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Forum Index : Windmills : How many KWH per year?
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| Wes Lemarr Newbie  Joined: 07/09/2008 Location: United StatesPosts: 35 |
If I have a wind generator that’s rated to produce 5KW at 20 MPH & I live in an area with an average wind speed of 11 MPH. How many kilowatts per year do you think I can produce per year? Thanks for your input |
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MacGyver Guru  Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Wes Lemarr First off, tell us the diameter of your blade and the average daily wind speed in your area. This will allow us to plug the numbers into Alton's Calculator to see if a 5KW unit will even work where you are. Just estimating by plugging numbers into the calculator, I'd say if your blade's diameter is anything short of about 6 meters, at 11 mph, it's a no-go for 5KW! Once we know your actual information, it's just a simple math to calculate production. . . . . . 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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| Wes Lemarr Newbie Joined: 07/09/2008 Location: United StatesPosts: 35 |
MacGyver Thanks for your reply, the sweep area is 3.5 meters & the average wind speed is 11 Mph. |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Wes Lemarr I used your information in the calculator and came up with the following numbers: 5 11.2 128.6 13.1 191 221 0.28 "11.2" is the wind speed in mph and 221 is the maximum watts with a blade having optimum TSR! So, depending on the consistency of your wind, you can just do the multiplication and see where it goes. A 5KW output looks from here like it has to fly in a gale! Of course, there's nothing like first-hand data, so maybe just let it fly and monitor the output to see if you want to leave it up or modify it, I guess. . . . . . 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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| Wes Lemarr Newbie Joined: 07/09/2008 Location: United StatesPosts: 35 |
Mac Thanks. |
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Perry Senior Member  Joined: 19/11/2009 Location: Posts: 190 |
Hey Mac, Wes, Remember if you use Altons calc that you are getting rotor power. It's basically a rotor calculator. You will still have to account for alternator, rectifier, and electronics losses. Your actual electrical output will be anywhere between 40-75% of what the calculator shows you. You get your shop up and running yet Mac? Perry P.S. Sitting up top eating my stale sandwhich with a view tonight! 
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
[Quote=Perry]You get your shop up and running yet Mac? Yup; more or less. I've been working on a lot of "around the house" projets of late like building a fence and so on. I did take some time to whack out a solar box oven. That's posted over in "Solar" under the same title. I bought an oven thermometer today at the Stuff Mart, so I'll post some pictures in the next two or three days to show how hot the little sucker gets. I also picked up a cheap-o door mirror, which I will hack up and use as reflectors, since the ones I manufactured originally look like they were built by a 5-year-old kid instead of a 63-year-old retired professional plumber! 
Even though Alton's does not account for mechanical and electrical losses, it's still a very good indicator of what can be expected from a blade set. This fellow had stated he had a 5KW mill and while that may be true, with the 3.5m blade set, it would have to be running in something like a 35mph breeze to get close to that. At his stated wind of 11 mph, he'd have to have a blade set of a dimension somewhere near 12m (from memory). I was just trying to bring a little clarity to the playing field is all. Thanks for the post. . . . . . 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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| RossW Guru Joined: 25/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 495 |
For a wind turbine, thats quite meaningless, unfortunately. Power from wind is a non-linear function. Let me demonstrate really briefly. 12 hours of dead calm + 12 hours of wind at 22 mph, 10' diameter machine. 22 mph could produce 680W (* 12h = 8.16kWh in 24hrs), with an *AVERAGE* speed of 11mph. 24 hours of 11mph wind, same 10' machine: 2.04kWh in 24hrs 16 hours of dead calm + 4 hrs of 44mph wind, same 10' machine: 21.76kWh in 24 hrs, still "average" speed of 11mph. |
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