How's the wind at your location?

[Watt]

Well, I have already found out that just because I have some wind data, it may not be exactly what I can use for a turbine comparison.  Ross has shown, in my opinion, wind data that is so far exactly what I'd look for in data logging vs. performance.   

Anyway, I think you are right and maybe a post with wind and performance is more appropriate.

I haven't done it yet in any public-accessible way, nor as a continuous display - but one that I think would be useful would be an interval-by-interval (minute, 5 minute, whatever) "wind potential" graph.

This would take the wind each (minimum) measured interval (in my case, 5 seconds, and anything more than that is probably not much use), and calculate the "wind-cubed" speed, and accumulate those for the display period.

Since the power in the wind is basically it's cube, adding them up the cube of each interval, then dividing by the seconds should give a "unitless" figure to compare a machines actual output to the winds potential over the same time.

You can then plot turbine output against "wind potential" and get some sort of meaningful result.

Yes Ross, I do think that would be useful for sure.  Nice idea. 

[ghurd]

The wind here doesn't blow, it sucks.
(quote from Woof)

I take stuff to parking lots or causeways to get decent, steady wind, and thats only during high wind events.
G-

[m12ax7]

I'm in a "hollow" with a ridge that runs kind of parallel to our property,  so the wind here just swirls around.

But I can control from which direction the wind will blow,  Just get on  my tractor, and which ever direction I need to blow snow,  that will be the direction from which the wind blows!