aerostartm 6 METER WIND TURBINE
A SIMPLE AND AFFORDABLE WIND SYSTEM FOR YOUR HOME.
Wind is a free source of energy available to everyone who owns their own home. Until now, capturing this energy and cost effectively converting it to electricity has been an elusive challenge. But all this has changed. Aerostar has pioneered the design of a wind turbine large enough to fully power the average U.S. home without the need for an expensive and complex inverter. * Made in the USA The Aerostar 6 Meter is practical, economical and simple. With a 22 diameter rotor that sweeps nearly 400 square feet, it is capable of extracting 10,000 watts of energy from the wind. Even in parts of the country where the wind only blows 12 MPH on average, you can expect to generate all of the power used by the average home in the U.S*. And you don t need an inverter. Our generator produces power that is identical to the electricity you purchase from your utility company. *Based on a household power consumption of 900 kwh/month and average wind speed of 12 MPH. Actual power production may vary with average wind speed and wind speed distribution.
The Aerostar 6 Meter Wind Turbine First conceived in the 1980s, the Aerostar 6 Meter design has evolved over decades to become the most innovate small wind turbine in production. Here are some reasons why: Two Blade Teetering Rotor. This is one case where less is more. Less cost. Less visual intrusion on the landscape. Less vibration. Less load on the turbine and tower. Aerodynamic Braking. Safety is the most important attribute of any wind turbine. Our blade tip brakes will automatically slow the rotor ito a safe speed in an emergency or power outage, then automatically reset when things get back to normal. No Inverter. Our generator produces 240 Volt, 60 Hz power, just like the utility company. There is no need for an expensive and complex inverter. Just connect the control box wires to a standard circuit breaker. Our generator gives new meaning to the term plug and play. Constant Rotor Speed. Many small wind turbines have rotors that turn faster as the wind speed increases. When the wind really starts to blow and the rotor of one of these turbines sounds like an an assault helicopter landing in your backyard, our rotor just lulls along at the same speed, efficiently and quietly extracting energy from the wind. Data Collection. With the included data collection package, you will always know your power production, wind speed and power usage, not only in real time but also for the past month or year. You can even access your data over the internet with the optional web interface.
Estimated Power Production Because average wind velocities can have varying distributions of wind speeds, average power production is necessarily an approximation and will vary in accordance with local factors such as height, obstructions, wind shear, turbulence, etc. THE POWER PRODUCTION AT ANY SPECIFIC SITE MAY BE MORE OR LESS THAN SHOWN ON THIS TABLE.
How can a wind turbine generate utility grade power without an inverter? Aerostar uses induction generators, not the permanent magnet generators which are used by almost every other small wind turbine in the U.S. Induction generators are not new. In the 1980s almost all small wind turbines used induction generators and most large wind turbines continue to use induction generators. Induction generators turn at nearly constant speed. This means the turbine rotor also turns at constant speed, so the frequency of the power is always constant. This allows us to connect our generator directly to a standard AC electrical circuit - without an inverter. Because our generator connects directly to the utility grid the voltage and frequency never change. Induction generators only have one moving part, the rotor, and no brushes to wear out. They are similar to AC induction motors which are made by the millions. They are extremely reliable and can last for generations with little to no maintenance. The best part about using an induction generator is that you don t need an inverter. An inverter can represent 1/4 to 1/3 the cost of a small wind turbine. That s why induction wind turbines are much more cost effective than permanent magnet turbines. Inverters are extremely complex and often can t be fixed in the field. That s why induction turbines tend to be more reliable and cost effective than inverter based systems. That s also one reason why most megawatt sized turbines use induction generators. In fact Aerostar turbines probably have more in common with highly engineered utility scale wind turbines than with common inverter based small wind turbines. If Induction turbines have all these benefits why aren t there more of them? Induction turbines are much more difficult to engineer than permanent magnet turbines. The rotor blade shape, diameter, pitch and speed and the generator characteristics must all work in perfect harmony or the turbine will not perform efficiently.
