Search

Premium Membership ♕

Save 50% on all EEP Academy courses with Enterprise Membership Plan and study specialized LV/MV/HV technical articles & guides.

Home / Technical Articles / What Size Wind Turbine Do I Need?

What Size Wind Turbine Do I Need?The size of the wind turbine you need depends on your application. Small turbines range in size from 20 watts to 100 kilowatts. The smaller or “micro” (20–500-watt) turbines are used in a variety of applications such as charging batteries for recreational vehicles and sailboats.

One- to 10-kW turbines can be used in applications such as pumping water. Wind energy has been used for centuries to pump water and grind grain. Although mechanical windmills still provide a sensible, low-cost option for pumping water in low-wind areas, farmers and ranchers are finding that wind-electric pumping is a little more versatile and they can pump twice the volume for the same initial investment. In addition, mechanical windmills must be placed directly above the well, which may not take the best advantage of available wind resources.

Wind-electric pumping systems can be placed where the wind resource is the best and connected to the pump motor with an electric cable.

Residential Applications

Turbines used in residential applications can range in size from 400 watts to 100 kW (100 kW for very large loads), depending on the amount of electricity you want to generate. For residential applications, you should establish an energy budget to help define the size of turbine you will need. Because energy efficiency is usually less expensive than energy production, making your house more energy efficient first will probably be more cost effective and will reduce the size of the wind turbine you need.

Wind turbine manufacturers can help you size your system based on your electricity needs and the specifics of local wind patterns.


Home Use

A typical home uses approximately 9400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year (about 780 kWh per month). Depending on the average wind speed in the area, a wind turbine rated in the range of 5 to 15 kilowatts (kW) would be required to make a significant contribution to this demand. A 1.5- kW wind turbine will meet the needs of a home requiring 300 kWh per month in a location with a 14-mile-per-hour (6.26-meters-persecond) annual average wind speed.

The manufacturer can provide you with the expected annual energy output of the turbine as a function of annual average wind speed. The manufacturer will also provide information on the maximum wind speed at which the turbine is designed to operate safely.

Most turbines have automatic overspeed-governing systems to keep the rotor from spinning out of control in very high winds. This information, along with your local wind speed and your energy budget, will help you decide which size turbine will best meet your electricity needs.

RESOURCE: Small Wind Electric Systems – A Guide Produced for the American Corn Growers Foundation

Premium Membership

Get access to premium HV/MV/LV technical articles, electrical engineering guides, research studies and much more! It helps you to shape up your technical skills in your everyday life as an electrical engineer.
More Information
author-pic

Edvard Csanyi

Hi, I'm an electrical engineer, programmer and founder of EEP - Electrical Engineering Portal. I worked twelve years at Schneider Electric in the position of technical support for low- and medium-voltage projects and the design of busbar trunking systems.

I'm highly specialized in the design of LV/MV switchgear and low-voltage, high-power busbar trunking (<6300A) in substations, commercial buildings and industry facilities. I'm also a professional in AutoCAD programming.

Profile: Edvard Csanyi

2 Comments


  1. Mr reza
    Aug 04, 2013

    what size turbie for wind plant i need? and depends on what?


    • Mr reza
      Aug 06, 2013

      what size large scale turbie for wind plant i need? and depends on what?

Leave a Comment

Tell us what you're thinking. We care about your opinion! Please keep in mind that comments are moderated and rel="nofollow" is in use. So, please do not use a spammy keyword or a domain as your name, or it will be deleted. Let's have a professional and meaningful conversation instead. Thanks for dropping by!

sixty eight  −  fifty nine  =  

Learn How to Design Power Systems

Learn to design LV/MV/HV power systems through professional video courses. Lifetime access. Enjoy learning!

EEP Hand-Crafted Video Courses

Check more than a hundred hand-crafted video courses and learn from experienced engineers. Lifetime access included.
EEP Academy Courses - A hand crafted cutting-edge electrical engineering knowledge