| RSS Web Feed for Renewable Energy UK |  | REUK Shop | Directory | Bookmark Site | About Us  

Wind Turbine Water Heating



Wind Turbine Water Heating

Heat water directly using a wind turbine generator (with or without a battery bank)

wind | heating | water
Printer Friendly Version Print Article     

Wind turbine generators are used primarily for electricity generation. The power used can be stored in a battery bank or connected to the mains supply using a suitable grid tie inverter. In very strong winds, and/or when the batteries are fully charged a wind turbine may generate more current than the batteries can handle. Therefore a dump load is often used to divert the extra energy to heat water so it is not wasted and so that the wind turbine does not spin so quickly that it is damaged.

Diversion Load Water Heating

12 Volt water heating element
Pictured above is a typical 12V water heating element (200 Watt power) which can be screwed into an immersion heater draincock hole. When used as a diversion (dump) load, such an element is connected to the batteries via a charge regulator. When the regulator detects that the batteries are fully charged, it diverts the generated electricity to the element which heats water.

Water heating as a dump (diversion) load with a wind turbine generator system

Direct Wind Turbine Water Heating

It is not usually possible to connect a 12 Volt water heating element directly to the output from a wind turbine. The voltages generated by a 12 Volt wind turbine are typically far in excess of their nominal 12 Volt rating - with values of over 50 Volts often recorded in heavy winds. These high voltages would rapidly burn out the heating element when you need it most. A 12 Volt heating element should be used with just 12-15 Volts, a 24V heating element with just 24-30 Volts.
4Ah 12 Volt Motorcycle Battery
In order to prevent the heating element from receiving fluctuating over-voltages a small battery should be used as a buffer between the wind turbine output and the heating element. A 12V motorcycle battery is perfect for this task (for 12V immersion elements) - no more powerful than 4 amp hours / 50 cold cranking amps, and it should be a lead-acid battery which can be refilled with water. A sealed gel type battery or dry cell should not be used.

The heating element chosen must be closely matched to the typical power output of the wind turbine. If the element is too large (high wattage), the wind turbine will not be able to start up spinning unless the wind is very strong. If the element has a low wattage, nothing will be damaged since the small battery will limit the voltage to around 12v, but heat will be dissipated in the wind turbine generator and cables rather than used to heat water.

If the heating element is poorly matched then there is the risk of a large voltage drop between the wind turbine generator and the immersion heating element causing the cable between them to melt. In this eventuality the wind turbine would then freewheel at very high RPM and could easily be damaged to destroyed.

Buy an Immersion Heater Element for a Wind Turbine


500 Watt 12V immersion heater element for wind turbine generator powered hot water system

Click here to view our new article Immersion Heater Elements for Wind Turbines in which we present some of the latest 12V, 24V, 36V, and 48V immersion heater elements on the market.
Article Last Modified: 13:21, 4th Sep 2008

Comment on this Article

If you have any comments on this article, please email them to neil@reuk.co.uk.


Recommended Related Articles

People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:

Immersion Heater Elements for Wind Turbines
Details of a range of immersion heater elements designed for use with wind turbine generators
Article Last Modified: 08:19, 22nd Dec 2008
wind | heating | water

200W 12V Immersion Heater
Using a wind turbine to heat water for your home via an immersion heater element
Article Last Modified: 13:21, 4th Sep 2008
heating | wind | water

DIY 2kW Wind Turbine
Read about a home built 2kW wind turbine constructed from scrap
Article Last Modified: 08:46, 4th Oct 2007
wind | recycling

Permanent Magnet Generator
Build a wind or water power system with around a PM Generator
Article Last Modified: 16:43, 6th Apr 2010
wind | hydro

LM2940 12V 1A Low Dropout Regulator
Find out how to use an LM2940 to efficiently regulate voltage
Article Last Modified: 09:07, 30th Jan 2010
electric circuit | storage | general | lighting

Make a Simple Battery Status Monitor
Monitor battery status with this easy electric circuit project - no skill required!
Article Last Modified: 12:33, 16th Mar 2007
storage | electric circuit

Interconnecting Batteries for Battery Bank
Find out how best to connect batteries together into a battery bank
Article Last Modified: 13:53, 23rd Feb 2007
storage

Thermosyphon Solar Water Heating
Find out how a Thermosyphon Solar Water Heating System works
Article Last Modified: 16:15, 3rd Nov 2008
heating | solar | water

Dynamo Hubs For Wind Turbines
Dynamo Hubs and bottle dynamos for use in small DIY wind turbine generators
Article Last Modified: 12:18, 11th Apr 2009
wind | electronics

Immersion Heaters to help Renewable Energy
Find out how the electric immersion heater could enable almost full renewable electricity supply in the UK
Article Last Modified: 14:34, 18th Jun 2009
general | news | water | heating

© 2006-2010 REUK - All Rights Reserved
Page Last Updated on 2nd September 2010 at 02:24:32pm

Latest
Articles


Eco Kettle 2 Chrome
Save electricity with an efficient eco kettle - new improved chrome version
energy efficiency
15:25, 18th Aug 2010

OWL CM119 Wireless Energy Monitor
Find out more about the new OWL CM119 wireless electricity monitor
shopping
15:23, 18th Aug 2010

KC7783R PIR Module
Find out more about the economical and easy to use KC7783R PIR motion sensor module
electronics
15:16, 18th Aug 2010

PIR Sensors
Find out how to integrate PIR (passive infra red) sensors into renewable energy applications
electronics
15:16, 18th Aug 2010

LM317 High Current Voltage Regulator
Find out how to build an LM317T based high current voltage regulator
electric circuit
12:29, 17th Aug 2010

LM317 Voltage Calculator
A handy online output voltage calculator for the LM317, LM338, and other linear voltage regulators
electric circuit
12:29, 17th Aug 2010

Optocouplers
Find out more about optocouplers/optoisolators and their uses
electronics
13:33, 14th Aug 2010

Relays and Renewable Energy
Find out more about relays and their uses in renewable energy applications
electric circuit
13:33, 14th Aug 2010



REUK Shop

Popular Items


REUK SUPER TIMER
User programmable 12V powered 10A rated repeating relay timer. 1 second to 99 hours ON and OFF times
£19.99 each.
Complete Circuits



SOLAR PUMP CONTROLLER WITH RELAY
Solar water heating system microprocessor controlled circuit with fitted 10A relay
£25.99 each.
Complete Circuits



12 VOLT 5 WATT SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 12 Volt 5 Watt Solar Panel with aluminium frame - 290mm x 205mm x 17mm with fitted 5m leads
£33.99 each.
Solar Power



300 WATT POWER INVERTER
Convert 12V DC battery power into 230 AC to power portable televisions, computers, video recorders etc. 300 Watt power rating - peak power 600 Watts
£29.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



CONVERTED PROGRAMMABLE DIGITAL TIMER RELAY
Mains powered programmable timer converted to low voltage with relay board
£21.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



12 VOLT REGULATOR
Supply a fixed 12.0 Volt DC to your devices (up to 1 Amp output)
£4.99 each.
Complete Circuits



MR16 CERAMIC BULB HOLDER
Bulb holder for 12 Volt LED spotlight bulbs
£1.39 each.
Energy Efficient Lighting