The Upwind Wind Turbine

Versions for Grid connecting and Battery Charging Systems

The ‘rugged’ Upwind Turbine from Futurenergy is based on years of real-life testing and development in Warwickshire and the Uplands of Scotland. Using their unique Permanent Magnet Generators, combined with their Hi-Spec Wind Turbine Blade Sets, these furling turbines create very useful power in low wind conditions, and over 1000W in winds of 12.5m/s.

Available in 12V, 24V, 36V & 48V DC versions, they are suitable for battery charging, water/air heating and Grid-Connected installations.

Please Note: The wind turbine is not recommended for use, or installation of any wind turbine in "building-mounted’ installations, other than for bespoke steel-framed and other industrial buildings. These turbines are tower-top ready, and will fit on to any tower kits supplied by us. Kits are purchased separately and can be made to your specific requirements where feasible.  All Upwind Turbines must be installed using approved towers.

In a nutshell!

• Mechanically furling tail fin for high wind protection
• Unique high-spec Permanent Magnet Generator
• 5 top-grade glass filled nylon turbine blades
• Sealed bearings in mast-mounting shaft
• 60 Amp rated slip-ring prevents cable-twisting
• Aerodynamic profile design
• Patented anti-vibration locking washers
• Rugged and simple, with a minimum of parts and simplicity of design
• Zinc-plated and Stainless Steel with powder-coated and anodised aluminium for optimal corrosion and weather resistance
• Manufactured in the UK

Upwind 1KW Grid-Connect Wind Turbine

Upwind 1KW Wind Turbine in Action

We recently installed and commissioned an Upwind grid connect turbine and inverter at a customer site. The turbine was pole mounted and attached to a steel framed building. As you can see from the photographs it was a clean install and the turbine worked perfectly from the moment it was connected to the grid. We've included a few pictures to give you an idea of the final installation. NOTE: the installation had two DC isolating switches; one at the turbine and one at the inverter and one AC isolator before final grid connection via an MCB into the fuse board. The cable run was 50m and 10mm2 cable was used.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS & FEATURES OF
UPWIND 1KW WIND TURBINE

WINDMASTER 500 GRID-CONNECT INVERTER

The Windmaster 500 offers a simple solution when connecting an FE1048 turbine to your household mains supply. With it's light weigh and compact size, the Windmaster 500 can be installed inside existing meter cupboards, or in outbuildings, but is not suitable for use outdoors. Connection to the input of the inverter is provided by 2 dedicated DC power plugs, supplied. The output should be connected in accordance with the electrical requirements for the country of installation.

This inverter comes complete with DC input plugs, PC-Link connection and Monitoring/Logging software. In low wind sites it is advisable to use only one inverter with the FE1048, since over 90% of the power produced by the turbine will lie under the 500W export power limit of the inverter. For higher wind speed sites, we would suggest using 2 inverters, connected in parallel, to handle the full power of the FE1048 turbine.

No charge controller is required when using these inverters, since they can handle a much higher input voltage than the turbine can produce, even in power-cut situations.

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Download the G83 Certificate

Download the Windmaster 500 Specification

In "Hybrid" systems (those involving both wind turbines and solar PV), use the standard Soladin 600 inverter, keeping the installation simple and very neat.

Windmaster 500 is a grid connected inverter for grid connection of small wind turbines. The design is based on the successful Soladin 600 Solar inverter of which more than 6000 units have been sold already.

Input protection

The product must be protected externally against over voltages that may occur in no-load and / or extreme wind conditions. Exceeding the specified maximum input voltage must be avoided under any circumstances. Most turbine manufacturers can supply a protection circuit to protect power converters from this condition. Failure to do so may cause serious damage to the inverter and will void product warranty.

Configuration

The product is shipped with standard “wind” firmware and default settings. Configuration is done using a PC and Wizard software (password protected configuration mode).

Warranty and support

The inverter is supplied with a 5-year product warranty. First line service and support is performed by WireFreeDirect Ltd. Inverters under warranty are replaced with new or factory refurbished units with default wind settings. Defects caused by DC or AC over voltage, out-of-specification short circuit current, direct or induced lightning and surges as well as cost of travel, installation and energy loss are excluded from product warranty.

XANTREX CHARGE AND LOAD CONTROLLER

For use in Battery-Based systems, these rugged charge controllers offer protection against overcharging when used with our wind turbines. The Xantrex C60 is capable of handling charging currents of 60A, and is suitable for use with battery banks of 12V and 24V only. The C40 can handle charging currents of up to 40A, and is suitable for use in 48V battery charging applications which use our turbines.

In order to use either of these controllers with your FE Turbine and Battery Bank, you will require a suitable dump load for connection to the C40 or C60. These dump loads are shown below, and can be bought separately if required.

The following number of dump loads are required with each of the following battery voltages.

• For 12V systems use only the C60 and 2 Dump Loads (in parallel)
• For 24V systems use only the C60 and 1 Dump Load
• For 48V systems use only a C40 and 2 Dump Loads (in series)

PRICE: XANTREX C60

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Download the operating Manual

The C35/C40/C60 (C-Series) controllers can be used with 12-volt, 24-volt, or 48-volt DC systems (depending upon model) as Charge Controller or a Load Controller. Numerous features are provided standard to maximize the performance of the system:

• Solid-state Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) charging process with three-stage control, temperature compensation, and manual or automatic equalization to maximize system performance and increase battery life.
• Multi color LED with easy to read mode/status label.
• Electronic overload and short-circuit protection with automatic and manual reset capability increases the reliability of unattended systems by eliminating blown fuses and tripped circuit breakers.
• Adjustment of charge setpoints is provided by rotary controls (potentiometers) with removable knobs.
• Calibrated scales and test points allow precise adjustments of settings.
• Over-temperature protection for the electronic circuitry when used in hot environments (over 113 °F/45 °C).
• 2-year limited warranty

DUMP LOAD

For use with either of the Xantrex charge controllers above, these dump loads are effectively very high power air heating elements. The C40 and C60 charge controllers are used in 'Load Diversion' mode, and as such, they dissipate any unwanted power into these dump loads when your battery bank becomes fully charged. It is vital to use a charge controller to prevent damage to your batteries, especially if you leave your system unattended for long periods of time, and without loading your batteries with an inverter, or other suitable device.

These dump loads should be mounted as close as possible to your C40 or C60 charge controller. They should be mounted in free circulating air, and not in an enclosed space. The power connection blocks are made of solid brass, and all cabling used should be securely connected using the bolts provided. Please ensure that you choose the correct number of dump loads for the battery bank voltage you are charging. See above for details.

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STOP START SWITCH

For use with all turbine models, these switches allow the user to isolate the DC supply to a load, to apply an electrical "brake" to the turbine and to isolate the AC side of an inverter (if connected). The AC isolator is a 4-pole 20A lockable switch, which should be used when connecting Grid-Tied Inverters to a "mains" supply. The switch should be mounted close to the main consumer unit, between a spare 16A breaker and the inverters.

The DC Isolator and Brake should be connected to the output of the wind turbine, between it and the load (inverter, batteries etc). The main rotary switch is rated at 63A and is 4-pole. In this mode, the internal connections have been pre-wired in pairs of 2 poles, giving a massive switching capacity of 120A. Also mounted inside these switches are a low resistance "dump load", allowing the turbine to slowed to a safe level before applying a direct "short circuit" to the turbine output wires.

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