3kw wind turbine

rover
rover Registered Users Posts: 4
I got a wind turbine 3kw 240v from China made by Liten. I have the controller & inverter . My problem is need 20- 12v - 100ah batteries recommended for unit . I would buy batteries but not sure of the quality of the controller. Is there somebody who could advise if switching to a classic 250 MPPT & a clipper 48v. would be more economical.
The cost to buy batteries would be more than the classic MPPT & clipper.
Any advice appreciated. Tks

Comments

  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: 3kw wind turbine

    I have not heard the name here before (and maybe nobody else has either)... Is this the Turbine and controller family you have?

    E Series Wind Turbine Generator
    Liten Controllers/Inverters

    I am a little confused about the battery bank voltage (appears you are using 240 VDC bank?)--or even using a battery bank. 120 Volts seems to be the highest bank voltage

    Also, is this a grid tied or off grid AC power system? You are out of Ireland and looking for ~240 VAC @ 50 Hz system?

    Do you have a good size tower (over ~20 meters tall, and better over ~27 meters tall, no at least 10 meters over any obstructions/buildings/trees/etc. in the area)? Have lots of wind in the area (well over ~16 KPH/10 MPH) when the wind is blowing?

    Turbine to be installed in an area free of people/building/houses (turbines and blades do fail and shed parts)?

    Has anyone installed such a wind system in your area yet?

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • john p
    john p Solar Expert Posts: 814 ✭✭✭
    Re: 3kw wind turbine

    Almost everybody says mount the wind generator as high as possible and well clear of anything. The only person I have ever found that says something else is the USA manufacturer of a replacement 6 blade 5ft kit for the Air X 400w .
    He says mount it close to the roof of your house so it gets the wind as it rises up over the roof.

    I ended up doing that as it was so easy that way as had a concrete post that was a central structural part of the house so just mounted it on top of a 6ft pipe above the roof. Have to say it seemed to work very well ,but very badly when the generator only had the 4 x4ft blades.
    Im not saying this is the way to do it or not do it, as never tried it an other way so cant give a comparison test results.
  • SkiDoo55
    SkiDoo55 Solar Expert Posts: 414 ✭✭✭
    Re: 3kw wind turbine

    Guess that would work if your roof was 90 deg to the prevailing winds.

    Generally for a wind site you want it higher than anything.within about 300 ft.
    The out put of a wind generator will triple with a doubling in wind speed. Wind speed generally increases with height of the generator mounting. Cleaner airflow provides steady output.

    All are generally accepted practices. There could be special circumstances that could change these but that is why when looking for a site you do a wind site study with a recording wind speed and direction equipment.
    GT3.8 w/4600W Trina 230W, TX5000 w/5000W ET-250W, XW4024 w/1500W ET-250W, 4 L16, 5500W Gen. (never had to use) Yet!!
  • vtmaps
    vtmaps Solar Expert Posts: 3,741 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: 3kw wind turbine
    SkiDoo55 wrote: »
    The out put of a wind generator will triple with a doubling in wind speed.

    It should increase by a factor of 8. Power goes as the cube of wind speed. --vtMaps
    4 X 235watt Samsung, Midnite ePanel, Outback VFX3524 FM60 & mate, 4 Interstate L16, trimetric, Honda eu2000i
  • john p
    john p Solar Expert Posts: 814 ✭✭✭
    Re: 3kw wind turbine

    It should increase by a factor of 8. Power goes as the cube of wind speed.But in practice never does. Mostly because the blades are not perfect in converting all the wind into rotational speed. All tests ive seen there was never more than a 4 times increase.
  • SkiDoo55
    SkiDoo55 Solar Expert Posts: 414 ✭✭✭
    Re: 3kw wind turbine

    True

    Lots of other factors in the equation, air density,swept area of blades, blade,gearbox,generator drag and wind speed all help determine the actual output.

    Same as in A/C power is normally (in general) given as. Volts x Amps but you need to add power factor to get actual answer.

