ReGenTech - Technologies

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Wind

Office view October 2008

Micro Wind Power

Turbine capacities

Domestic suburban turbines are typically less than 1.5kW
Rural setting with enough land begins at 2.5kW limited by the customers budget/funding capacity.

Grid connection

Off grid systems are not connected to the mains, usually with a battery supported inverter
Grid connected systems have an inverter that connects the turbine to the national grid

Turbine effectiveness

This issue remains contentious . There is much debate and discussion but little structured genuinely objective evidence. Variables affecting installation effectiveness includes:

Setting, The suburban setting suffers a great deal more wind flow turbulence from ther structures. The rural setting there is less turbulence if kept a good distance from structures and trees.
Height, The higher the better, but this comes at mast and foundation costs
How you use the electricity, Sounds silly but the more extravagant or wasteful in your energy use you are, the less effective your turbine investment.

Turbine mountings

Turbines greater than 2kW are generally installed on free standing masts.
Building mounted turbines are generally for the very small turbines less then 2kW. (main concerns being performance due to turbulence, structural integrity and vibration noise into the building)

Turbine economics

As a rule the larger the turbine, the better the returns. For the domestic consumer be absolutely clear why why you want one. All reasons are valid, lets not judge others on their choices:

Reduce my electricity costs but it must pay back in a sensible time
Reduce my carbon contribution, money may or may not be a factor
I want to be seen to be doing something
I want the toys. I am rich so drive a Porsche instead of a Skoda, I love my gadgets and I can afford and buy the best
Fundamental life style choice

Note on economics: Utility prices have risen between 10-30% per year for the past 5 years. Where will they end up. Your call but we think we will pay more and use a lot less.

Power, Energy, Yield, Efficiency

These get misunderstood and misinterpreted:

Power is like the pressure in the water hose.
A 1kW turbine will not power you kettle at 2kW (on for 3-5 minutes)
Energy is like the volume of water flowing, The further you open the tap the greater the flow
At 15% duty factor 1kW turbine produces enough energy for your 250W computer for 219
Yield is the amount of energy annual kWh your turbine will produce during the year (Typically UK households consume 3,300 kWh electrical energy every year, lights cookers, computers, TV’s etc.)
Efficiency here can mean two things.
At a design level, it means “how much wind ends up being electricity”. Commercial units are generally comparable.
What is mainly meant is the duty factor. The media don't like such a technical term so use “efficiency”,
Duty Factor: Your turbine is rated at 1kW at a speed of 12m/s. If the wind blew at 12/ms 24 hours per day for 365 days you would have 100% duty factor. It does not. Sometime faster most much slower. Duty factor then is typically 20-30%. Sometime higher or lower.
1kW at 12m/s
Yield is 1kW x 24h x 365 days = 8,760 kWh
Actually yield at 15% duty factor will be 8760 x 15% = 1,314kWh

Much is said and written about wind power. The large turbines are not relevant for the average energy consumer trying to contain their energy costs. Micro wind is defined as turbines that are less than 50kW. Sometime your property can accommodate micro wind turbines very effectively.

What we can do for you

ReGenTech can offer wind turbine project design and installation services. We offer:

Wind turbines from 300W to 50kW.
Grid or off grid systems
Building mounted or mast mounted installation
Planning support
Grant support
Metering, data logging and performance logging