A few questions

[bazz]

I'm starting to look at just buying a windmill and installing one. I have a few friends from multiple trades that are willing to help me install it. (Seeing how my state has a nice rebate program going on and the government is giving a few incentives....I figure why not look into this path.)

I am able to get a nice bank of UPS batteries (12 of them at 12v each that run 20 hours.....I need to look at the specs a bit more)

I have been looking at the 10 foot and the 7 foot in the shop on this site. I see it says they are both made for charging batteries, but on the page for the 7 footer it gives this note. "Our 10 foot diameter wind turbine can peak well over 1200 Watts, which is difficult to handle at 12 V. This smaller machine is appropriate for the smaller, lower power 12V systems" So my first question is.....why have the 10 if that is the case? Is it designed more for 24, and 48 volts? (I could set the bank for that...I guess.) I was actually thinking of (If I do this) using the 10 somehow....if I could find a way to do so. BTW what kind of wind is needed to make the 10 turn?

My next question is....has anyone looked at the TLG-500 over at tlgwindpower.com? Is it any good? Any thoughts or input?

I dont know how possible this is......I would like to be able to charge the batteries and once charged have some way of dumping to my home (or possibly run a few circuits off the batteries, and just keep charging the batteries. Any other ideas?)

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SparWeb]

Dan can speak for himself about his windmill kits, but of course you seem to have the right impression: the 10-foot windmill should be used at 24V or even 48V.  From a simple aerodynamic point of view, the 7-foot diameter sweeps half of the area of the 10-foot diameter, hence it will collect 1/2 the energy for the same wind.

Here's the math:  Watts = Volts x Amps

1200 Watts = 12V x 100 Amps

You need very heavy wire to carry 100 Amps without getting very hot or wasting a lot of power with voltage drops, etc.  Depending on how long the cables must be, you're looking at US#0 gauge or more.

On the other hand 24V x 50 Amps = 1200W.  Wire that can carry 50 Amps is much more manageable; say US#4 gauge.

Look more carefully at the specs of the batteries you want.  It's very important to do the same math as above and compare what you put in to what you get out.

Since you house is 120VAC (or maybe you're in europe, you haven't specified) you need an inverter to marry up the battery DC to the house AC.  Once you interface one power system to another, you are confronted with the safety, reliability, and building code issues that come along with household wiring.

Nobody said it was easy, but to many of us, that is exactly what's fun about it! :-)

Tell us more about what you want to do, if you like.  We're all about getting as many people addicted as possible.

[DanB]

Yes I really think a 10' turbine is pushing the limits of a 12V system ~ of course it can and has been done many times, but generally larger systems are higher voltage and smaller systems that are 12V anyhow do nicely with smaller machines (like the 7' one).

[bazz]

The bank I would be using would be with these batteries UPS12-370FR (BTW Yes I'm in the US)

http://www.powerfactorinc.com/Batteries/ups12-370.htm

How fast of a wind is needed to turn a 10 footer?

As for how long the run would be....Well I have a little over an acre of land, so it would be in the back as far as I could go with it. The bank would be in my shed in the front/side yard. So as for actual feet in length....dont know yet. I'm sure one of my friends who is a licensed electrician should be able to hook me up with the needed info.

What I would like to do....(need to look into zoning and building codes a bit more) is turn my shed into a powerhouse. That way the shed also has power. (The generator is also in there so its a bit of convenience.) I was thinking of setting up a box for all the wiring in the shed (once again depends on building codes and such.)

It be cool If I could have the house switch to the bank automatically at certain interval during the week....(random thought...)

Its a lot to think about...thats for sure! I'm not sure what the best plan for attack would be though.

I know I want to have the system hooked to my house, I'm not sure how to interface that with the bank. What options/configurations are there?

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

Check the details on your state's rebate programs.  A lot of them require the installation to be done by a licensed contractor - which might raise your costs enough to consume more than the rebate.

[oldculett]

And most states will not pay anything on homemade machines. Oldculett