All,
I've noticed that it seems that a vast majority of the larger turbines (16 - 20 ft diameter) are used in an off-grid system. I did not see a lot of people doing a grid-tie system.
In my situation I desire to be connected to the grid, not off-grid.
I have a 17' diameter that I recently built, very similar to DanB's turbine. It used dual 18" rotors each containing 16 of 1-1/2" x 3" x 3/4" N42 magnets, 12 coils using 80 turns of #12 wire (almost 20# copper total), cut-in voltage is 48 volts.
I've been researching the Power One 6000w and Windy Boy 6000 inverters for my grid-tie system. I really desire a simple system in not using a battery bank, but direct connection from my rectified DC into the inverter.
In addition my entire house/shop will be on the circuit with the disconnect switch to the grid, so if the grid goes down or I am switched off the grid that my house/shop will be providing a load to keep the turbine from over-speeding.
I know that the 6000w inverters are overkill, but they also give me room for future expansion with either re-configuring my turbine, or even replacing it with something larger in the future, as well as adding a PV array.
Since I really do not want to use a battery bank there is nothing to keep the voltage 'clamped down' to approx 48 volts, and as wind speed picks up the voltage and current generated should also increase. But I have not idea as to what the voltage and amperage could be produced by my setup.
I contacted SolaCity.com and they are currently selling the Power-One unit for $3211 which to me sounds pretty reasonable.
So here are my questions:
- what can I expect to see in output voltage/current
- comments on batteryless grid-tie system
- if house/shop load is not sufficient can a dump controller somehow be used to provide additional load for the turbine
thanks,
Dan Lenox