A 1.8Kw Wind Turbine and a 1kw Solar Panel what could that run?

weijing3333 · May 2015

I'm looking at a Wind Turbine and a Solar Panel that I plan to buy in a year. I was wondering how much could both of these run. Could it run a entire house. I'm really just looking for something that can run a big refrigerator a big computer set up and a few appliances and some lights.

BB. · May 2015

It does depend on where you are at... Using solarelectrichandbook, let us guess you are somewhere around Peshawar Pakistan. Fixed array facing south, 56 degrees from vertical: [h=3]Peshawar
Average Solar Insolation figures[/h] Measured in kWh/m²/day onto a solar panel set at a 56° angle:
(For best year-round performance)

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun

4.74

4.90

5.49

6.01

6.43

6.63

Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

6.17

5.96

6.27

6.49

5.69

4.67

A 1 kWatt solar array for a typical off grid solapower system running an AC inverter would run:

December: 1,000 Watt array * 0.52 off grid AC system efficiency * 4.67 hours of sun (long term average) = 2,428 Watt*Hours of power (typical December day)
April: 1,000 Watt array * 0.52 off grid AC system efficiency * 6.01 hours of sun (long term average) = 3,125 Watt(Hours of power (typical April day)

Power usage a highly personal set of choices... But running a large refrigerator/large computer (desktop?) and some LED lighting--It would probably would not be quite enough on 1,000 watt only solar array.

Wind -- That is even less predictable... For example, here is a horizontal axis wind turbine roughly 1.8 kWatt rated on a windy lake shore:

Originally posted by BB. View Post
There was one Skystream owner (blog.keepturning.com website long since abandoned) (near Lake Erie?) during the good months, as I remember:

JANES HOUSEHOLD SKYSTREAM kWh RECORD

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

Total

2007

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

175

225

0*

400

2008

98*

292

308
246
228
153
92
84
97
164
246
472
2,480

2009

265
348
244
371
182
86
90
84
250
100
194
131*
2,345

2010

101
130

* December, 2007 - Skystream shut down from software problem with cold and would not restart.
* January, 2008 - Skystream down until the 27th. Produce 98kWh in the 5 days remaining in the month.
* December, 2009 - Skystream shut down several times and would not restart on it's own, production very low for wind speeds.
* January, 2010 - Production very low for wind speeds.
* February, 2010 - Production very low for wind speeds.

Highly variable, failures of turbine/electronics, etc.... If you have good wind, a good turbine, on a ~20-30+ meter tall tower, perhaps you can get enough to run your home loads...

Solar power tends to be much more predictable and require less maintenance vs Wind.

My suggestion, install a solar array (plus battery bank) that will support 9+ months of your average loads... And if you still want to try a wind turbine--Hope that it can fill in for bad weather and save you generator fuel. However, I am not a fan of wind turbines. There are some home built/Do It Your Self wind turbines that seem to work pretty well--compared to commercial units--Plus you have the knowledge and tools to do your own maintenance.

In any case, knowing more about your loads is step one (a Watt*Hour meter is a good start) to log your loads--And then look at conservation... An energy efficient refrigerator + laptop computer + LED lighting, while more expensive to purchase, will save you lots more money by keeping the size of the solar/wind power system much smaller.

-Bill

waynefromnscanada · May 2015

I too once had wind turbine. Like BB said, reliability issues and almost always extremely exaggerated power output claims to promote sales.
Kept the alternator and have used it about 6 years with my micro hydro, the rest of the wind turbine, blades, tail etc, I gave away.

BB. · May 2015

Wayne is being generous. ... He was picking a blade out of the metal roof of his barn and shattered blade from the bottom of a drought starved reservoir years later (as I recall).

Be very careful with things electrical and large battery bank's. And be doubly careful with hundreds of kilos 20 meters on the top of a tower. Assume that the average turbine can shed blades, drop the nacell, or take the entire tower down in a heavy wind. Let alone shedding ice or being a lightning magnet (if possible in your region).

Be safe. And keep those around your installation safe.

-Bill

rclark · June 2015

BB's post really knocked it out of the park, specific figures and everything. I actually don't mind the solar/wind combination as much as some here may, and I think it has its place (ESPECIALLY if you have a larger acreage to work with), but there are indeed too many local factors to consider without you providing us with location specifics. All-in-all, I personally endorse a "don't put all your eggs in 1 basket" approach to energy generation. Even the grid, if needed.

SolarPowered · June 2015

Anything mechanical has a point of failure and wind is unpredictable.
The initial invested build cost for wind generally never sees a return on investment.

The only reason why some people are gravitated towards wind turbine is if there are rebates or incentives offered coupled with a heavy tax write off. Other than that huge waste of money, unless you have money to burn.

Take Budwieser Beer for example, bought the largest monstrosity of a wind turbine, and slapped the budwieser logo on it for an advertisement. The windmill is so large, you can spot it a mile down the freeway.
The budweiser plant is located in the windiest regions of california, and the thing breaks down more than it powers the plant. It also cost $6 million to build.

http://www.powerengineeringint.com/articles/2012/06/budweiser-owners-build-on-site-wind-power-facility.html

Johann · June 2015

What I seen so far is that you need 30 miles or better winds on a constant basis to get the manufacturer or sellers claimed power output of it.
If you only have 1/2 the wind speed then your power output will drop to a 1/4.
Around here, I would take 100 watts from a hydro system anytime before I would be depending on a 1,000 watt wind turbine.

Most folks would be better of getting a few extra solar panels, then paying for an wind turbine and all the hardware to mount it.

Just do a search for the wind charts before you buy a wind turbine and do all the work. Install an weather station to monitor the wind and keep records for about an year of it to see how much wind you actually got and not by guessing.

706jim · June 2015

Where I live (lakeside), I can be standing on a dock in wind that feels like it would surely blow you over. Actual wind speed however, reads perhaps 20-30mph. So the output quoted for those small turbines would only be reached at pretty ferocious winds and even then, only if at the top of a fairly high tower. You would be better off with more solar and some sort of backup generator IMO.
Icing would also be a factor in my area which would eventually imbalance the blades causing bearing or catastrophic failure of the unit.
And they can be quite noisy as well.....

inetdog · June 2015

To sum the contributions up and form it into a direct answer to your title question:
About the same loads as with just the 1kw of solar panel.

BB. · August 2016

It looks like the forum conversion lost Jane's monthly data (only long term, small wind, installation performance numbers I have heard). Very important historical information (In my humble opinion). Note these are kWH per month units:

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC	Total
2007	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	175	225	0*	400
2008	98*	292	308	246	228	153	92	84	97	164	246	472	2,480
2009	265	348	244	371	182	86	90	84	250	100	194	131*	2,345
2010	101	130

* December, 2007 - Skystream shut down from software problem with cold and would not restart.

* January, 2008 - Skystream down until the 27th. Produce 98kWh in the 5 days remaining in the month.

* December, 2009 - Skystream shut down several times and would not restart on it's own, production very low for wind speeds.

* January, 2010 - Production very low for wind speeds.

* February, 2010 - Production very low for wind speeds.

Seems to have worked.

Remember that this was from a customer that had heavy support from the vendor (Skystream, now out of business). Was unhappy, complained, got support, was then "happy".

-Bill

A 1.8Kw Wind Turbine and a 1kw Solar Panel what could that run?

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