Well... I searched the internet for days and found so much info (good, bad or otherwise) it is overwhelming. After reading some posts on this forum, it seems that there are many knowledgeable members here with good info - so I decided to post this brainstorm in the beginners section. Any suggestions on where to start to make a VAWT vertical axis wind turbine? I am leaning towards the VAWT because of its simplicity and quiet(er) operation.
It must be homemade by me, I could easily buy one... but I cannot justify spending a lot on purchasing one, because it takes way too long to get return on investment, plus it would not be any fun if I didn't make it myself. I would like to make it 20 kW, but grid tying that kind of power would be hard to do. Maybe I should just make a small little 1-2kw to play with first?
~ Do I start by buying a good Anemometer so that I can log data and design it for the correct wind speeds?
~ Is a VAWT that much less efficient than a standard wind turbine? Some people seem to think so?
~ I have many PM servo motors lying around that I would like to use (up to 22kw) and I can rewind them for the correct voltage.
~ I would like to have it grid tied, but only find small 1000watt GTI wind inverters available for reasonable costs.
~ Mounted to/above my barn roof or to the top of my silo is what I was thinking...
~ Drag Design? / Lift Design?
~ Our Electric Bill shows we use 794kWh per month
~ Online Wind Estimator for Zip 53020 is 5.34 m/s or 11.9 mph annual average
Thanks for your input!