Which turbine is suitable for my needs?

A medium sized average home requires between 4–6 MWh of energy per annum. A school, office, community centre or farm will almost certainly use a lot more.

The Iskra AT5-1 5kW turbine is capable of supplying this at an AMWS of about 5 m/s on a typical site, and can supply considerably more annual energy on a windier site, as is shown by the graph below.

For larger rural domestic properties, schools, golf clubs, farms, community centres and commercial premises the larger, more powerful, Westwind 20 20kW turbine (pictured on the left) may be more appropriate. This will generate approximately 30MWh per year at a moderately windy site. We can also offer a 10kW turbine from Westwind for those with slightly less energy needs.

And newly introduced into the UK is the brand new Southwest Windpower Skystream 3.7, (pictured below to the left), which is an innovative 1.9kW turbine with all the electronics for the grid connection built-in to the turbine head. This helps to bring the cost down of both the system and the installation. This is an ideal turbine for smaller domestic applications, and can be sited significantly closer to neighbour's properties than any of the other turbines we offer.

For smaller applications Segen also offers a 1kW turbine from the well respected South African manufacturer, Kestrel. The Kestrel 1000 is a true 1kW turbine producing very high power at modest wind speeds, and should not be confused with other turbines of a similar claimed power rating. The Kestrel 1000 has 3m diameter blades and generates its rated power at only 9.5m/s. Kestrel also offer a smaller 600W model that is well suited to off-grid battery charging applications or smaller grid connected needs. This turbine is suitable for user installation with modest mechanical skills and a qualified electrician to make the electrical connection.

Segen can also offer a Vestas 75kW turbine for industrial scale applications. These are fully reconditioned models from Denmark and provide excellent value for money for sites with large energy needs and good wind resource.

An assessment of the power requirements of your particular application and a wind speed assessment of your site, will need to be made in order to determine which turbine will meet all your needs, however the question may not be as important as you might imagine ...

The wind turbine, and your property, will be connected to the national grid, so whenever you need more power than the wind turbine can produce, it will simply come from your electricity supplier as it does now. When your turbine produces more power than you need, it is exported to the grid, and you get paid for the surplus.

Cost will of course be a major factor in your decision, and in general you should purchase the largest turbine that you can afford if you want to maximise your savings in electricity costs and environmental impact, however your neighbours and local planning authorities may not agree.

Shown below is a comparison table showing the expected energy generation and a graphical illustration comparing the sizes of the turbines when mounted on typical towers in clear open ground.