Wind Power

[Carl2500]

Alright in addition to solar power, I'd like to have a small wind genererator I can mount to the roof, when the sun is behind the clouds and it's windy.

What kind of power could ya think I could get out of a unit that's small enough to be stored, with let's say a 10MPH constant wind?

 

[Martyn]

Alright in addition to solar power, I'd like to have a small wind genererator I can mount to the roof, when the sun is behind the clouds and it's windy.

What kind of power could ya think I could get out of a unit that's small enough to be stored, with let's say a 10MPH constant wind?

You are very limited when it comes down to wind turbines. You are basically looking at the AirX either standard or Marine.

 

[Bighead]

The company I work for has a wind turbine system called Architectural Wind that is being produced for larger buildings. According to the video on the linked page (Winds of Change video), they might be developing a residential version.

I don't have a whole lot of info on this since I work in a different section.

 

[kjp1969]

Long ago, I saw a windmill that used a 4' or so propeller hooked up to an old automotive generator. This was in Mendocino where they have a good bit of constant on-shore wind. It charged a battery, but I don't know how well.

An old auto generator should be fairly cheap to experiment with, but never even having seen one, I don't know what kind of prop or wind you'd need to turn it.

Kevin

 

[Lynn]

If you're the DIY type, here's instructions for making your own out of a treadmill motor and PVC pipe.

Don't laugh. I haven't built one yet, but it really looks well-thought-out and practical.

 

[pwc]

I agree the AirX would be your best bet but might not gain you much. Here's some info
http://www.windenergy.com/documents/spec_sheets/0083_Air-x_spec.pdf
It looks like at 10MPH you can MAYBE get 25W out of it at 12V. That's about 2amps back in your battery or consumed. If I remember right, that could keep pace with an Engle 45 if the wind was constant.

In that case you might be better off just running a 120amp alternator for one minute.

 

[DontPanic42]

I am putting together a system utilizing an Ampair Dolphin vertical wind generator. No, it doesn't put out massive amounts of energy but in combination with my solar panel I should keep my batteries topped off. Hope to have all the bugs worked out before I take off to Cheyenne for Frontier Days. I'll be converting some of my lights to LEDs to lower the draw on the batteries. If anyone is interested, I'll post some data as soon as I run some initial tests in the next few months.

 

[outsidr]

I agree the AirX would be your best bet but might not gain you much. Here's some info
http://www.windenergy.com/documents/spec_sheets/0083_Air-x_spec.pdf
It looks like at 10MPH you can MAYBE get 25W out of it at 12V. That's about 2amps back in your battery or consumed. If I remember right, that could keep pace with an Engle 45 if the wind was constant.

In that case you might be better off just running a 120amp alternator for one minute.

Just got one back from an around the world trip and it was rated highly...

Here it is deployed...
http://www.campausa.com/DAN6.jpg

Stowed on opposite side of camper...
http://www.campausa.com/DAN5.JPG

 

[Ziggster]

Here's a cool idea for wind generation.


http://www.humdingerwind.com/windbelt.html