
Thats about 38 sq ft of swept area, using a 42" blade as a radius. available wind energy at 12 mph is about 0.3kw, derated for efficiency would be about 0.1kw. at 27 mph you would see about 1kw at 650 rpm ( big-scary).
play with this - https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/wind-turbine
set your losses at the lowest setting, since this applies to bigger turbines with mechanical features.
Thats about 38 sq ft of swept area, using a 42" blade as a radius. available wind energy at 12 mph is about 0.3kw, derated for efficiency would be about 0.1kw. at 27 mph you would see about 1kw at 650 rpm ( big-scary).
play with this - https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/wind-turbine
set your losses at the lowest setting, since this applies to bigger turbines with mechanical features.
It is all on regular film, the turbine on the back of the motor home, but I would bet the wife took some.
I raced SCCA road racing back before 2000. Fproduction class. That is where the name comes from. FP for F production, GT, because I ran an Opel GT (one of about 3 idiots in the US that hate money that ran the car) and my number was 72, so FPGT72.
It was a good looking car, painted up in the old Gulf colors, with about 11 coats of clear over pearl paint....really pretty. I actually won second at a world of wheels for stock race car. You just are not ever going to win against a real comp cobra.
Had to stop when my back went out. Last time I got in the car it took two people to pull me out, so sadly my racing days are done, but I still have the car. I was tossing around the idea of doing some open road racing, as it has all the "safety stuff" and I have a lic from a body I can easy run in the "fast class". I have a rear end ratio that would be very good for it, so the dream of sand hills or big bend are still speaking to me.
I will see if I can find some photos.
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