Wind or mini wind energy can be an excellent solution to reduce your electrical energy consumption. With it, you can self-produce electricity or carry out self-consumption (no matter how many obstacles the Spanish government puts in place) and save on your electricity bill in a more than considerable way.
Now, there are 6 basic things you need to ask yourself before doing a installation with mini wind. We are going to comment on them below:
1. Do I have enough wind resources?
The first thing you have to ask yourself before carrying out a mini wind power installation is if your locality has wind resource (wind) enough so that you can produce electricity with a wind turbine more or less constantly.
To have a first approximation of the magnitude of the average wind that exists in a specific location, you can consult the wind atlas of Spain.
Depending on the characteristics of each wind turbine, the minimum average wind for good operation may vary. In general, the viability of a mini-wind installation starts from about 4-5 m / s average wind speed.
If we meet this requirement or are close to values, we can advance in the study of possibilities to install. In any case, it is advisable to carry out on-site wind availability measurements with a specialized company.
2. What type of wind turbine is best for me?
There are basically two types of wind turbines different: those of vertical axis and those of horizontal axis. We are going to see its main characteristics and what advantages and disadvantages each one of them presents.
The horizontal axis wind turbines they are much more frequent. They are the most efficient and economical, although they do not tolerate gusty, weak winds or frequent changes of direction very well. They need a weather vane to orient themselves facing the wind.
The vertical axis wind turbines They have the great advantage of adapting to any wind direction. They generate few vibrations and are the quietest. On the contrary, they offer a worse performance and are more expensive.
3. How to choose the tower or support mast for a wind turbine? What obstacles can decrease performance?
A suitable height of the wind turbine support tower or mast it is fonamental. Placing the wind turbine at too low a height causes us to lose performance and can make our project fail. In contrast, a very tall support tower can considerably increase the installation cost. There is a great variety of anchoring systems according to the different companies.
What must always be borne in mind is that the higher the tower's altitude, the more wind resource you will have. A recommended minimum obstacle-free height of about 10 meters. If there is an obstacle, it will be necessary to add an additional 10 meters in relation to the height of the obstacle.
It is necessary to keep a distance between possible obstacles and the wind turbine. The nearby presence of non-porous obstacles, such as buildings, walls, etc. should be avoided. In the case of semi-permeable materials to the wind such as trees or other structures, a minimum distance of 7 to 10 times the diameter of the obstacle
4. What wind turbine power do I need?
La wind turbine power it depends on the energy you want to produce. The most common powers for domestic use range between 4 kW of a small house until the 10 kW in the case of a house in an urbanization or rural area. In the case of industries, companies or buildings with a specific activity, higher powers may be required.
Although we mark a target power according to our energy needs, the wind frequency distribution (average wind speed in frequency intervals approximated by the Weibull distribution) it will determine if we will be able to generate the requested power.
If you want to know more details about the wind frequency distribution and do some rough calculationWe recommend the wind energy guide of the Andalusian Energy Agency, where you can consult an example of calculation.
5. What procedures have to be carried out to legalize a mini-wind installation?
If we want to make a installation isolated from the network, It is not necessary to carry out any connection procedures, just make sure you comply with the municipal ordinances of your locality. If it is a installation connected to the network, the procedures are the same as those required for photovoltaic self-consumption.
6. How can I contact wind energy installers?
In a first stage, you yourself can assess whether you meet the conditions to build a mini-wind power installation. In this post, we have given you some tips. However, you we recommend that you get in touch with companies specialized in the sector of your locality, so that they guide you in a more detailed way in the event that you want to carry out the installation.
