Wind turbine connections

dan1889

I have a 3kw solar setup that is hooked up to a 5kw charge controller/inverter and a 48v battery bank. I am looking to attach a wind turbine and am wondering if it's possible to connect a 600w + DC12v or 24v turbine directly to the battery bank via a separate charge controller?
Can I run them at the same time? 
I just want to trickle feed the batteries to keep them topped up when the sun isn't out. I don't expect to power my mobile home completely from the turbine just to supplement the solar panels. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers 
Dan

BB.

Welcome to the forum Dan,

As a warning--Personally, I am not a fan of small wind turbines. Few seem to output any useful energy in anything less than a full wind storm.

Anyway... Any charging source needs to be at a higher voltage than the batteries themselves. For a 48 volt battery bank, you need something approaching a minimum of 60 VDC to properly charge.

Most solar and wind charge controllers are of a "buck" design... Basically, they can only take higher voltage (and lower current) and down convert to lower voltage (and higher current).

There are a few Boost controller designs for solar:

https://sunforgellc.com/genasun/ (one example of a solar boost controller)

I don't know of any made for wind turbines--But I am not in the business so my knowledge is not very deep.

There are ways of making simple AC Voltage doublers circuits:

http://www.learningaboutelectronics.com/Articles/Voltage-doubler-circuit.php (single phase)
http://www.reuk.co.uk/wordpress/electric-circuit/three-phase-voltage-multiplier/ (three phase)

So, you could make your own for a 24 volt turbine (3 phase, so 3x doubling circuits) that (I think) would work.

And you would add a simple "dump" controller to your system (if needed). Basically, a dump controller turns on if the battery bank is "charged", and dumps the excess current to a load bank (some power resistors typically).

If you still wish to continue down the wind turbine trail... Please note: Wind turbines can be noisy, really need to be on a 10 meter or taller tower to be in non-turbulent air, tower and concrete (if used) are significant expenses, and if you are in an area with trees/obstructions the turbine needs to be taller than the obstructions--Wind turbines do not produce "useful" energy in turbulent air.

Do not attach a turbine to the side or roof of your home. The noise will bother you, and can cause structural damage from the stress and vibration.

I guess you are somewhere in the London area of the UK... So you don't get a lot of sun.
http://www.solarelectricityhandbook.com/solar-irradiance.html

London
Average Solar Insolation figures

Measured in kWh/m2/day onto a solar panel set at a 38° angle:
(For best year-round performance)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
1.27	2.04	2.76	3.67	4.17	4.20
Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
4.25	4.16	3.26	2.41	1.53	1.05

Normally, I would suggest adding more solar panels as their output is much more consistent than wind... But you just do not get a lot of winter sun.

Here is an older discussion/thread about small wind. Very few systems even produced anywhere near their predicted output in a "windy" flat region of Netherlands:

https://forum.solar-electric.com/discussion/3638/small-windpower-a-scam-survey-says-so/p1

My usual suggestion is that folks work on conservation first--Find the most energy efficient devices, turn off stuff when not used, and use as little as possible. Also insulation/shading of windows/etc. when needed.

Look for a Mini-Split Heat Pump Systems... For folks that have electric heat (and/or expensive natural gas, oil, etc.) heating, a Heat Pump can be 2x or more heating per Watt*Hour than a standard resistance based electric heater.

If you are still interested in a wind turbine... You do need to be a "miserably" windy location. Typically need something like 12 MPH / 19 KPH / 5.4 Meters per Second winds to even begin generating any useful power.

See if there are any neighbors that a wind turbine near you... See if they can tell you how many AH/WH per day/month/etc. that it can provide on average. Or on a windy day, see how much current/watts it is outputting...

-Bill

mike95490

A 24V turbine cannot charge a 48V battery.  Or else I read something wrong