It s sort of like learning to make a souffle, it can take years of experience and lots of mistakes, before you get it right. However, once the designer has got it right, the turbine can be extremely efficient, cost effective and, most importantly - simple. Why use two blades when most wind turbines use three? Two blade rotors are not new. In fact some of the largest and most successful modern wind turbines designed by NASA used two blades. In contrast, three blade turbines were more common in Europe. Because these turbines were imported into the U.S. in large numbers for use in wind farms, we tend to assume wind turbines should have three blades. Two blade turbines are truly an American innovation and they have many desirable features over their three blade counterparts. For example, two blade turbines have wider and thicker blades than three bladers so the blades are stronger. They use teetering rotors which eliminate precessional forces so the turbines and towers can be lighter and less costly. Many people think two blade turbines are more attractive and less intrusive on the landscape. As U.S. companies increasingly dominate the growing wind turbine market and produce more and more turbines, two blades will likely become the preferred configuration, particularly for small turbines. America has a tradition of innovation. Much of the two blade technology was developed and perfected here. As a U.S. company, Aerostar strives to continue to advance the technology. Why is the Aerostar Rotor Design so Different (and Attractive)? The rotor used on the 6 Meter turbine is manufactured from composite materials which make use of both bidirectional and unidirectional fabrics for high strength and light weight. The rotor utilizes low Reynolds Number airfoils which were specially designed to increase the efficiency of small wind turbines. The blades are twisted and tapered because this is the optimum shape for extracting energy from the wind. Our turbine rotor wasn t designed to be attractive. It is attractive because it was designed for efficiency and performance - a perfect example of form following function.
Evaluating Your Wind Resource The most important question to be answered before purchasing and installing any wind turbine is whether or not you have sufficient wind to produce adequate power for your needs. The higher your average wind speed, the more power your turbine will produce and the shorter the payback period on your investment. A primary souce of wind speed data can be found at the U.S. Department of Energy Windpowering America web site. There are also other sources such as local airports, actual wind studies and wind maps. Vegatative indicators such as the tree flagging in the image above can also be important evidence of wind speeds. Your local Aerostar dealer has experience and training and will help you interpret and understand the wind resource information available for your area.
Installing your Aerostar What Size Turbine Should I Purchase? The amount of power any wind turbine produces is primarily dependant on the rotor swept area. Two turbines are shown above. One is 12 in diameter and sweeps 113 square feet. The second turbine, the Aerostar 6 Meter, is 22 in diameter and sweeps 380 The Aerostar 6 Meter can be installed on a variety of towers - guyed tilt- square feet. ing towers, lattice freestanding towers or monopoles. This variety allows Aerostar owners to customize the installation to fit their Given similar tower heights and wind speeds, the Aerostar will pro- requirements. duce about 3 times more power than the smaller turbine - simply because it has 3 time the swept area. At a site with a 12 MPH Guyed towers are the most economical choice. Another advantage average wind speed the Aerostar might produce about 1,000 is that the towers can be installed without a crane and easily and kwh per month. The smaller turbine might produce about 330 quickly lowered for maintenance. kwh per month. Freestanding lattice towers are a bit more expensive than guyed towers but they have a much smaller footprint. These towers usually Beware of exaggerated claims. There is no magic or silver bullet in small wind turbine design or efficiency - the laws of physics require a crane for installation, but Aerostar does have a tilting always apply. For a given wind speed, the amount of power you mechanism available. get is pretty much dependant on the size of the turbine rotor. Monopole towers are substantially more expensive than guyed or freestanding towers, but they have the smallest footprint.
Connecting your Aerostar - True Plug & Play Connecting an Aerostar wind turbine to your home is simply a matter of connecting the control box to a circuit breaker in your load center.* It s not much different than connecting an electric dryer, electric stove or electric hot water heater. The wires from the generator windings connect directly to your AC power outlet. In most areas of the country where net metering is available, the Aerostar will produce power in parallel with the utility company. Because the turbine is connected on the load side of your electric meter, you will use turbine produced power first. If there is not enough wind to produce all of the power you are using, only the difference will come from the utility. If you produce more than you can use, your meter will run backwards and the excess power will be stored in the utility grid where you can take it back the next time there is no wind. *Some utility companies require an external disconnect or separate electrical sub panel. Load Center must have an adequate amperage capacity for the turbine.
Full Data Collection Package Aerostar wants owners of our turbines to have access to real information about turbine performance. We want you to be able to manage your power consumption wisely, so we give you the tools to do precisely that - at no additional cost. You will have access to a full year s worth of data. You will be able to call up any period - be it a day, month or year - and see what your wind speeds were, how much power you produced, how much you stored in the grid and how much you used. You will also be able to monitor these values in real time. You will be able to see all this information, and much more, on an industrial grade 8 inch color touch screen display.
