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Wind Turbine Heating w/ Dump Load

SSJ_7YL3R

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Dec 6, 2019
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Hey everyone,

I am relatively new to working with renewable resources, but I've done quite a bit of research in order to better understand the ins and outs of some of these things.

I had a quick question about the efficacy of a project idea of mine. This is my idea/goal in mind:

I have a shed that I want to heat during the winter, and I'd like to give an attempt at a renewable way of obtaining this heat. I don't need to power anything, just heat it. I know that when it comes to wind turbines, it is common to use a dump load in order to keep resistance on the turbine when there is excess power being generated. I also know that dump loads get warm when you run this excess heat to them. I am wondering if it is possible to run something like a 600W wind turbine directly into 2 300W dump loads, or something similar, in order to try and generate heat for this shed. I figure the more watts, the more heat most likely, so if I had 1200W in wind, and 4 300W dump loads, I'd theoretically generate double the heat. Anyway, is this possible? Do I need other equipment like a charge controller in order to run the power to these dump loads (ie from the turbines, to the controller, to the dump load), or can I run this all in parallel directly from the turbine to the dump loads?

I appreciate any advice someone can give on this topic. I'd like this system to be simple, and cost effective.

One other question, will I be likely to generate more heat with multiple, small dump loads, or fewer, bigger ones? Or would it even make a difference if they were running in parallel anyway?

Thanks again!
 
Do I need other equipment like a charge controller in order to run the power to these dump loads (ie from the turbines, to the controller, to the dump load), or can I run this all in parallel directly from the turbine to the dump loads?
You would only need a charge controller if you were using your dump load to charge batteries.

And yes, your use of the dump load watts works as one 600w or two 300w loads.
The main idea is to "use up" whatever energy you are dumping.
Water heater elements are most often used because they are cheap, reliable and use up a lot of energy. Harnessing this energy to heat a shed is a good use of it.

Before investing in an electric heater solution, you could run your dump load to a water heating element to get an idea how much energy you need to dump (heat water with it if it that gets too hot in open air).

For using the dump load to run a heater...
An electric heater probably requires a "more particular power source" than a water heating element. Just be sure to keep the energy within the constraints of the heater (voltage range, enough watts...). Maybe not possible or feasible.
Do you know the voltage range of your dump?

For protecting the turbine (which is primarily what dump loads are for), you just need to make sure you use the entire dump load to keep the turbine from spinning to freely.

All this from someone with a failed wind turbine project! I've learned from my mistakes...
 
Thank you for the reply. I would just use a 12v dump load, maybe 2 of them at 300W each, and then a single 600W wind turbine.

The shed doesn't seal extremely well, and I am heating temperatures well below freezing, sometime sub 0F, so I would think they shouldn't get too hot in air. If they did get too hot in air, would it be recommended to add a 3rd dump load, or maybe have 2 higher wattage dump loads (something like 400W per)?

I won't be powering anything with the wind power, the dump load will be the heater essentially, but I may repurpose the windmill with a grid tie inverter in the summer months when I no longer need the heat.
 
If they did get too hot in air, would it be recommended to add a 3rd dump load, or maybe have 2 higher wattage dump loads (something like 400W per)?
Thats a little farther than i got.
Try one and see how it goes. If it gets really hot, use 2. ALL of this energy is dissipated as heat so just make sure you do not exceed the capacity of your "heat dissipators". Water makes it fairly easy because its a tremendous buffer. And having a big barrel of warm/hot water will spread out the heat over a longer period too.
I am struggling with how you could harness the primary energy from the turbine.
I suspect you will be disappointed with the heating from your dump and start looking to heat with that too.

Its a big experiment. Keep an eye on it and adapt. We're here to help as you get data.
 
Google this: "heating element for a dump load". LOTS of good info.

I skimmed a few, read a few, and thought this was extremely informative and readable:

I found this snippet interesting and relevant:
>
Water heating elements are made to be immersed in water. If you use one in the open air it will almost always burn out and be ruined. However, if you are using a 240 volt element on a 12 volt battery system it will only consume 1/256th of its rated wattage. That tiny amount of heat is not likely to damage the element even if in the open air.
>
 
I just junked a dishwasher and kept the heating element, 28 ohms. These are an oddball shape and for grins I tried re bending it into a spiral. Amazed how easy it was to bend. A standard 2,000W 120V heater element is 7.5 ohms and that is as low as you will find in a standard AC heating element, so just under 2A @ 12V depending on dump voltage. That would be a lot of heaters.
 
I just saw this on another thread (i'm still reading everything and learning as much as i can). Looks like its a "dump load heater" that you can hook directly to a turbine that is, coincidentally 600w capable.

 
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