Things that Work! NRG's Sou'wester and 2100 Totalizer Mick Sagrillo c.1992 Mick Sagrillo Inexpensive wind monitoring equipment is getting hard to come by. Last year, NRG Systems introduced two new models to their line of dataloggers: a wind speed indicator and a wind totalizer. We them both up and let them run over the winter to see what they'd do. Home Market Dave Bittersdorf, president of NRG Systems, Inc., explained that, while there are a variety of expensive instruments to monitor the wind potential of a given site, little attention has been paid lately to the home owner. In an attempt to meet the needs of this market, NRG developed the Sou'wester and the 2100 Totalizer. Both units arrived promptly from UPS, carefully packaged to avoid any shipping damage. Simple-to-follow instructions accompanied each unit. The Sou'wester The Sou'wester displays instantaneous wind speed on an analog meter. The unit comes with a Maximum #42 anemometer, a stub mast for the anemometer, and 60' of shielded cable. The anemometer should be mounted where it is in the wind: on your wind generator tower, your TV or radio antenna/tower, or on its own dedicated mast or pole. While the unit comes with 60 feet of cable, Bittersdorf told me that the wire run can be as long as 1000 feet, more than adequate for even the farthest installation. Quality The anemometer itself has to be the most reliable link in the entire chain. After all, it lives out in the weather and has to make it through whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at it. NRG has opted to use Maximum anemometers because they have a proven track record as THE standard of the industry, a reputation based on their unfailing reliability. The meter is calibrated in both miles per hour and knots, running from 0 to 100 MPH and 0 to 90 knots. Because the anemometer is, in effect, a small generator, it drives the meter. That means that the unit uses no batteries or external power source. In an era of "batteries not included" that's kinda nice! The 2100 Totalizer The 2100 Totalizer works on a completely different principle. The totalizer accumulates wind run. In effect, it works similarly to the odometer in your car. The anemometer generates pulses which are counted by the totalizer. The greater the wind speed, the more pulses are generated per unit time. Accumulated pulses are read on the Totalizer's mechanical digital counter. If you know an initial reading and subtract it from a final reading, then divide that number by the hours of running time between the two readings, the answer you get will be the average wind speed for the elapsed time. The average wind speed for your site can be determined in several ways. You could set the unit up and come back to it at year's end to figure up the average wind speed. A more accurate average wind speed could be gotten by taking daily or weekly readings. This would be more accurate than the first method because you would know the frequency of your power winds; daily, bi-weekly, weekly. For remote applications, this information is invaluable in determining the battery bank capacity required. Also wind generators do not begin to generate appreciable power at windspeeds under 10 mph. You want to know how much of the time the wind is strong enough to turn the turbine. This data will be lost if your readings are few and far between. The 2100 Totalizer comes complete with a Maximum #40 anemometer, a stub mast, 60 feet of shielded cable, and a 9 volt battery. Installation is just as easy as with the Sou'wester. The only thing to remember is that, for the most reliable data, the anemometer should be mounted at the hub height of the intended wind generator. Cost The cost of the 2100 Totalizer is $185 + $5 for UPS charges, anywhere in the lower 40. The Sou'wester sells for $115 + the same UPS charges. If you want both instruments, they can share the same Maximum #42 anemometer (the one that comes with the Sou'wester), and then the Totalizer 2100 sells for only $99 + UPS. Both machines come with a one year warranty. They are available from NRG Systems, Inc., or your favorite wind generator dealer. Access Author: Mick Sagrillo continues to search for the Bluebird of happiness at Lake Michigan Wind & Sun, E3971 Bluebird Rd., Forestville, WI 54213 ¥ 414-837-2267 Maker: NRG Systems, Inc., 110 Commerce St., Hinesburg, VT 05461 ¥ 802- 482- 2255