Gordon Proven

Posted on 07/12/2011 by hugh

I’d like to remember Gordon Proven, the brilliant inventor, and creator of Proven Energy.  I only seem to have this one photo of Gordon from the early 1990s in his old factory in Kilmarnock. 

 

Gordon built a really heavy duty wind turbine that can outlast all the others.  Here is a photo of one of his first efforts, more than twenty years ago.

At that time he used a geared induction motor, but he did some research into permanent magnet alternators and adopted a very good toroidal design that has served well to this day.  His blade pitch control system is unique.

Gordon Proven passed away peacefully on Saturday, at home and with the family beside him.   He had been living with motor neurone disease for more than 5 years, and still fighting to the end.  I have fond memories of his ingenuity, generosity and humour.

Posted in People, UK small wind scene | 16 Comments

Heat pump book

Posted on 28/11/2011 by hugh

John Cantor has been around heat pumps a while, so what he has to say is going to be worth looking at if you want to understand the subject.

Heat Pumps for the Home. Author John Cantor Illustrator Gavin Harper

Crowood Press ISBN 9781847972927 cover price £14.99 128 pages, 155 colour photographs and diagrams Release date – end of October 2011

Heat pumps are surprising devices that can extract heat energy from something that appears to be cold – from the air or the ground for example – and ‘magically’ use it for home heating. This concept is somewhat perplexing and goes counter to our natural sense of how things ought to work, so it is not surprising that some people wonder if heat pumps really do what they claim. There is, after all, no shortage of gadgets that fail to do what they say on the box! In this book we want to give you the whole picture, warts and all. Like any other technology, heat pumps can perform poorly if badly installed or used for the wrong purposes and we cannot expect them always to match the exaggerated promises of salesmen. But the basics are straightforward. The science is completely sound. The engineering principles are well established. And we know from hands-on experience that heat pumps will deliver low heating bills if they are installed properly. This book aims to demystify a subject clouded in hype and misunderstanding. The book starts at first principles, so prior knowledge is not needed, but is also aimed at anyone who wants to improve their understanding of modern heat pumps, such as householders, planners, plumbers, students or architects. It is also devoid of sales hype and spin, so offers a balanced view. Armed with the content of this book, the informed homeowner or designer should be able to judge whether a heat pump installation might be appropriate in a given situation (or not), and how its performance might be optimised. Why buy this book? Given that heating is expensive, and probably a considerable ‘chunk’ of one’s income, the cost of this book is tiny by comparison. It could help you to avoid installing an inappropriate system – potentially a very expensive mistake. It might help you get a good system running even better.

Posted in Books, Notices, People | 2 Comments

Paul on Raasay gets his Powerspout spinning

Posted on 14/11/2011 by hugh

After sorting out a few wee leaks (at 6 bar pressure), Paul Camilli has got his Powerspout turbine running sweetly.


I love Paul’s blog.  Especially when it’s about hydro turbines but I love it anyway due to the photos and stories every day.

Posted in People, Video links | Leave a comment

Kestrel e400i wind turbine on Scoraig

Posted on 13/11/2011 by hugh

It’s time I mentioned the Kestrel e400i that will celebrate its first year of trouble free operation here on Scoraig in January 2012.  It’s installed at the Dome on a tower that was originally used to test the prototype Proven 6kW turbine (now the Kingspan Wind 6kW) in the late 1990s when Topher made the blades for that turbine.  That old turbine finally died of magnet adhesion failure.  I had to weld on an extension pipe to the tower for the Kestrel’s blade clearance.

Here are some photos:

I have yet to hear a bad word spoken about this turbine.  There were no issues with it during installation and it has never gone wrong.  (This is rather a spooky experience, given my previous knowledge of the technology.)  This turbine was designed by a Scotsman, Jim Carpy, and is built in South Africa. Eveready SA acquired Kestrel wind Turbines in 2006.  It does not as yet qualify for Feed in Tariffs via the MCS process.  I am told that the same turbine is now available as the upgraded Kestrel e400nb with a 3.5kW rating. “The e400nb is on independent testing with TUVNEL in East Kilbride since July 2011 and has also operated faultlessly. The test machine is grid connected with a Power One Aurora 3600 inverter.”

I fitted the system with a DC energy meter by Eltime Controls and we log the energy production every month.  Over the last 9 months it has averaged 400 kWh per month.  In October it produced 650 kWh (22 kWh per day).  During some of these months the turbine as been out of action for periods due to shortcomings in the load control system.

