Specifications

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as “soft start,” is also quite important to consider. Soft start is mostly beneficial with
inductive loads, but the whole point of it is to minimize the current drawn by a device
when it is first turned on. For example, most electric motors draw much more current,
and therefore much more power, when they are first turned on and getting up to speed.
Even though this particular system is not planned to be used for inductive devices such
as this, it may prove beneficial to the user at a later time. Many inverters are also
becoming available with USB ports on them for charging smaller portable electronics.
This is a power source our system needs to include, plus we will be able to use it to
power our microcontroller and display.
4.1.5 Wind Turbine
One of the main components needed by the power generator is the need for a wind
turbine system mounted on the paramount of the generator. The research involved with
finding a suitable wind turbine presented two viable designs for a wind turbine generator
that would suit the needs of the project. The two options came down to whether to use a
horizontal or vertical axis turbine for the design. Each brought about advantages and
disadvantages that came into play when choosing a design.
If a vertical axis wind turbine were to be used for the design some of the advantages
would come from that ability of capturing the wind if the generator were placed in an
area where the wind vacillates frequently and does not always come from a general
area. A prime example of this would be if it were decided to put the generator on a
rooftop the direction of the wind blowing up and over the building might be highly
variable and hard to predict to and capture efficiently, where a vertical axis turbine
would be ideal for such a scenario.
However vertical axis turbines also come with a few disadvantages when choosing a
design. Since the wind blades are positioned to capture wind coming from any direction
they cannot harness much of the energy from the wind that they encounter. As a result
vertical axis turbines typically have a much lower speed of rotation along with much
more torque needed by the prime mover from the sheer length of the rotating core.
However the largest disadvantage of the vertical axis turbine was cost. The average
cost of a vertical axis turbine when compared to the average cost of a traditional
horizontal axis turbine was three times as much. With finite budgets for projects this
deterrent was most influential in our ultimate decision.