|
This page compares the instantaneous power produced by wind turbines with a max output of more than 6.5kW. As 'small' wind turbines go, these are pretty big, and in a decent windy site will make a major contribution to the electricity consumed by a typical household, and produce a good amount of surplus electricity that can be sold back to the grid. The front runners in this size group are the Gaia 11kW, with its oversize blades to capture more energy at low wind speeds, and the relatively new machine from Proven Energy, the 15kW. The Proven looks like less of a good bet based on the performance data shown here. The Westwind 20kW, which is the largest machine currently in our database, comes into its own at higher wind speeds. 
Click links below to find out more about each turbine.
Gaia 11kW Westwind 10kW Westwind 20kW Aerostar Proven 35 ReDriven 10kW ReDriven 20kW Excel Enwia E40 Hannevind 11kW Hannevind 15kW Wind Turbine Eco 20kW Eco 10kW G-3120 E-3120 Maestrale Jimp 25 Evoco 10 Hy 10kW Big Star AOC FuturEnergy Airforce PK10 WindEn 7.5 Wind Turbine WindEn 30 WindEn 45 API 10kW API 20kW HY30-AD11 Blade diameters of this set:"13.00,6.20,10.40,6.70,9.80,8.00,12.00,7.00,10.00,10.00,10.00,10.00,8.00,19.20,19.20,8.15,10.00,9.60,7.20,8.00,15.00,9.00,6.00,7.25,13.00,14.60,7.00,10.00,11.00,
The data shown here is drawn from the power curves as published by the respective manufacturers. Some of these are calculated in different ways. When the MCS standards, are launched (hopefully soon) we will have a fairer way of comparing the power curves of wind turbines. The outputs shown towards the right of the graph represent what you would get in gale force wind speeds, so look towards the left to get an idea of the instantaneous power outputs you might get at your site. This graph can't be used to predict actual annual outputs, since many other local factors will affect the performance of a turbine. Reliability and installed cost should be a major consideration. To find out more about assessing the potential of your site for wind turbines and working out what you could actually generate, check out our Power Predictor device.
|