Renewable Energy Questions/Discussion > Wind and Hydro

Wind turbine loading

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TurboMiles:
I have a very simple system that may not be very good and I'm curious how you control/load your turbine.  Do you charge batteries or are you grid tied? 
I've been reading about the classic and the ABB grid tie.  I like both and the classic is appealing but a battery bank can get very expensive.
Maybe there are other options out there that I don't know about. 
Thanks

rossw:
With photovoltaic cells, you can use only as much as you want at any given moment and the surplus is just forgone. No ill effects.

Hydro and wind turbines however require a suitable load to control their speed. Without the load, they will simply speed up and up until they basically fly apart (or some other speed control kicks in - like a furling tail, or tap on the water line).

Batteries make a convenient way to capture power for later use - but if they are (or become) fully charged, or if they are not of sufficient capacity to take the full output of the turbine, then additional loads are required. So-called "opportunity loads" are often used - like large heating elements in hot-water units. If your water is already too hot, you'll need other places to use that power (or a way to shut down the turbine). Many people (myself included) have a large resistor "dump load" that is a last resort that the turbine controller can use to control the turbine.

TurboMiles:
I am asking what do you use to convert wind turbine power into something you can use before the dump load is required.  I totally understand how a turbine works and it must remain loaded.  Are you grid tied and if so what device do you use.  Or do you charge batteries and if so what device do you use and what inverter do you use to get the power back out if the batteries. 

rossw:

--- Quote from: TurboMiles on January 11, 2017, 02:06:52 pm ---I am asking what do you use to convert wind turbine power into something you can use before the dump load is required.  I totally understand how a turbine works and it must remain loaded.  Are you grid tied and if so what device do you use.  Or do you charge batteries and if so what device do you use and what inverter do you use to get the power back out if the batteries.

--- End quote ---

Ahh, my bad.
No, I'm completely off-grid and have been for errr... 13 years I think.
I have what amounts to a large 3-phase bridge rectifier after my turbine, along with some voltage comparators that kick in part or all of my dumpload if the battery voltage gets too high. That rectified output goes through a current shunt and straight to my batteries.

In anything short of a howling gale, my turbine can't make much more than my base-load, so the over-voltage stuff has hardly ever triggered.

TurboMiles:
So in your situation the battery is the load for the turbine.....How large is your battery bank?

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