Remote Monitoring An optional web server is available for all Aerostar wind turbines. The server allows you to monitor turbine performance wherever you happen to be as long as you have access to the Internet.* You can also monitor wind speeds and how much electricity your home is using or your wind turbine is sending out into the grid. You can even access your stored data and view or show others how much power you have generated over the past weeks or months. *A static IP address may be required.
How do I Know What Size Turbine I Should Purchase? The amount of power any wind turbine produces is primarily dependant on the rotor swept area. For example, two turbines are shown above. One is 12 in diameter and sweeps 113 square feet. The second turbine, the Aerostar 6 Meter, is 22 in diameter and sweeps 380 square feet. Given similar tower heights and wind speeds, the Aerostar will produce about 3 times more power than the smaller turbine. At an average U.S. site with a 12 MPH average wind speed the Aerostar might produce about 1,000 kwh per month. The smaller turbine might produce about 330 kwh per month. Beware of exaggerated claims. There is no magic or silver bullet in small wind turbine design or efficiency - the laws of physics always apply. For a given wind speed, the amount of power you get is primarily dependant on the size of your wind turbine rotor. This makes sense when you think about it. The more wind a rotor intercepts, the more power it can extract. For
Raising an Aerostar 6 Meter on a Guyed Tilt Tower Our guyed tilting tower is so easy to raise and lower that almost anyone can do it. All you have to do is loosen one turnbuckle a few turns, pull out one pin and push a small switch on the electric winch. A few minutes later the tower and turbine have been lowered to the ground. You don t even need any tools. We are often asked for hydraulically raised monopoles. Raising a tower hydraulically sounds like a good idea, but it can actually be so expensive and time consuming that it is essentially impractical. For example, 20 or more very large and expensive bolts may have to be removed, replaced and torqued each time the tower is raised. Structural bolts should never be reused after initial tensioning so all of the large base bolts must be discarded. This process could take hours and cost hundreds of dollars. Just finding a torque wrench big enough to tighten such large bolts can be a challenge in itself. This is definitely not a job which which the average homeowner would want to tackle. Compare this to our tilting guyed tower where there are no parts to replace and the process of removing a pin requires no tools and takes seconds. If hydraulic monopoles were such a good idea, you would see commercial wind farms using them. You dont!
A Few or the Many Reasons for Choosing Aerostar A history of performance dating back to 1980. Innovation that sets the standard in the small wind industry. Unparalled efficiency and reliability. Proven performance and certification by independent testing laboratories, North American Energy Laboratories (NAEL). A national network of professional dealers trained in installing and maintaining Aerostar products. All Aerostar dealers must attend periodic training sessions at our factory. All Aerostar dealers are required to install and maintain our products in accordance with policies that are designed to promote the highest level of customer satisfaction. All Aerostar wind turbines and towers are made and/or assembled in the U.S.A. Full data collection package included with all of our turbines at no additional cost to the owner. Optional Web interface that allows owners to monitor turbine performance and household energy consumption from any location with an internet connection.
Made in the USA Aerostar 6 Meter Specifications Model: Aerostar 6 Meter Rotor Diameter: 22 Feet (6.7 m) Rotor Swept Area: 380 Square Feet (35.3 sq. m) Rotor Configuration: Downwind, Free Yaw Rotor Type: Two Blade Teetering Rotor Blades: Tapered, Twisted, Fiberglass Reinforced Composite Rated Capacity: 10 kw @ 31 MPH Peak Capacity: 12 kw Power at 25 MPH (~11 m/s): 7.7 kw Generator: 10 kw Induction Cut-In Wind Speed: 8 MPH Shut Down Wind Speed: 50 MPH gust over 45 seconds Rotor Overspeed Control: Aerodynamic Tip Brakes, Failsafe Brake Control: Microprocessor Islanding Safety: Induction generator cannot backfeed, over/under voltage and frequency control optional. Power Factor: 0.95 Weight: 650 pounds (281 kg) Noise: 43 dba at 100 feet Approvals: UL, CSA, Control box and Components, IEEE 1547. Certification: Noise, Performance and Safety certificate from North American Energy Laboratories (NAEL), IEEE 1547. Your Local Aerostar Dealer www.aerostarwind.com Aerostar, Inc. PO Box 52, Westport Point, MA 02791 508-636-5200