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Forum Index : Windmills : Wind turbine in Town
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| olddog Newbie  Joined: 02/08/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3 |
Hello to all, First post but have been looking for a while, so I would like to ask some silly questions that have probably been answered before, I have just had solar panels fitted(1.8 Kw Suntech and sunnyboy 1700) all I could afford but I would like to setup a wind turbine on a second grid tie inverter, the state government (NSW)has relaxed the rules for wind turbines in town area's but after a conversation with the local council, they are saying that they still rule the roost and I can only fit a small turbine no bigger than a meter in diameter and it must be very quiet so as no neighbour disturbance is encountered, if they complain I must take it down. I had idea's of building a F&P but all the designs have much larger blades, so would I be better off buying a commercial turbine like they fit to yachts with multi blades or would I be able to fit multi blades to an F&P and get a reasonable output,if this will work I may be able to install two of them, one on the house and one on the shed which is not visible from the street. Thanking You..........Pete |
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AMACK Senior Member  Joined: 31/05/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 184 |
Hi Olddog, If you are looking for a turbine under 1 mt that will pay it's self back in your life time forget it. My advice is to get more solar panels and forget the wind. I do not mean to put you off wind but if you have council reg that you have to go by dont try and fight it as it will be your money they are fighting with. The turbine that I think you are talking about will be an AIR X don't waste your time, I have one and they will only keep a battery topped up but are no good for feeding back to grid tie applications. Dont give up on it keep at the council they may come round 
I think other members will tell you the same. Good thought, nice to see you have a solar system too. 
Amack *Note to self 1. Make it thick 2.Make it heavy. 3.Make it stronger than it should be. 4. Don't rush the first job as the second job will cost more and take mor |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Hi Pete Windmill power is all about diameter. It doesn't matter what design you use, there is only so much power you can extract from the wind, and a 1 meter turbine isn't going to make any worth while power, sorry to say. Its all in the maths. The power in the wind is worked out with Power in Watts = Air Density / 2 X Swept Area X Velocity^3 So at sea level, we can work out the power for a 1m turbine at 15kmh, which is about average wind speed in the suburbs. Answer is 34 watts. A turbine will turn about 40% of that into mechanical power, so we end up with about 14 watts shaft power. We then loose 30% in our alternator, so end up with about 10 watts of electrical power. 10 watts is enough to charge a couple of mobile phones. To get any sort of usable power we need to go bigger. Say we try a 3 meter turbine, we end up with 310 watts in wind power, down to 124 watts shaft power, about 90 watts electrical power. 90 watts is more like it, its enough power to power a small TV, a laptop, or a few CF lamps. A increase from 1 meter to 3 meters in diameter has given us 10 times the power. Sorry but a 1 meter diameter turbine isn't going to make any difference to you power bill. However, if you want to build a little turbine for the fun of it, as a hobby, an excuse to build something, then go for it, you'll enjoy it and learn a lot along the way. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| DTMC Newbie Joined: 12/02/2010 Location: Posts: 11 |
I agree with the above comments. On the subject of marine mills: Products like Air-X are barely okay in a marine environment, but are poor performers in an urban installation. They need a gale to produce any appreciable power and are anything but quiet. Breeze-X (~1.2m dia) is a better low wind performer, but power output really is very small - around 1kWhr/day in a good setup. For the similar money, a lot less hassle and without risking alienating your neighbours, you could get 2-3 solar panels and consistently achieve better than double the output of these small mills. The 5 & 6 blade designs are a waste of money and blades. They do not out perform the more common 3 blade designs. Don't misunderstand... I am all for wind power, just not in this size range. Also, I'd be asking the council for the reg's in print. |
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Perry Senior Member Joined: 19/11/2009 Location: Posts: 190 |
I hate to say it but there is no justifiable reason for small wind for the average guy in town. Wind is all about a big rotor placed as high as possible. Any attempt to use short tower/roof mounted/VAWT's or anything you see pedaled on ebay only serve to disappoint. Unfortunately for people living in town or in heavily populated areas you just don't get to have a serious turbine for generating power. Sorry, it's just not in the cards. People that live in very low sunlight areas don't get to have solar panels. For us unfortunate that live in congested areas or low wind areas (my situation) they are artifacts of something of a hobby that are really fun to drink beer and build. Thus concludes my philosophical post of the night. Perry |
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| darlak Newbie Joined: 13/08/2010 Location: United StatesPosts: 9 |
this thread should be manditory reading for all who venture here.... it's like a swift kick in the nuts, but it sets you straight! |
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JimBo911 Senior Member Joined: 26/03/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 262 |
I like the part about fun to drink beer and build. I use to fly an Air X at 57 feet up, when she kicked in (high winds)I had to feed beer to the neighbors cause it made so much fricken noise. When it hit over speed and put the brakes on it sounded like an F16 Falcon just did a fly by no bull.  Jim |
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Andy R. Newbie Joined: 07/05/2010 Location: United StatesPosts: 18 |
You may be right but I'm not giving up just yet.  |
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| darlak Newbie Joined: 13/08/2010 Location: United StatesPosts: 9 |
[Quote]You may be right but I'm not giving up just yet. same here! |
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MacGyver Guru  Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Crew Just in case anyone is wondering where I fit in to this puzzle, it's the hobby, learning, fun and occasionally the "beer" aspect that holds my attention. If that doesn't make any sense, I'm the one who builds nothing but toys -- small stuff. My axial flux swings mighty 4" (yes--inch!) dual magnet plates around about as much copper windings as you'd need to melt down and make a tooth filling -- small! Er - go my intentions: My stated intentions are to build, then perfect a small windmill alternator that will charge a 12-volt battery. Seemed simple enough at the outset! Without getting into much detail, let's just say it's been a bit more of a challenge than I'd ever have dreamed it would be! Hide and watch; it'll happen sooner or later. . . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| olddog Newbie Joined: 02/08/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3 |
Hi, Thanks to all who replied, I will give the wind turbine a miss at this stage and try another way to make home power, I will start another thread with Questions about batteries and steam power.................Peter |
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