A Hugh Piggott design wind turbine has been installed at the test field for small wind turbines in Schoondijke in the Netherlands. It is a 2,4 m diameter, 700 W turbine and will be used for performance testing.
The test field is operational since 2007 and different commercial wind turbines have been tested and compared on aspects like performance, operational costs, environmental influences and noise. The test results are used to evaluate the economic and technical feasibility of small wind turbines. In the picture our wind turbine is the second from right.
The turbine has been installed in June 2013 on a free standing tower of 14 m height. The erection of the heavy tower was a delicate operation and required cautious preparation.
The electrical installation consists of a grid inverter Windyboy 1100 LV feeding the produced electricity into the main grid. It is protected by a LDR 48-30 dumping the power at cases of overvoltage.
The electronic box contains:
① Brake
② Recifier
③ Controller
④ Dump load
⑤ Grid inverter
The performance of the wind turbine as well as the wind speed are continuously measured on the test site. The results are posted weekly.