Quote:
Originally Posted by WisJim
There just isn't the available energy in the low speed turbulent winds that close to the ground unless it is installed on a flat smooth terrain with nothing else for hundreds of yards in every direction.
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Jim,
I think this is the main problem with wind all around. You need to get it up pretty high to get any real benefit. I've had emails back and forth with Ian from Homepower magazine about this. Every time they have a wind issue they show some guy hanging off a tower 80 or 100 feet up. The logistics to get a 300 lb wind mill up that high are ridiculous. Remember it's not just getting it up, there's the yearly maintenance. They're not PV arrays where you can just park them and walk away. How many people are equipped to do that?
I kept telling Ian that he wasn't doing any justice to wind by showing those pics without telling readers what's behind that work. I noticed he changed his tune in the last wind issue. to his credit he explained the immense difficulty of wind. It looks easy but is a tough thing to do right. I'll play with it now that I have my PV systems in but I'm not thinking I will gain a lot. If I can get a few hundred watts at night when the PVs are down I'll consider myself lucky. Those going to alternatives shouldn't even think of wind until they have PV in unless they live on the top of Mt. Washington in NH!
Rob