    I will bow out to others that work with wind. In my current location would not be able to put up the 24 ft 3 blade 8 KW machine I built 20 years ago and never commissioned. If it were going up today I would replace the alternator with a PM design and simplify my step-up gearbox on it.
    GT3.8 w/4600W Trina 230W, TX5000 w/5000W ET-250W, XW4024 w/1500W ET-250W, 4 L16, 5500W Gen. (never had to use) Yet!!
  • rover
    rover Registered Users Posts: 4
    Re: 3kw wind turbine
    BB. wrote: »
    I have not heard the name here before (and maybe nobody else has either)... Is this the Turbine and controller family you have?

    E Series Wind Turbine Generator
    Liten Controllers/Inverters

    I am a little confused about the battery bank voltage (appears you are using 240 VDC bank?)--or even using a battery bank. 120 Volts seems to be the highest bank voltage

    Also, is this a grid tied or off grid AC power system? You are out of Ireland and looking for ~240 VAC @ 50 Hz system?

    Do you have a good size tower (over ~20 meters tall, and better over ~27 meters tall, no at least 10 meters over any obstructions/buildings/trees/etc. in the area)? Have lots of wind in the area (well over ~16 KPH/10 MPH) when the wind is blowing?

    Turbine to be installed in an area free of people/building/houses (turbines and blades do fail and shed parts)?

    Has anyone installed such a wind system in your area yet?

    -Bill

    I bought this unit very basic Information . Its an off grid system. In WEST Ireland with lots of space . My tower is 9m + 4.5m rotor Dia . Didn't erect the unit yet trying to get more information . It requires 20 pcs -12v in series=240v dc. Unit is computer controlled .Supposed to shut down when batteries are charged Turbine has 3 wires & control motor 2 . I think it has to be ac 3ph but can't see the light control box rectifying 3kw . Heard about wild DC .
    Don't know if any other sys installed in area
  • rover
    rover Registered Users Posts: 4
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: 3kw wind turbine

    Hmmm... There is "wild AC" which is 1 or 3 phase AC power at variable frequency (i.e., the frequency is whatever the turbine RPM the turbine is turning at that moment). For many smaller power systems, the battery bank and/or MPPT wind charge controller do not really "care" about frequency, they simply convert the AC into DC power and go on from there.

    I have not heard of "wild DC"... I can see the term used to describe the varying DC voltage into a MPPT (maximum power point tracking) charge controller or GT Inverter -- These guys based on programming (Turbine RPM hold a set DC voltage for optimum/maximum power available at that operating point) and then output the energy into charging a battery bank or running a Grid Tied AC Inverter (usually used for "backfeeding" power to the utility and turning the meter backwards when lots of wind energy is available).

    Fix AC would be your standard utility grid (50/60 Hz, etc.). And many very large wind installations used fixed frequency turbines to drive the AC lines directly (at 50/60 Hz).

    What are you going to do with 240 VDC battery bank? Do you have a 240 VDC to 240 VAC inverter? Or are you planning on running 240 VDC loads directly?

    Note that working with 240 VDC is actually a bit more dangerous than 240 VAC. DC requires much heavier switch gear and circuit breakers/fuses/etc. rated for >240 VDC. Generally DC switch gear is more expensive and harder to find. 240 VDC shocks are more dangerous than AC shocks, you cannot get Ground Fault Breakers (Residual Current Devices) for DC power. And electrical arcs sustain much better with DC current vs AC current.

    And a 240 VDC battery bank can output hundreds to thousands of amps into a dead short. Over all, you need to know what you are doing here for safety reasons.

    Depending on the system design, there could be a diode bridge (3 phase rectifier) somewhere in the system--They are not that large (do require some heat sinking/airflow to keep cool--so should be somewhat obvious were it is installed).

    Midnite makes a very nice MPPT charge controller + companion dump load controller... Not cheap. And running at over 250 VDC is pretty iffy (maximum voltage for the Classic family is around 150-250 volts peak). a 240 VAC battery bank would typically need >300 VDC at the battery bank itself for proper charging (and a bit higher voltage from the turbine).

    Do you have an Electrical Engineering Degree and/or work as an Electrician/have lots of experience with power systems (i.e., kWatt class equipment vs small power for computers, etc.)?

