Wind speed, as you can imagine, is the most important factor to take into consideration when deciding on the situation for your turbine.
The speed ideally, should be steady not erratic. Small but stable increases in speed can nearly double your output of electricity over time. To ascertain whether your site has a suitable ‘windy’ aspect please contact Dorrell Renewables. All we need is your postcode and we can do the rest. The optimum scenario is for an Evance R9000 at Average Mean Wind Speed (AMWS) of at least 4.7m/s (10.5mph), and the Gaia is AMWS greater than 4.2m/s (9.6mph) and the Endurance an AMWS greater than 5.0m/s (11.2 mph).
Once you have established the type of turbine you require, then a site survey is carried out to establish various criteria regarding the positioning of the turbine.
Dorrell Renewables will estimate the wind speed at the chosen spot, taking into consideration any specific surroundings e.g. hedges, buildings etc. There are strict guidelines that have to be adhered to, set out by planning laws. Evance R9000 and Gaia’s really need to be 100 -120metres from a neighbour’s property.
With the Endurance, the distance from your neighbour's property should be between 250-400 metres. Your turbine also should be sited between 75 - 250metres from your property, dependant on the turbine you have selected. Turbulence can also have an adverse effect on the performance of your turbine so it needs to be positioned as far as possible from any obstructions (e.g. trees, buildings, etc), even hills and sea breezes can affect the turbine.
Dorrell Renewables can assist you in making an informed decision. We have years of experience in sourcing ‘good’ sites.
You will come across many different terminologies regarding the working of turbines, one of these is ‘flicker’ this is the effect caused by the sunlight shining through the blades especially when the sun is low in the sky, manufacturers do help to counteract this by coating the blades to minimise this effect.