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Installation |
You should be completely familiar with the installation procedures before you begin. Safety equipment should be used at all times. Local building departments may have bylaw or zoning restrictions for towers.
Tower Height
Wind generator operation is dependent on the quantity and quality of the wind
hitting the blades. Turbulent wind will reduce the power output as the turbine
swings back and forth hunting for the wind. The unequal stresses caused by
turbulence, and the variation in wind speed between the upper and lower blades
of a wind turbine installed too close to the ground will reduce power output
and wind turbine life.
Wind speed increases rapidly with tower height. Doubling tower height increases the available wind power by about 40%. It is often more economical to install a higher tower rather than purchasing a larger generator. A wind generator should be installed a minimum of 33 feet (10 meters) above any obstruction within 330 feet (100 meters).
Tower Construction
Guyed towers are economical and are able to withstand very high winds if
properly installed. They require a fairly large area of cleared land around the
tower to facilitate the installation of the guy lines. To supply the desired
amount of support and keep the stresses on the tower to a minimum, the guy
lines should extend as far as possible around the tower to a maximum radius of
80% of the tower height. Guyed towers may be either lattice towers or tubular
towers. The tubular towers are frequently designed for tilt up installation.
They have the advantages of easy installation and turbine maintenance.
Self-supporting towers are the least visibly intrusive wind turbine towers. They can be installed in rough terrain with a minimum of cleared area. Very small wind turbines may be installed on a short self-supporting tubular tower, but larger turbines require a lattice tower.
Building Your Own
Smaller residential wind turbines may be economically mounted on a home built
tower. Steel water pipe may be used to construct a tilt-up tubular tower. We
also sell tower kits that include everything you need except the pipe and the
anchors, which can generally be purchased locally more conveniently.
Tower grounding rods and wire provide lightning protection and assure a low resistance path to ground. The grounding wire should be straight, without sharp angles. A free-standing tower poses a special problem because its base acts as an insulator.
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