Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
8.3 Installations and Parks
8.3.1 Wind Chargers
One of the applications for smaller wind power systems is charging battery systems.
Technically, an island system with a battery functions in a similar way to a photo-
voltaic island grid, except that a wind generator is used instead of a photovoltaic
module. Small wind power systems are particularly popular for use on boats
(Figure 8.7), where they are often used to charge on-board batteries for anchored
craft.
Figure 8.7
Small wind turbines used to charge battery systems.
Compared to photovoltaic island systems, island grids with wind turbines are techni-
cally more complex in their operation. If a battery is fully charged, the charge regu-
lator of a photovoltaic system removes the photovoltaic module from the battery in
order to prevent overcharging. Photovoltaic modules can cope with this without any
problem. But it is a different case with wind generators that are only separated from
the battery. If a wind generator does not have a load or a battery attached, high wind
speeds can make the rotor blades revolve so fast that the generator is damaged.
Therefore, some wind charge regulators switch wind generators with a fully charged
battery to a heating resistance, thus restricting the number of revolutions.
