Wind power when connected to the Grid

wt6 Wind turbines may be connected to the normal "grid" electricity supply to a building. When configured in this way electricity produced by the wind turbine will be used in preference to the commercial supplier. If more power is needed than can be supplied by the wind turbine at any moment electrcity will automatically be drawn from the supplier. Excess power produced by the wind turbine can be sold to the commercial supplier. A typical system is shown below. power distribution board

Electrical power from the wind turbine is fed to the grey control box which provides an isolation switch and voltage and current meters. From there it is fed to the inverter which converts it to the normal 230Vac. It is then fed back to the grey control box where it is metered and and fed via another isolation switch to the white switch box which connects into the household supply.

For the more technically minded: The output of the wind turbine is variable frequency three phase which is rectified in the grey control box and fed to the inverter which produces an output of approximately 230V ac synchronized with the grid supply. Should there be a loss of power from the grid the unit will shut down. This is a safety requirement. The Proven range of wind turbines are well suited to this application.

Size of wind turbine

The size of the wind generator chosen is not determined by the peak power required by the premises but rather by deciding what level of contribution the wind generator should make to the overall electrical consumption.

The simplest way of determining the electrical energy requirement of a household is to look at the electrcicity bills over summer and winter quarters. The bills will provide information on the total number of electrcity units consumed. One unit is equal to 1kWh. During the course of a year a typical household might use 3,000 to 4,000 kWhs. The output of a wind turbine will depend on available wind speed. As a useful guide the annual outputs of the Proven range of wind turbines at an ideal site in the UK are:

The WT2500 wind turbine from Proven could, averaged over a year, be expected to provide the major part of the electrical energy needs of a typical household. The WT6000 wind turbine would provide the opprtunity for significant export of electrical energy to the National Grid. It is important to appreciate that in all cases peak demand may often require electrical input from the electrcial supply company.

Essential requirements

a survey - average wind speed and presence of obstructions such as trees etc.
planning permission from your local council
permission, when necessary, from the mains electricity supplier