Comments on: Why we only offer a 2.5kw turbine

By: Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:35:54 +0000

I am very interested in your product, but completely confused on how to find the wind speeds at my home site in Kinlough, Co Leitrim…Can you help?

regards,
Nancy

By: Quentin

Quentin — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:33:06 +0000

Hi Elaine, Quentin here. Alas, both of these questions can’t be answered without more questions.

The consumption of the geothermal system will depend entirely on the heat losses of the house – i.e. its size, insulation value and the temperature you plan to run it at. If you have a BER cert, this info might be available.

THe output of the turbine will of course depend on the wind speed on your site. This can be assessed either by yourself or by us. If you email us on the site, I can send you details on this.

You will be constantly buying or selling power depending on whether your production from the turbine is more or less than your consumption at any one time. As your heating cuts in and out your load will vary, and during the summer, despite the lower winds, you may well end up exporting more. Quentin

By: Elaine Barry

Elaine Barry — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:08:01 +0000

To whom it may concern,

We are currently looking into purchasing a geothermal with underfloor heating and a 2.5Kw Wind Turbine. Can you please let me know what the annual Kw usage of electricity one has with a 15Kw Geothermal and the contribution that a 2.5Kw Wind Turbine can make to this. We are in a very windy spot! Are there Kw left over that the turbine produces that will allow us to use in our house e.g. cooker, washing machine etc.

Many thanks,
Elaine

By: Quentin

Quentin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:21:59 +0000

Yes, we are qualified installers. In fact ESB only want RECI or similar approval but I have the City & Guilds wind and solar PV qualifications gathering dust somewhere in case it becomes a condition in the future!

In terms of maintenance, the inverter is pretty maintenance free. The turbine should be inspected yearly in a simple inspection procedure that can be done by the householder. Every five years we would want to take it down, check bearings and blades and replace if necessary – replacement at five years isn’t expected unless there is a lot of abrasive material in the air, downwind from a quarry or similar.

The charge for that would depend on distance, but would be a half-day for two people. Don’t know what that hourly charge will be in five years time, but it won’t be excessive. We don’t live on lobsters the size of Jack Russels, sadly….

By: Fergus Brogan

Fergus Brogan — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:09:20 +0000

Hi Quentin,
I see from the ESB requirements, that I must have my micro-turbine installed and maintained by someone qualified to their standard. I assume your people are so qualified. Any idea of the annual cost to fulfill this requirement?
Best wishes,

By: Mac

Mac — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:52:40 +0000

Hi Quentin,

the info you provide is excellent. I am on the west coast and so would feel that the site lends itself to a wind-turbine. However, I am running a air-to-water heat pump : you mention that this type of heat generation tends to draw large occasional loads as opposed to a more linear demand.

Is this possibly because, to make it economical, it is being run on night-saver ?

What is the impact of night-saver on the calculations ?

I’d really appreciate it if you could help on these details. Also, you mention a set of instructions on how to determine average wind speeds. If you could mail them to me or send me your email address I will mail you photo’s etc.

R&T,

Mac.

By: Quentin

Quentin — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:55:30 +0000

Hi Nancy, We can do a quick assessment of your site. If you can pinpoint it for us on either Google Maps, or give us your satnav co-ordinates and send us photos of the area so we can estimate the effect of local topography, we can make a good guess.

Photos from the proposed turbine site facing N, S, E and W and labelled would help us to do this a bit better.

Otherwise, I can email you info on how to do all this yourself.
Q

By: Nancy Gallagher

Nancy Gallagher — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:47:09 +0000

I am very interested in your product, but completely confused on how to find the wind speeds at my home site in Kinlough, Co Leitrim…Can you help?

regards,
Nancy

By: Quentin

Quentin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:01:30 +0000

Hi Lars,
The wind maps give estimated mean wind speeds based on a turbine with a hub height 100m above the ground. There is a separate calculator used to plot how this wind speed might vary at higher or (in our case) lower levels. This wind shear plot depends on the roughness of the land – the nature of the vegetation etc.

We are still working out power curves for our turbine. We have been busy resolving some technical issues, but expect to be able to produce power curves shortly. The readings we have so far are along the lines that we expected, but there aren’t nearly enough of them to justify publication. Q

By: Lars

Lars — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:21:03 +0000

—-Thanks for your web enquiry. I’d be a bit surprised if the mean wind speed close to Shannon is less than 5m/sec. I get a reading of about 7 to 7.5m/sec at 100m high—-

100 m high ? above sea level or ground level ?

Are there real performance data available for your windturbine ?

Lars