# Wind Power



## LongRider (May 8, 2012)

We live on about an 800 foot bluff and seem to have a pretty constant breeze to high winds most all of the time. So we are considering wind power. Anyone have any experience with wind power? What the criteria is? How big should we go? Is one big wind generator better than several smaller ones? Have any experience with any manufactures? Everything and anything you know about wind power is likely to be more than I know so any and all input would be helpful. Thanks.


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## Saffer (Aug 3, 2012)

A lot of info on this site. If you don't want to go the DIY route, at least you'll be able to make an informed decision.

http://www.otherpower.com/


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## LongRider (May 8, 2012)

Saffer said:


> A lot of info on this site. If you don't want to go the DIY route, at least you'll be able to make an informed decision.
> 
> http://www.otherpower.com/


Thanks that's a commercial site and you are right it does contain a lot of info but what I am looking for is more along the lines of first hand personal experience


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

LongRider said:


> We live on about an 800 foot bluff and seem to have a pretty constant breeze to high winds most all of the time. So we are considering wind power. Anyone have any experience with wind power? What the criteria is? How big should we go? Is one big wind generator better than several smaller ones? Have any experience with any manufactures? Everything and anything you know about wind power is likely to be more than I know so any and all input would be helpful. Thanks.


 We have used a Bergey XL-1 for about ten years. It will not and does not become a primary source of power for an off-grid system, but can provide supplemental power to your system at night and during cloudy days.
Be cautious of using it near a hillside or your bluff, the terrain will cause turbulence and stall out the turbine blades, even a slight hill will have an effect.
I did a review in 2010 on the turbine... http://www.preparedsociety.com/reviews/bergey-windpower-co-xl-1-wind-turbine.html

BB


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

One of my Sergeants has a wind turbine on his property. He put it in as a back up power source but now he uses it almost exclusively. Obviously the wind does not blow all the time so he does draw power from the electric company, but he says that most of the time he doesn't need to. It's not as big as I expected it to be either. I considered a smaller model for my house but it violates city ordinance (big surprise since the city owns the utility company).


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## LongRider (May 8, 2012)

Most excellent exactly the kind of info I am looking for. Thank you gentlemen. 


bunkerbob said:


> We have used a Bergey XL-1 for about ten years. It will not and does not become a primary source of power for an off-grid system, but can provide supplemental power to your system at night and during cloudy days.
> Be cautious of using it near a hillside or your bluff, the terrain will cause turbulence and stall out the turbine blades, even a slight hill will have an effect.
> I did a review in 2010 on the turbine... http://www.preparedsociety.com/reviews/bergey-windpower-co-xl-1-wind-turbine.html
> 
> BB


Questions, 
Turbulence because of? It seems that the updraft/wind here is fairly consistent. At least it appears that way because the trees tend to all lean in the same direction. I suppose there must be a way to test how much turbulence there is in a location over time. 
Trees brings up another question does there need to be a clear treeless area around the tower?
Does turbulence cause damage or excessive wear? Or is it more a matter of reduced efficiency? 
Why would you not use it as a primary source of power. Is that just due to lack output? If so couldn't that be remedied with a larger or multiple units?



Sentry18 said:


> One of my Sergeants has a wind turbine on his property. He put it in as a back up power source but now he uses it almost exclusively. Obviously the wind does not blow all the time so he does draw power from the electric company, but he says that most of the time he doesn't need to. It's not as big as I expected it to be either. I considered a smaller model for my house but it violates city ordinance (big surprise since the city owns the utility company).


Do you know who makes his unit? How long has he had it? How big is it? Any info on reliability, maintenance that sort of thing?
Once again thanks


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## LongRider (May 8, 2012)

*Mods*

I just realized that there is an energy specific forum. *Energy & Electricity*
Sorry for being a tard. Can a mod move this thread or should I just start another thread in the correct forum?


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

LongRider said:


> Most excellent exactly the kind of info I am looking for. Thank you gentlemen.
> Questions,
> Turbulence because of? It seems that the updraft/wind here is fairly consistent. At least it appears that way because the trees tend to all lean in the same direction. I suppose there must be a way to test how much turbulence there is in a location over time.
> Trees brings up another question does there need to be a clear treeless area around the tower?
> ...


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I believe he has the PowerMax 3KW model (and I am pretty sure he has more than one now). He put them up a couple years ago and says that they are easy to maintain and fairly quiet. The last time we talked he said the wind had to be around 4-5 mph to start it spinning and 20-22 mph for it to produce full power.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

My grandfather built a Jacobs Wind Electric plant (32 vdc) and powered the farm for over 10 years with it before REA came through http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_Electrification_Act It was cutting-edge at the time - Now, it is such an archaic design.

I built one of the Hugh Piggott "Axial Flux" wind turbines like you see on otherpower a few years ago... the price of Neodymium magnets has about doubled since I bought mine. It works well as designed but needs to be in a high-wind area. I have plans to keep the magnet rotors, but wind a new stator with smaller wire (greater number of turns) so it starts making voltage at a lower RPM.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I had a small windmill on my boat, I was pleased with. A single unit will be easier to set up. Multiple smaller units allow spreading the cost out over time and provide redundancy.


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