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Forum Index : Windmills : Caveat Emptor
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MacGyver Guru  Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Caveat Emptor In English, this means "Buyer Beware". I was fooling around on the Internet looking for solar panels and was directed to here by Siemens, Inc. These folks offer a 100-watt solar panel for $225, which is a great price. They also have a charge controller for $26. Well, that's all fine and good, but down the page there's this other "Special": Also on Sale: API-750W FREE Mini Wind Turbines: $700.00 each (I'm not too sure what the "FREE" is all about) 3 Reinforced Fiberglass Blades 1.8 meter Rotar Diameter Permanent Magnet Generator Controller with LCD Display included Rated Power 750 Watts at 12m/s wind speed Max Power 900 Watts at 14 m/s Cut in wind speed 3 m/s Rated Voltage 24/48 Volts I was tempted to jump at this, but I thought I'd plug their numbers into Alton's Calculator just to see if their advertised unit really would go the distance. Turns out their information is accurate, but 12 m/s wind is what it takes to run it at its normal-use power rating and that equates to a wind speed of nearly 28 miles per hour. I don't know of many places where that's the case and it certainly isn't that way at my house and I live two and a half blocks from the beach on the western shore of the United States where there is a constant wind from the pond. This still may be a good unit, but I thought I'd point out that before one buys an 'off-the-shelf' turbine system, it's good to run the numbers to see if it's as good a deal as it appears at the outset of things. This one appears to be good to go as advertised, keeping in mind a small unit like this only works as rated in wind just short of a nasty blow! Edit: Added link . . . . . 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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| VK4AYQ Guru Joined: 02/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
Hi Mack The first thing is to buy a little weather station and actually check the available wind at your site to avoid disappointing, for $100 you can shoot your wind turbine plans down in flames and that's better than $700 to shoot them down in flames. Solar is the most reliable and as things are getting more cost effective it comes out cheaper per watt year, and it doesn't upset the natives as much in a close environment. Wind is far more interesting from a DIY point but needs a proper position, otherwise it is a bird perch for most of the year. All the best Bob Foolin Around |
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