Installations

FAQ list

1. What use are these windturbines?
2. What applications can these windturbines have?
3. Could I supply a house with electricity from one of these machines?
4. Can windturbines be run in parallel?
5. Can they be connected directly to a home energy supply for consumption?
6. Can they plug in directly to the electricity supply in order to sell the energy produced?
7. Can I install a windturbine and connect to the electricity grid in Spain?
8. Can I change the polarity of the batteries?
9. Can the battery be disconnected when the windturbine is in use?
10. Does the polarity of the base connection cables matter?
11. How do I charge the windturbine battery?
12. Can the regulator cause the batteries to lose their charge?
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Answers

1. What use are these windturbines?

   Windturbine equipment serves in order to produce electrical energy by harnessing the force of the wind.

   The way this energy is produced is by transforming the mechanical power that wind exercises on the windturbine blades into electrical power.
   

   This electrical power is obtained through a permanent magnet synchro generator housed in the windturbine.
   

   
   

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2. What applications can these windturbines have?

   These machines are normally used in two types of set-up, mainly:

   In remote facilities. These are places where there is no electricity supply network and electricity is therefore lacking. An example would be a farm right out in the country.

   Facilities with grid connection. These are places where the electricity generated by the windturbine is sold on to an electricity company. This energy goes through a meter and the company pays for the KWh amount produced by the customer.

   There are other types of facilities, although these are less common, such as those with direct pumping systems, etc.
   

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3. Could I supply a house with electricity from one of these machines?

   Bornay recommends hybrid set-ups, combining solar panels and a windturbine.

   This way offers practically a 100% guarantee of energy, since when there is no sun there is wind, and vice versa. Both systems are compatible and complementary.

   Installing just one source would mean overrelying on the system for less favourable times. With wind energy, it is also necessary to know precisely the wind speed at the location for the set-up.
   

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4. Can windturbines be run in parallel?

   Yes, you can put several windturbines together in parallel. There is no problem with this.

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5. Can they be connected directly to a home energy supply for consumption?

   No, because the power they produce is not a controlled and regulated energy, so an intermediate 'apparatus' is required to adapt the signals coming from the windturbine.

   In the case of remote facilities, this intermediate apparatus is called a regulator.

   In the case of grid connected installations, this apparatus is called a grid connection inverter.
   

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6. Can they plug in directly to the electricity supply in order to sell the energy produced?

   No. An inverter is required in order to adapt the signals and to adapt the equipment to the local regulations.

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7. Can I install a windturbine and connect to the electricity grid in Spain?

   This type of installation is possible, yes, but currently there is no distinction made between small wind power and big wind power, so the premium for energy produced by small wind power is the same price as that for big wind power. Furthermore, you would need all the administrative and paperwork required for big-scale wind power.

   As it stands in Spain, small-scale wind power is getting a worse deal compared to other technologies such as photovoltaics, and repayment calculations involve high periodic amounts, making such an installation currently unprofitable economically.
   

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8. Can I change the polarity of the batteries?

   No. This would cause the regulator to break down.

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9. Can the battery be disconnected when the windturbine is in use?

   Don't even think about it! This action would cause irreparable damage to the regulator.

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10. Does the polarity of the base connection cables matter?

    No. The base of the windtubine is three-phase AC, so these can be connected with no concern about the order.

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11. How do I charge the windturbine battery?

    The windtubine output is low voltage AC. To charge the battery, alternating power is previously transformed into direct current at the available voltages (12, 24, 48 v). This step is carried out using a bridge rectifier installed in the regulator which, in turn, controls the state of the battery to stop it overcharging.

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12. Can the regulator cause the batteries to lose their charge?

    Due to the design of the regulator, this is practically impossible.

    If it were to happen, check the installation thoroughly because there may be another factor causing the loss of charge.

    
    

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