Rutland 505

We publish our curves based on measured data and use ongoing actual performance data collected and monitored over long periods of time of the turbines running in real wind conditions. This means the turbines are also subject to side winds, upwinds and sudden changes of wind direction (these are the causes of turbulence) experienced at a user’s typical installation. Our curves represent a truer reflection of the power output you can expect from your Rutland Windcharger compared with many other turbines.

A power curve is usually given by manufacturers to represent the performance of a wind turbine. Some may be based on theoretical or predicted output and others plot the power achieved under steady state conditions. Wind tunnel testing and turbines run on vehicle rooftops can provide useful information for a manufacturer but power curves derived in this way need to be understood as running in a clear and unobstructed wind flow so they do not represent what is actually achieved in real wind conditions. Power curves from theoretical analysis cannot be regarded as representing what is actually achieved at all.

A more useful guide of how much power you can expect from your turbine is the Annual Energy Yield. That’s because wind energy is a “cube law,” which means that when the windspeed doubles the power potential is 8 times! Check the Annual Energy Yield bar chart which uses the Rayleigh distribution to calculate the Ampere hours of battery charging you can expect at given average wind speeds per annum. As these are averaged across the year you should consider how these figures will ebb and flow across the seasons when you might expect a higher average during the windier seasons. We often recommend the combination of wind and solar charging to smooth out the daily energy yield.