Small & Miniature Wind Turbines
Delivering between approximately five and twenty kilowatts, small
and miniature wind turbines are great for smaller communities
or plants that run off of lower voltage line systems.
Small wind turbines (unlike regular wind turbines, which are
created for large scale electricity production), do not take us
as much land to operate. Also called 'mini' wind turbines, small
turbines can operate in wind speeds lower than ten miles per hour.
Larger 'regular' wind turbines are only able to operate in wind
speeds of between ten and twenty-five miles per hour.
Wind turbines which are smaller are able to give you the convenience
of getting installed in places that are smaller such as on the
terraces of buildings, on balconies of apartments and mid to small-sized
farm houses.
Most wind turbines that are classified as 'mini' have a generator
that is able to work under any weather conditions and a blade
that gives you a high performance of generating seventy watts
of power at twenty miles per hour. Many times, smaller turbines
start to turn with wind speeds that are just eight to nine miles
per hour.
Specifically, this means that a twelve-volt battery will slowly
become charged using a mini turbine at fifteen mph winds. When
it breaks down and you need to have your unit fixed, all you need
to do is conveniently pack it into your backpack and take it to
the turbine repair shop. Mini wind turbines are also able to power
a twelve-volt light bulb. If your child has a science experiment
he or she needs to create, you can use mini turbines as the school
project.
Folks who are interested in larger turbines will be able to save
a lot of time and money experimenting with a small turbine before
moving on to larger versions. This way, you will know if turbines
are indeed what you are looking for before investing large amounts
of money. If you live in a climate that has great wind speeds,
you may want to consider getting yourself a small wind turbine
to supplement your solar paneled installations such as your shop,
sailboat, cabin, gate opener and barn.
Small and miniature wind turbines need to be mounted on a pipe
or a pole so that they are able to operate in good, clean air
conditions. Next, connect the negative and positive wires from
the wind turbine to the negative and positive battery terminals
using a sixteen-gauge wire. Many times, a fourteen-gauge wire
works just as well. You do not need a charge controller in this
case because ten power watts will not be able to overcharge a
battery that has twelve volts.
Miniature wind turbines are usually twenty-inches long from the
prop tip to the tail fin end. These come with a blocker diode
that is already installed so that your battery does not drain
when the turbine is not turning. The frame or main beam is made
of two-fourth inch square. The down tube is created out of one-inch
steel and is welded to the main beam.
The countless advantages of small and miniature wind turbines
make this a worthwhile investment.
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