Micro wind turbines

[JonM]

Saw this on TV and went looking for it.
http://www.motorwavegroup.com/new/motorwind/indexproducts.html

[KBCraig]

Interesting. Placement along a roof ridge or other concentrated area could give a big boost to something like that.

I wonder if anyone has experimented with wind generation in a solar-heated chimney.

Edit: Silly me. Of course they have.
http://www.google.com/search?q=wind+generation+in+a+solar+heated+chimney

[David]

I had wondered about that too KBCraig.  If they put the relatively inneficiant solar cells under the clear cover, the black or grey cells would radiate the heat to the chimney for more power.  Something like that may actually make solar power efficiant, but, I figure some smart engineer has alread thought of it, and I may/am wrong.   

[KBCraig]

http://www.mountwashington.org/weather/comments/

09:33 Sun Dec 14th
photo - see caption below
GUS Helical Wind Turbine

If the summit of Mount Washington is so windy, why doesn't the Observatory use wind turbines to generate power?

I will attempt to briefly answer this question. The general public is mostly familiar with the three blade wind turbine. The summit cannot use this in the winter because so much centrifugal force is exerted by the spinning motion of the blades that if any rime ice were to form on the blades (which it inevitably would, since rime ice covers anything that the wind hits during freezing fogging conditions), this force could cause dangerous ice throws. Also the aerodynamics of the blades would be altered by the extra weight and different surface, which could cause structural failure of the system at high speeds.

A quick Google search of different wind turbines shows that most shut down at speeds around 60 MPH, and survivability wind speeds range from 50 MPH to 134 MPH. With the winds forecasted to be sustained at over 100 MPH tomorrow with higher gusts, the traditional three blade wind turbine would shut down and possibly be destroyed in a "not-so-uncommon" wind event.

However, wind turbine manufacturer Tangarie Alternative Power, represented in NH by Green Power Management has begun an experiment with the Mount Washington State Park testing their GUS vertical axis wind turbine. Yesterday a representative from Green Power Management along with the Mount Washington State Park installed the 4 foot tall helical shaped wind turbine. This is specifically designed for gustier conditions as well as higher speeds, as the smaller radius reduces the speed at the end of the airfoils and therefore the centrifugal force. Check out the MWSP website for webcams and updates.

10:02 Wed Dec 17th
photo - see caption below

Jordan wrote recently about the new wind turbine that the state park installed on Saturday. It is an experiment for both the state park and the turbine manufacturer: if it works well the state park might be able to use wind to power the summit in the future, and the turbine manufacturer will be able to say that its turbine held up in the world's worst weather. Even as the turbine was being installed, the temperature was well below zero and the wind was averaging around 50 mph. Those who have seen this week's ObsCast will know that the turbine spins quite fast in that kind of breeze. On Sunday, the hourly wind averages were in the 40-70 mph range, with gusts well into the 80s. In addition, we had periods of rime and glaze ice over night, which certainly put the turbine to the test. As far as we could tell, it held up fine under the icing conditions, and was still spinning happily away Sunday afternoon.

Monday, as I discussed in my previous comment, we had winds sustained around 80mph with regular gusts above 100. The temperature was above freezing, however, so ice was not a concern. The fog was so dense that we couldn't even see the turbine from the end of the deck, a mere 50 feet away. However, Steve tells me that Monday night he peered through the fog with a flashlight and could still make out the spinning turbine, so apparently the peak gust of 107.5 didn't bother it too much.

Tuesday morning when I went out for my first observation, I walked down to the end of the deck and peered through the fog once again. It was still pretty dense so I wasn't sure, but I couldn't see any upright objects where the turbine should have been. So I walked around the building to get a closer look, and still couldn't see it. I found Jim from state park as he was on his way out to check on it, and he said that the turbine wasn't producing voltage like it should have been.

When the fog finally cleared a few hours later, my suspicions were confirmed. Luckily the turbine did not blow off the roof and hurt anybody - it is just lying flat on the roof. Jim tells me that the generator housing, which is at the bottom of the turbine, broke in half. The turbine will be taken down so that the manufacturer can investigate the cause and send up a stronger replacement. Despite this setback, the experiment is already a success: the turbine survived decent icing conditions and sustained winds around 100 mph over its 3-day trial. Only time will tell whether technology has improved enough to make wind power permanently viable on Mount Washington.

http://nhparks.state.nh.us/state-parks/alphabetical-order/mt-washington-state-park/wind-turbine.aspx

Tangarie Alternative Power, makers of the helical, vertical axis turbines in use here.

[David]

There was a windfarm somewhere, that made so much power due to unusually high winds, that they overheated the lines from the farm to the grid and caused an overload.  It made the news when it caused some damage, but I don't recall the details of what was damaged. 
Kind of a uniqe problem to have, too much of a good thing, but it highlights some of the problems of even the mature alternatives. 

[Russell Kanning]

cool
I like the one hooked up to the water pump.

[jaqeboy]

If you are interested in wind turbines, the Alt Expo this year will feature Mark Weissflog, president of Clean Energy Technologies in Nashua at 11AM on Friday. He has installed more wind turbines than anyone else in New-Hampshire. He can answer all your questions and give advice on siting, etc.

[doobie]

If you are interested in wind turbines, the Alt Expo this year will feature Mark Weissflog, president of Clean Energy Technologies in Nashua at 11AM on Friday. He has installed more wind turbines than anyone else in New-Hampshire. He can answer all your questions and give advice on siting, etc.

Awesome!

I want a cheap wind turbine setup, but the ones I really like (the helical ones) are expensive as can be... I'm pondering a DIY version, but I need a bit more wood/metal working skills before I can do that

Probably with the above setup is that it doesn't appear to be able to turn/adjust for changes in wind direction.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Saw this on TV and went looking for it.
http://www.motorwavegroup.com/new/motorwind/indexproducts.html

as an example in Hong Kong it cost more than 15 000 US$ to connect to the grid between the insurance,power provider consultancy and approved Tie Grid Inverter.

If you use 100 turbines it will take 66 666 days (182 years) just to pay back the connection cost.

Unless I am missing something, their own math means that 100 of these things produce $1.00 in electricity in 1.4 days.

[jaqeboy]

There was a windfarm somewhere, that made so much power due to unusually high winds, that they overheated the lines from the farm to the grid and caused an overload.  It made the news when it caused some damage, but I don't recall the details of what was damaged. 
Kind of a uniqe problem to have, too much of a good thing, but it highlights some of the problems of even the mature alternatives. 

Mark Weissflog will be able to answer this at AltExpo. He's an electrician and there is equipment that'll protect the wiring - but Mark's the guy to talk to about that. He does installations that work!