New Product - Giga - Silent Wind Turbine For Your Motorhome!

Wombles

Wombles

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Know this will be a bit niche but there is a new silent wind turbine being tailored to suit the motorhome market from Giga https://gigaturbines.co.uk/shop/ so watch this space! We saw their current range on their stand at the recent NEC Show & as it was originally designed for the maritime market it isn't ideal at present but a smaller, neater version will be available soon that might appeal to some.

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One possible application could be to keep batteries charged when motorhome is stored undercover or winter time when solar isn't effective & when EHU isn't an option.
 
Looks like they are creating a market for the chinese to exploit ....

Good idea though !
 
I would be sceptical about it being 'silent' until I heard it mounted on a 'sound box' such as a boat hull or a MH.

Even if the blades rotate silently there are usually vibrations down the mounting pole which are magnified as sound waves by the box they sit on.

I cannot imagine how they will demonstrate it at an exhibition, except maybe the Southampton Boat Show which has a lot of outdoor space.

Geoff
 
nicholsong said:
I cannot imagine how they will demonstrate it at an exhibition, except maybe the Southampton Boat Show which has a lot of outdoor space.
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They have been exhibiting & demonstrating the turbines at boat shows including Southampton https://gigaturbines.co.uk/news-2/

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At the NEC Show the turbines on their demonstration unit on the stand were moving silently.

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Wombles said:
One possible application could be to keep batteries charged when motorhome is stored undercover or winter time when solar isn't effective & when EHU isn't an option.
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Surely if it's undercover, it would be out of the wind as well.
 
golly said:
Surely if it's undercover, it would be out of the wind as well.
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The turbines could be fixed to exterior of building, on a pole nearby etc
 
nicholsong said:
I would be sceptical about it being 'silent' until I heard it mounted on a 'sound box' such as a boat hull or a MH.

Even if the blades rotate silently there are usually vibrations down the mounting pole which are magnified as sound waves by the box they sit on.

I cannot imagine how they will demonstrate it at an exhibition, except maybe the Southampton Boat Show which has a lot of outdoor space.

Geoff
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They did seem very smooth when running at the NEC show, but limited output and of course they need wind, the guy was talking about a lift up roof mount.

Martin
 
Hold your horses.
I saw these at the NEC and after a phone conversation the following week I bought a single rotor version.

I'm at present underwhelmed with the build quality and the fact that I can not get any output out of the unit and feel that I'm getting the run around from the company who ask more question with little in answers coming back.
I'm waiting at the moment for them to come back to me with solutions or they are getting the lot back.

Here is the unit setup on my van.

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gus-lopez said:
Didn't @Minxy Girl want something like this recently ?
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I need to generate more power but wind turbines are 'notorious' for not being very efficient, unless of course you could have it permanently mounted on the MH and 'running' as you drive along! :D

I bought a genny instead ... still need to give it a try though as it's safely tucked in the back of the camper at present and needs the oil/fuel putting in ... when the decorating is done I'll have a bit of a play with it.
 
Two on Tour said:
Hold your horses.
I saw these at the NEC and after a phone conversation the following week I bought a single rotor version.

I'm at present underwhelmed with the build quality and the fact that I can not get any output out of the unit and feel that I'm getting the run around from the company who ask more question with little in answers coming back.
I'm waiting at the moment for them to come back to me with solutions or they are getting the lot back.

Here is the unit setup on my van.

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Is that not a danger to low flying aircraft:D:D
 
They are good for yachts as a yacht can move through the air faster than the wind but you don't get that advantage in a MH.

The single rotor version at over £300 generates just 30W in a 13m/s wind - which is equivalent to about a Force 6. A Force 6 is the strong breeze that sets telephone wires singing and larger branches moving. How often do you get that? Power is also generated by the cube of wind speed so at lower wind speeds the power generated falls off significantly.

There may be applications where there is a need for these but for the average MH owner they are more or less a waste of space and money. Sorry if that's a bit blunt. :)

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There are many generators on the market listed as SILENT... But none are anywhere near acceptably quiet.
I would want to hear it in a strong wind attached to a motorhome to see just how 'silent' it really is.
 
I have plans somewhere to make one from an old bicycle wheel. Much cheaper and just as useful.
 
Looked into wind generators a few years ago came to the conclusion totally useless on a Motorhome. With anything less than gale force winds they are as good as a chocolate tea pot.
 
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At the time I purchased the wind speed to current generated graph was not on there website and I went by the figures I was told at the NEC and via a telephone conversation I had when I eventually found a telephone number for Giga which was well hidden away, one of the claims which was it would generate power from a little over 3 mph.
With wind speeds of 15 to 20 mph and gusting to nearly 30 mph on Wednesday the turbine was still not reaching the threshold for my Victron 75/15 MPPT to pass current through it.
Next I disconnected the turbine side from the Victron MPPT and connected a five and a half year old 20 watt solar panel. Bearing in mind how overcast it was and the low wattage of the panel, it still managed to drive the Victron MPPT proving that it is not faulty.

As for the silent claim, the mast clamps were rubber mounted to the van and vibration was still transferred through to the van while outside the wind through the turbine rotor was by no means silent.

The turbine kit has been returned to Giga as unfit for purpose for a refund.

Quite a few motorhomers are using the Rutland 504 and a few the Rutland 914 so yes wind turbines are not the norm or suitable for many situations but they are by no means a total waste of time and money in some peoples eyes.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I'll live and learn and move on. (y) P.S. any one need a telescopic aluminium mast that extends to 7.2 metres. :(
 
Two on Tour said:
Technology moves on, ......... at least I thought it had. :unsure:
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The Rutland ones do generate useable power but they are around three feet across and are not quiet but if you wanted to use wind power they are the only practical option I think. Anything substantially smaller simply won't generate enough power to be worthwhile. Physics is against them.
 
I think the advertising is a bit misleading.

"Low speed quite operation wind generator. Operating from 2 knots of wind and generating up to 30w in 13m/s."

To get 30w you need approx 25knots of wind - hardly low speed operation.

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DBK said:
The Rutland ones do generate useable power but they are around three feet across and are not quiet but if you wanted to use wind power they are the only practical option I think. Anything substantially smaller simply won't generate enough power to be worthwhile.
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The Giga is a lot more compact than the Rutlands which was the appeal for me.
Without pulling it a part it looks like the Giga turbine had coils ? in the out casing and a row of magnets around the circumference of the rotor (fan).

DBK said:
Physics is against them.
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I would imagine they said that about manned flight at some point. :D
 
Another downside of certainly the single unit is that the turbine rotates on a tube to face into wind and this tube is offset to the turbine, so if the turbine is not mounted truly vertical then it will flop to one side as gravity takes over with the weight of the turbine unit, so no good for those without a levelling system or levelling ramps unless you use a stand alone mast to mount it on.

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My reference to physics was the amount of energy available is directly related to the cross-sectional area. It doesn't matter how efficient the turbine is there is only a certain amount of energy obtainable from a given cross section. I don't know the diameter of these things but they look about a foot across, say 30cms. If this is the case they have around 11% of the cross-sectional area of a 90cm Rutland 14. This means if they have similar efficiencies then you will only get 11% of the power out of one. Looking at the Giga I suspect they actually less efficient than a Rutland so the power will be even less. If you want to look at what an efficient wind turbine looks like have a look at the top of nearest hill. They don't make them to the Giga design for a reason. :)
 
I bet there was a fair bit of voltage drop with over 7.5 m of cable before you get to the batteries ?

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