    And do you have a fair amount of time and money to experiment on the installation? Are you looking forward to being on the cutting edge for "small" off grid power (in engineering, we also call it the "bleeding edge" for a reason).

    A 9 meter tower is just about the minimum height for any wind turbine to be sucessful. And if there are any obstructions, cliff faces, etc. that can cause turbulent air flow, you need higher. A tower in the 18+ meter to hub height is were the "serious" power will be collected (and cost of tower+concrete+cranes/lift are not going to be cheap either).

    I would like to help you here and would be very interested to hear how every thing works out for you... However, this is a seriously large/dangerous installation and trying to do much 1/2 a world away by an Internet Forum is going to be difficult.

    Is it possible for to find somebody "local" that can work with you on the engineering issues? More or less, start with your power needs (AC, DC, voltage, how many Watt peak and kWatt*Hours per day do you need, backup power via solar/diesel genset, etc.).

    Then define the battery bank. And finally the charging system(s) needed.

    We have (at least one) poster here in the Northern US with a similar class of setup--But he designed/made his own wind turbines and is currently using a 48 volt nominal battery bank with 6 kWatt AC inverter (includes integrated AC charger, two AC inputs for gensets/grid power, etc.)... And is using Midnite Classics+Clipper+Solar+Generators to meet his power needs (pretty much an all electric home). Because of "dark winters" and a few weeks of hot/muggy summers, and "cheap" (compared to Europe) diesel fuel, Chris has made a fair amount of use of gasoline and diesel generators to limit the AH/Size capacity of his battery bank (i.e., use generator running 24x7 for a few days to a few weeks at a time when heavy loads exceed solar+wind power).

    Here are some links to wind power resources (we do have some wind discussions, but mostly talk "solar" and conservation here):

    Wind Power Links
    www.otherpower.com (good forum for DIY Wind Power)
    Hugh Piggott - Scoraig Wind Electric site for tons of info (from mike90045)
    Scoraig Wind "Recipe Book" for DYI Turbines (from Chris Olson... From his 4/11/2013 post)
    www.greenpowertalk.org (added from "russ"--Like here but more wind/less solar)

    And, personally, I am not a fan of small wind systems. Your system is not small, so if you have enough height and good equipment/wind on your site, you may get better results than these folks did with smaller systems:

    Small windpower a scam ? Survey says SO
    Truth About Skystream & SWWP
    Windmax HY-2000 2kW Wind Turbine (apparently, some vendors don't sell spare parts--just new turbines. However, the owner, Edward has been very happy with its performance from 2010-2012--BB. 5/31/2012)

    Chris Olson posts a lot here and answers lots of questions... Here is his website that documents a bit of his installation:

    Dairyland
    Windpower - Chris & Kristin Olson's off-grid home


    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • rover
    rover Registered Users Posts: 4
    Re: 3kw wind turbine

    Hi bill:
    This is strictly another hobby startup .I'm not depending on KW of this unit BUT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE some at a reasonable cost.
    I will have to get Info on clipper to see if it controls wind direction & anemoscope as that is the way unit is controlled.

    I have a 3kw inverter the lowest voltage is 95v
    Tks John
  • senwei_energy
    senwei_energy Registered Users Posts: 1
    I got a wind turbine 3kw 240v from China made by SENWEI (www.windpowercn.com). I have the controller & inverter . My problem is need 20- 12v - 100ah batteries recommended for unit . I would buy batteries but not sure of the quality of the controller. Is there somebody who could advise if switching to a classic 250 MPPT & a clipper 48v. would be more economical.
    The cost to buy batteries would be more than the classic MPPT & clipper.
    Any advice appreciated. Tks http://www.windpowercn.com/products/16.html

    Re: this is not works if your wind turbine is 240V but intent to work with 48V, it should get 240Vdc rating charger controller as battery charger voltage, also you need to get 240VDC input inverter 
  • t00ls
    t00ls Solar Expert Posts: 245 ✭✭✭
    I just wanted to say.....I saw a person say something about 4, 4' blades on a wind turbine

    it is better to have an odd number of blades ....this cuts the vibration down and increases efficiency.....5 is best