3 ms·

to get to sustained ~1kwh with not optimal wind conditions you need 2kw or 4kw or maybe even 6kw models. those start to have 10ft rotors and 30ft towers. i live

by tguvot 3y ago

to get to sustained ~1kwh with not optimal wind conditions you need 2kw or 4kw or maybe even 6kw models. those start to have 10ft rotors and 30ft towers. i live literally on the edge of the city (my fence is city limit, after this nature preserve) and to put something like this in backyard... will be strange. additional problem is that that there is starting speed. the bigger the system, the higher starting speed . i have weather station at backyard, so i have wind speed data. so it just doesn't work out in different ways. i'll be glad if somebody will explain to me that i am wrong and i missed something

gardenfelder 3y ago
In my view, you are not wrong to be skeptical in terms of the simplicity behind generating 1kwh overnight in a small wind power installation. Where we disagree lies in the claim that is "essentially impossible". In my experience, that is not the case. It's been many moons since I published _The Wind Power Book_ in 1982, and a lot of improvements have come along since the wind turbines I built in those days. Indeed, it's non-trivial to harness wind energy in significant amounts with small home installations. A lot depends on where you live. For instance, a small wind machine out in the plains, say, Montana, has a much higher chance of performing that does one located elsewhere and especially in areas where buildings interfere with wind flows.
- tguvot 3y ago
  well... i should have added "not in great plains" or in "urban/suburban environment" to my statement. I live at outskirt of bay area. I have 5-15km/h wind through the night and 10-25km/h through the day. My base usage is 0.8kwh through the night and 1.4kwh through the day. There are no buildings that block wind. I have solar panels and were looking for wind turbine that I could erect at backyard to cover my night consumption and day, in case that it's cloudy and solar doesn't function. Within those parameters, something of reasonable size (i.e. doesn't require 30ft tower ) with appropriate generation -i failed to find.

by tguvot 3y ago

gardenfelder 3y ago

In my view, you are not wrong to be skeptical in terms of the simplicity behind generating 1kwh overnight in a small wind power installation. Where we disagree lies in the claim that is "essentially impossible". In my experience, that is not the case. It's been many moons since I published _The Wind Power Book_ in 1982, and a lot of improvements have come along since the wind turbines I built in those days. Indeed, it's non-trivial to harness wind energy in significant amounts with small home installations. A lot depends on where you live. For instance, a small wind machine out in the plains, say, Montana, has a much higher chance of performing that does one located elsewhere and especially in areas where buildings interfere with wind flows.

tguvot 3y ago
well... i should have added "not in great plains" or in "urban/suburban environment" to my statement. I live at outskirt of bay area. I have 5-15km/h wind through the night and 10-25km/h through the day. My base usage is 0.8kwh through the night and 1.4kwh through the day. There are no buildings that block wind. I have solar panels and were looking for wind turbine that I could erect at backyard to cover my night consumption and day, in case that it's cloudy and solar doesn't function. Within those parameters, something of reasonable size (i.e. doesn't require 30ft tower ) with appropriate generation -i failed to find.