This is a legacy 110 volt battery system with 5 kW sine wave inverter and some very old sealed batteries from a military site.  (Note the 9 PV modules in one photo.)  For reasons of economy and to avoid the noise associated with PWM load control systems, battery charge control is achieved using two Morningstar Relay Drivers.  The first channel in each RD is used as an input.  The six outputs drive five heaters and a wind turbine trip signal that shuts the turbine down via its own ‘interface unit‘.

This works ‘adequately’ and provides a lot of heat, but there were teething troubles during which the inverter cut out, causing the turbine to trip.

The Kestrel runs very fast, but is smooth and quiet.  The sound it makes is businesslike, clearly audible but not intrusive.

Posted in Scoraig, UK small wind scene | 35 Comments

Alun Bush’s Scorraigweave Website

Posted on 30/10/2011 by hugh

Alan Bush is a friend and neighbour, and the original pioneer of Scoraig living.  He went to Tasmania for fifteen years but returned when MS had reduced his mobility.  We have done a lot of wind turbine work together and he has taught me a few tricks.

Alan and Kath make woven and knitted goods, and Alan writes books.  There is more information at their web site Scorraigweave  You can also find some of Alun’s ramblings and photos on this site.


View Scoraig in a larger map

Posted in Scoraig | 4 Comments

WindEmpowerment site worth a look now

Posted on 28/10/2011 by hugh

Jimmy of irish Solar has built a nice site for WindEmpowerment

Lots of information on the worldwide use of small wind turbines in local development

Posted in People | 1 Comment

Curso de Fabricación de Aerogeneradores de Baja Potencia

Posted on 20/10/2011 by hugh

500rpm in Argentina

are running a course for wind turbine construction

Download pdf

http://www.500rpm.org/detalle_noticia_rpm.php?ID=233

Posted in construction, courses, Notices, People | 3 Comments

Another wind turbine scam

Posted on 18/10/2011 by hugh

People will buy anything.  It’s important to check out the product!

Posted in Rooftop madness | 1 Comment

Wind tunnel testing in Holland

Posted on 15/10/2011 by hugh

TU Delft are conducting tests on the 1800 turbine

The identification of the performance of the wind turbine will be done by means of wind tunnel testing. For this a 1.8 diameter wind turbine based on the design of Hugh Piggott will be used. The first set of wind turbine tests will result in a powercurve for the potential aerodynamic performance for different types of loads on the turbine.

From a second set of wind tunnel tests the real powercurve will result. In this test the complete generator system including the battery will be tested. From this test also the furling behaviour will be identified. These first wind tunnel tests will clarify the performance of the wind turbine and make bottlenecks visible. Next to the wind tunnel test also experience and feedback from the field is required, to make a plan for an improvement of the wind turbine. The new design will be tested in the wind tunnel again and compared to the current design.

I am not sure that the wind tunnel will give a realistic idea of the way the turbine furls in real winds, but the testing is bound to reveal ways to improve the design.

Posted in People | 3 Comments

Proven reborn “Unfortunately it seems likely that Proven’s new owners will not be obliged to honour its guarantees”

Posted on 14/10/2011 by hugh

source

Receivers KPMG  said it had now sold the business and its assets to Kingspan Renewables.

The receivers said the successful sale not only safeguarded the jobs of 20 Proven Energy staff but provided an opportunity for continued manufacturing at the company’s Stewarton facility. “Kingspan Renewables intends to launch 6kW and 3kW turbines, incorporating the high performance, reliability and key features of the Proven P11 and P7 models, and will manufacture these products in Stewarton.

“A decision on whether or not to launch a 15kW turbine will be made at a later date, but any launch is unlikely to be before January 2013.”

Meanwhile, KPMG said suppliers or customers who have any claims with regard to warranties or other matters relating to the P7, P11 and P35 turbines should lodge a claim via the receivers and not with Kingspan.

“Unfortunately it seems likely that Proven’s new owners will not be obliged to honour its guarantees, which is not great news for farmers who have turbines on their land that are standing idle and who invested in the technology in good faith.”

…

See also Icon Energy collapse in wake of Proven and kingspan

Scottish farmer article

“The entry of larger organisations should also mean improved standards and procedures, with reliability and quality not an issue as the sector moves away from the cottage industry approach.”  teehee yeah right.

See also Myriad CEG helplines for Proven customers

A technical note.

DiameterMost useful rating kW ratingMax power rating Name(MWh/month @6m/s)
3.5 metres 3kWsince early 1990s Proven7
5.5 metres 6kWsince late 1990s Proven11
8.5 metres 15kWsince early 2000s but Proven35not yet fully developed.
Posted in UK small wind scene, Uncategorized | 1 Comment