Photo: Company Site
The bulk of discussion of wind turbines centers on blade design, turbine efficiency, and above all, siting constraints. Engineering that reduces objectionable low-frequency wind noise is making great strides, notably the Skystream and Swift designs, offer great incentive for community- and home-based wind systems by overcoming the most common objections.
Once the turbine is up and running, especially the huge wind farm models, one major obstacle to peak efficiency arises: wind constantly changes in both direction and magnitude, and the wind turbine, while adjustable for both conditions, only responds after the wind has changed, with no way to know if the shift will be long or short lived. That is, until now.
Enter the Vindicator from Catch The Wind, Inc. (Incidentally — or not — I have no financial interest in this or any other company that appears in these posts. I DO get commissions on purchases from the Product and Book pages, but posts are free of all interest except in the creativity and quality that goes into the reviewed products.) This is a laser wind sensor that can spot changes in wind direction and speed several seconds before they reach the turbine, allowing the turbine to adjust in advance to changing conditions. No more waiting for the wind to change. The Vindicator looks forward as much as 300 meters, and using complex voting logic circuitry, can reliably predict both the shift in wind and also its probable duration, so the wind system won’t constantly be adjusting to short term variations.
The result is an estimated 10 percent gain in productivity due to increased efficiency when the blades can change pitch and the blade circle can yaw to make maximum use of even the smallest wind. Also, because efficient operation causes less mechanical stress on the turbine shafts and other parts, maintenance is also down 10 percent. With 10 percent less down time, days of energy production will be up as well.
Check out the excellent white papers at Catch The Wind’s website.
