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Forum Index : Windmills : Connecting wind turbine to solar system
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| SirEcho Newbie  Joined: 08/03/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2 |
Greetings! Recently I was given a wind turbine by an old fella who no longer needed it. I am wanting to add the wind turbine into my existing off-grid solar system and I am unsure on how to do so. My solar system is home made and runs at 24 volts and the turbine is 12 volts (I would have preferred it to be 24 volts, but hey, I got it for free) At the moment I have two plans in mind but I don't want to waste money buying the wrong things or cause to damage my system. Plan 1: Wind turbine(12v) to charge controller(12v) to transformer(12v to 24v) to fuses to batteries Plan 2: Wind turbine(12v) to charge controller*(12v to 24v) to fuses to batteries *note: not sure if charge controllers are able to transform the 12v to 24v by themselves. Feedback will be greatly appreciated! Solar system specs: - 14 panels @ 180 watts connected in 3 series (4, 4, 6) - 3 MPPT Solar charge controllers - Fuses rated at 690 Volt and 160 Amps - 12 2 volt 400 Amphour batteries connected in series to produce a 24 volt bank - 2000 watt pure sinewave inverter Wind Turbine specs: - 160 watt - 25 Amps - 12 Volt |
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Clockmanfr Guru  Joined: 23/10/2015 Location: FrancePosts: 429 |
Hi, Firstly does the turbine it self put out DC, as normally its AC, but at 160w it may have a Rectifier built in. Normally The Turbine needs clamping to a 12v battery, without a load the turbine is likely to go supersonic and your picking up the bits, yea some have electronic brakes etc. Get a diversion load controller like the Morningstr Tristar and set the voltage level as per the charging rates in the Tristar for a 12 volt battery. If and when your turbine produces power above the set charging rate, then the controller will activate and dump excess power to a heater, you will need a heater that is matched to the 160w turbine. Personally, for a 160w, try just clamping it to an old big 12v battery with a meter and carefully & attentively monitor what happens first. Before spending loads of money on stuff. Everything is possible, just give me time. 3 HughP's 3.7m Wind T's (14 years). 5kW PV on 3 Trackers, (10 yrs). 21kW PV AC coupled SH GTI's. OzInverter created Grid. 1300ah 48v. |
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rustyrod Senior Member  Joined: 08/11/2014 Location: AustraliaPosts: 121 |
Hi Kieran, Welcome, Great to see you have scored a wind turbine. A turbine will scare you in a storm. I am perplexed at your specs, 12 volts at 25 amps is 300 watts or 12 volts at 160 watts is 13 amps. Be that as it may, If your turbine is single phase and AC output you maybe able to get or make a step-up transformer. Possibly extremely rare. If you have a three phase AC output. Have have a look HERE at Gordon's voltage doublers. At DC there may be a buck converter, But I don't have any experience with them. Suggest ask Mr Google and EBay about buck converters. The high amperage ratings may be difficult to obtain. Then, Wind turbine(12v) to buck converter (12v to 24v) to charge CONTROLLER (24v) to fuses to batteries. Possibly fraught with problems. Another simple way is to put all your lights onto 12 volts (especially Leds) and a single battery and let the turbine look after this as a separate system. This is what I have done with my internet/phone on 12 volts and one of those little gennys you see hanging on the back of yachts. My lights are 24 volt 21 watt bulbs and some leds. My GENNY has been keeping up with lights and pressure pump. In-fact I added a deep well pump in the creek to the garden on Monday. I ran it for 10 hours and finally the (Gigu) kicked back onto charge. Perhaps more info on the turbine, eg make/model rustyrod Always Thinking |
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| SirEcho Newbie Joined: 08/03/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2 |
Thanks for the replies! Having a look through the manual it doesn't specify anywhere whether it is DC or AC. However, the turbine itself has positive, negative, and earth cables, so I am guessing from that it is outputing an AC current. I have included a photo of the sticker which has some information on it. 
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| rustyrod Senior Member Joined: 08/11/2014 Location: AustraliaPosts: 121 |
Yes DC only and won't work without a battery DIRECTLY connected to it. Did I say "directly" connected 12 volt battery. It will not operate if there is no battery. If it is exactly the same as mine, It "should" be set to stop charging at 14.2 volts. If there is a little adjust screw on the side I suggest you do not fiddle with it. It is a nightmare to reset. The led underneath will flash codes and indicate when it is charging. Quite easy to see on a "pitch black" night when it is 40 feet up a pole. Any external battery over charge controller must short the turbine out to stop it charging. It is 12 volt and only 12 volt same as mine. Has lots of "happy" complicated, reliable electronics inside, if it is used as it was made to. There is some information on the web. By the way my unit's output is pulsed so amp-meters don't really tell me anything. A volt meter will indicate the battery voltage. It is working if the battery is not flat. I could write a book about mine. (But I won't) I believe they are no longer manufactured. If you require more info PM me. rustyrod Always Thinking |
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yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
an air breeze is DC, it has a charge controller, rectifier pack and electronic braking built in. My advice would be put it on a short pole and hook it to a 12 volt battery and play with it. They are fun they look cool but as a wind turbine that generates usable power they are a lesson in the power of marketing. Don't waste any time or money trying to integrate it into your existing system. there is a lot of potential in that little turbine but it is just impossible to extract. I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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