Small Wind Turbine Testing
Testing of small wind turbines to international standards is one of the principal ways we can insure that small wind turbines can do what their promoters claim. For decades manufactures of small wind turbines could say whatever they wanted about their wind turbines and there was no way to hold them accountable. Today–after nearly three decades of effort–there are standardized tests for measuring the performance of small wind turbines and standardized ways of reporting this performance. No one should ever buy a small wind turbine that has not been tested to international standards and the results of those tests published for the world to see.
Air X ASU Power Curve
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Tests on the Air X at Applachian State University’s Beech Mountain Small Wind Research and Demonstration Facility by Brent Summerville differ inexplicably with power curve tests on the Air X at the Wulf Test Field.
USDA Noise and Power Curve Tests of Small and Household-Size Wind Turbines
By
Paul Gipe
he U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service has a long history of testing wind turbines at its research station near Bushland, Texas. They do good work. They’re fair and competent.
Brazilian Tests Confirm Air 403 Underperforms Power Curve
By
Paul Gipe
Gustavo de Marsillac Peña presented the findings from a series of laboratory tests on an Air 403 at the American Wind Energy Association’s annual conference this week in Austin, Texas.
Noise from Small Wind Turbines: An Unaddressed Issue
By
Paul Gipe
While it’s difficult and time consuming, author Paul Gipe finds that measuring small wind turbine noise is within the reach of amateurs and asks why manufacturers and national laboratories are not testing the turbines themselves.
Testing the Power Curves of Small Wind Turbines
By
Paul Gipe
The following article grew out of research for an extensive revision of my book Wind Power for Home & Business published by Chelsea Green. The article is essentially a report on how to test small wind turbines and the results of my tests.
