Swept area
The WindArrow has a blade diameter of 2.12 metres. This means it has a swept area, or capture area of 3.53 square metres. This is all important when comparing wind turbines, since it directly relates to the amount of passing wind energy
the turbine blades can intercept.
WindArrow power output curve
The graph below shows the power produced (in watts) for the WindArrow at different wind speeds, based on
data supplied by the manufacturer.
The green line shows the actual output that the wind turbine achieves at the given wind speed,
according to the manufacturers.The dashed line in the graph shows the theoretical maximum energy that this turbine could extract from the wind,
according to Betz's Law (59.3%). At a typical wind speed of
5 m/s, the WindArrow is extracting
86 Watts of power from the wind, which is an efficiency of
31.69%.
How efficient is the WindArrow?
Wind turbines can only convert some of the energy in the wind into electricity. The graph here shows how efficient the
turbine is across the range of wind speeds you might get.
The orange line in the above graph shows the efficiency ranging from 0 to 1. The grey line is the previously mentioned maximum efficiency - The Betz Limit. If this limit is exceeded, the manufacturer's claims are not to be trusted!
While these graphs give an indication of the instantaneous power and efficiencies you might expect from the
WindArrow turbine, working out annual power production is more complex.
Read more about the
Power Predictor
The Wind Arrow has power generation beyond 20mph. Unlike other turbines, it does not shut down at higher wind speeds and tilts instead by using its Active Flight Control.
The cost we have here is based on the price in Canadian dollars. The manufacturer quotes C$2995 for the turbine and C$529-C$1650 for a compatible tilt tower.
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