Hi Folks;
Let me begin by thanking everyone for the wealth of knowledge they share here!
So here goes...
I'm looking to put in a ~1000w+ wind generator for a cabin near Silverton, CO, and have been mainly focused on a "commercial" unit to alleviate the construction and warranty issues.
My problem is that the optimal tower site is about 400ft total (includes 80ft tower) from the cabin, and because of very low winter temps I need to keep the batteries at the cabin.
At 400ft the traditional 24v DC outputs from many of these units would require ridiculous wire sizes, so my preference is for AC outputs.
So the question: if almost all of these units are wild 3-phase AC generators anyway, why do they all seem to automatically drop it to DC at the head unit, instead of rectifying and/or stepping the voltage down at their controllers (or allow for such after the wire run)? Is it just to save running an extra wire? Isn't running the "raw" AC more efficient (less losses) for even modest runs?
(ASIDE: I've looked at Bergeys, but they don't seem to offer this option in their smaller unit; the Whisper 200 looks like the best option with a 220AC output; The TLG-500 (although smaller) looks interesting, but I'm concerned about it's so-called furling approach. I flatly refuse to consider units without any furling method. I just want a really reliable system that I don't have to worry about much in the winter [when winds can really climb and temps can hit -15F at night].)
Thanks for your help!
David