Monitoring wind speed

anenometer

If an accurate prediction of the electrical output of a wind turbine at a given site is required this can be achieved by monitoring the wind speed. This needs to be done at the proposed location and preferably at the same height as the the proposed wind turbine. It is also necessary to monitor throughout the seasons and also to make sure by reference to past records of local meteoligical stations that a "representative" year has been recorded.

Data should be logged at intervals of approximately 10 min. This data together with the output power curve of the wind turbine is sufficient to get an accurate prediction. This is a rather long and involved process but certainly achievable by anyone with the necessary enthusiasm and we can advise on suitable equipment and methods of analysis.In general, it is not a cost effective approach to the installation of small scale wind power and the widely chosen approach is to make use of the wind speed database and observation of the local terrain.