Southwest Windpower AIR 30, Owner'S Manual

Page: 17 / 32

AIR 30 Owner’s Manual 17
5-3 Wire Size
All electrical systems lose energy due to resistance in conductors: the wires.
•฀฀Large฀wires฀have฀less฀resistance฀but฀can฀be฀considerably฀more฀costly.฀
•฀฀Resistance฀losses฀will฀also฀increase฀with฀increasing฀current,฀therefore,฀if฀
yours is a high wind site, it may be worthwhile to go with a larger size wire
to take advantage of the greater power production potential of your site.
•฀฀Conversely,฀in฀low฀wind฀sites฀it฀may฀not฀be฀cost฀effective฀to฀increase฀the฀
wire size since power production will be low.
The following wiring sizes provide maximum annual energy losses of 5% or
less for sites with a 12 mph average wind speed (assuming the standard
Rayleigh distribution of wind speeds) which is sufficient for most sites.
To determine the size wire, measure the distance from the batteries to your
AIR wind turbine. Be sure to include height of the tower. Refer to the ap-
propriate chart for your system voltage and number of turbines and select the
wire size.
We recommend these as the minimum wire sizes; for optimal performance
use the largest wires that are practical and affordable. Local, state, and na-
tional electrical codes have precedence over these recommendations and
must be followed to ensure the safety of your system.
Note: Wiring Resistance and Regulation
Depending on your exact system configuration including other charging
sources in your system, wiring resistance may affect the regulation set point
of the turbine. Higher wiring resistance (smaller wires) will tend to lower
the voltage at which the turbine enters regulation and stops charging. The
recommended wiring sizes should provide little effect on the regulation set
point, but all installations should be observed over time to ensure that the
batteries are charged to the proper voltage.
TIP:
Smaller wires will lower the voltage at which
the AIR wind turbine enters regulation and stops
charging.
Number of
Turbines:
0-30 ft
(0-9 m)
30 ft-60 ft
(9-18 m)
60 ft-90 ft
(18-27 m)
90 ft-150 ft
(27-46 m)
150 ft-190 ft
(46-58 m)
190 ft-250 ft
(58-76 m)
250 ft-310 ft
(76-95 m)
310 ft-390 ft
(95-119 m)
390 ft-500 ft
(119-152 m)
1 8/10 mm 2 6/16 mm 2 4/25 mm 2 2/35 mm 2 1/50 mm 2 0/50 mm 2 00/70 mm 2 000/90 mm 2 000/90 mm 2
2
6/16 mm 2 4/25 mm 2 1/50 mm 2 00/70 mm 2 000/90 mm 2 0000/120 mm 2 *** *** ***
3
4/25 mm 2 2/35 mm 2 0/50 mm 2 000/90 mm 2 0000/120 mm 2 *** *** *** ***
12 Volt Systems, AWG / Metric Wire Size mm 2
*** If your system requires this length of wire, consider using parallel wires.
Number of
Turbines:
0-30 ft
(0-9 m)
30 ft-60 ft
(9-18 m)
60 ft-90 ft
(18-27 m)
90 ft-150 ft
(27-46 m)
150 ft-190 ft
(46-58 m)
190 ft-250 ft
(58-76 m)
250 ft-310 ft
(76-95 m)
310 ft-390 ft
(95-119 m)
390 ft-500 ft
(119-152 m)
1
14/2.5 mm 2 12/4 mm 2 10/6 mm 2 8/10 mm 2 6/16 mm 2 4/90 mm 2 4/90 mm 2 000/90 mm 2 000/90 mm 2
2
12/4 mm 2 8/10 mm 2 6/16 mm 2 4/25 mm 2 4/25 mm 2 2/35 mm 2 2/35 mm 2 1/50 mm 2 0/50 mm 2
3 10/6 mm 2 8/10 mm 2 6/16 mm 2 4/25 mm 2 2/35 mm 2 2/35 mm 2 1/50 mm 2 0/50 mm 2 00/70 mm 2
24 Volt Systems, AWG / Metric Wire Size mm 2