Wind turbine assembly
When mounting a wind turbine, there are several things to keep in mind and make sure you get done correctly.
Because a wind turbine that’s noisy and/or does not produce the power it should become an unnecessary disappointment to you.
Therefore, I want to review what you need to think about. Further down we will review the standard assemblies that exist and the parts that are available as a purchase for DIY solutions.
Wind turbine guidelines
The height.
The higher a wind turbine gets into the air, the better it produces power. It is logical, but often something that’s, for various reasons is difficult to meet. But do not get angry at the wind turbine, because it does not perform better than the wind you present it to.
At sea, the wind is often better at low altitudes than over land and turbulence less. But that does not mean there are no challenges. The turbine must be as high as possible.
The Weather forecasts measures their wind speeds 10 meters above ground, and there are many local fluctuations in wind speeds, so if the weather forecast reports that there are 8 m/s tomorrow, it’s not necessarily the same as that what’s your turbine wings, will be presented for.
* Experience tip! *
Do not think that getting a wind turbine up in the heights above your caravan or roof will not apply to you. It is very important to get the wind turbine out of the turbulence.
Turbulence
The weather forecast also measures their wind speeds at a great distance from obstacles like trees and houses. You will always have a hard time trying to achieving that and you will always have turbulence (you may call it “messy” wind) of some sort around your turbine.
Turbulence causes the wind turbine to “flapping” from side to side. It will almost always do it, but you need to reduce it as much as possible and it is best done by placing it as openly as possible. Again, height is a good solution. If your turbine is mounted on a caravan, the turbulence will appear when the wind hits the caravan. The turbulence can only get away, over and around the caravan. So the closer the wind turbine is to your caravan, the more turbulence there will be. Therefore, the turbine must be raised well above the caravan and away from the turbulence.
Sound and vibration
There are wind turbines that are terribly noisy. These are those built with bad materials and by companies with little knowledge of wind turbines. Unfortunately, these mills are in the majority on the market due to a major focus on being the cheapest.
With wind turbines, there is often a close relationship between price and quality,
So buy a wind turbine that does not make noise from the mechanical parts and has aerodynamics that reduces the sound of the wind in the wings (it can not be avoided 100%)
But it’s not just the turbine itself that can provide noise.
Vibrations are another source of noise and all wind turbines have vibration, some more than others, but they are there, so you should be aware of the correct installation of your wind turbine. Adjust your installation if the noise is there.
Vibration is theoretical worst on the turbines that are running fastest. The more wings a wind turbine has, the slower it usually runs, but there are also 3 winged wind turbines that have balanced their wings (eg Rutland 1200, but not Rutland FM 1803), with “balance knobs” at the ends of the wings. It gives more stable wings and thus fewer vibration.
Vibrations are a thing that can be handled. Worse, if you match the boat or the caravan’s resonance. It does not happen very often, but it can make the boat/caravan work like a guitar box. But it’s not hard to avoid if you follow these advice, it’s not very likely that you get any problems and should you have problems, then you can adjust your installation.
- Masts in one piece are always more prone to vibration than a 2 split mast.
- Make sure your inclined supports get well up the mast. But make sure there is clearance for the wings.
- Do not mount the stay supports exactly at 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 3/4 up the mast, as this may give a resonance experience.
- Make sure that there are rubber joints between the mast and the stay supports, stay supports and the searail/caravan.
Also, the bottom of the mast must not be placed on the caravan/boat without rubber mounts. Use rubber lining anywhere you can do it. Just as a precaution. - Some people find that filling the mast with foam can reduce the noise.
Strength
The mast needs to keep the wind turbine secure at any wind speed for which the turbine is exposed.
If the turbine is on a fixed mast on land/Building/etc. (and the mast is staying there regardless of the wind 😉 ), Rutland turbines can handle the beating they get. There are only a few places in the world where this will not apply.
On the water or on land where the mast is not fixed (on a boat, trailer or caravan), it is recommended that the Rutland 914i be turned off the switch on the controller at speeds over 20 m / s.
It is not necessary at any time to tie the wings down.
We have wind load graphs on all our turbines, which you can request by contacting Energig
Sizing and Power production
When you need to find the size of your wind turbine (applies to all OffGrid equipment), you must start by finding out what your power consumption is. This is the starting point for everything.
You need to know what consumers you have, how many watts they use, and how many hours per day they consume.
You can use this calculator to calculate your consumption and send the consumption result to Energig. Then we will calculate the rest of the nerdy calculator for you.
You can also read this guide for dimensioning OffGrid installations through. It is long and elaborate, but there is nothing superfluous in it: D.
How much your wind turbine produces depends on a series of things and we have written a whole guide to the output of a wind turbine.
Standard wind turbine mountings.
Cabins, Cottages and Free-standing Wind turbines (Land turbines)
At Energig we have a wind turbine assembly for freestanding masts as standard. It is our free-standing mast for the Rutland FM910, Rutland 914i, Rutland 1200 wind turbines. The mast must be supported with this mast wire set. For the smaller Rutland 504, use this mast to mount the wind turbine and this mast wire set.
For both masts, you can mount brackets for solar panels in the mast.
The big Rutland FM 1803 can be set up with a grid mast, but call us before getting into this, as the extra foundation is needed.
If you need to mount the turbine on a building or similar, follow the instructions above and it is probably this pipe you should base on:
2.97 meter tube in one piece. This tube is for you who will work with DIY. The tube is available for up to 6 meters, but please call and make an appointment with us first over 3 meters.
This mast is suitable for: to the Rutland 914i, Rutland FM 910 and Rutland 1200.
For Rutland 504 you need this mast for the wind turbine
Both and Offshore (Marine Windmills)
The wind turbine can be mounted on the sea rail in one of the corners of the stern. There are 5 mast solutions available.
- 2 meter, 2 split mast for the Rutland 504 turbine.
- 2.4 meter, 2 split mast for Rutland 914i in the turbine.
- 2.7 meters, 2-split mast (XL) for Rutland 914i and Rutland 1200.
- 2.97 meter tube in one piece. This tube is for you who will work with it yourself. The tube is available for up to 6 meters, but please call and make an appointment with us. This mast fits: to Rutland 914i and Rutland 1200
- Also for the Rutland 504, there is a 2,97 meter mast available. all us for up to 6 meters.
There are 2 stay support solutions for mounting on the searail:
The “short” stay support that fits all masts not named XL or XXL.
The “long” stay support XL is the one you need for the XL and XXL masts.
You can always use the long stay support and cut it if you are in doubt that the lengths fit.
If you are in any doubt, feel free to contact Energig and get our input or call us at +45 70 500 999