Generating electricity with wind power is a great way to supplement your current off-grid power system, or even as a stand-alone system if your power needs allow it. In this Pikasola wind turbine review, we’ll find out is this 400 watt wind generator is good enough to power up the essentials. Did you know that wind power has been used for centuries to power pretty much anything you can think of? Pumps for wells, machinery for grinding and cutting and even boats and ships across vast lakes, rivers and oceans! The best thing about wind power? It’s absolutely free and clean energy. You can’t beat that!
The Pikasola 400 watt wind turbine generator is a small but efficient and well-built unit. Even better, it comes with built-in voltage regulator and is controlled by an MPPT intelligent microprocessor which allows for effective adjustment of current and voltage to your energy storage (batteries). The Pikasola is perfect for generating power along side your solar array to help keep the batteries charged up when the sun disappears.
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Are Micro Wind Turbines Worth It?
This depends on a variety of factors. Mainly, how windy does it get where you intend to set up your wind turbine and how often does the wind blow? The Pikasola will only be effective at generating electricity if the wind is blowing at least 2.5 meters/second, which is enough head wind to get your blades turning. And, you’ll need greater wind speeds (which can be maintained) to produce enough electricity to power (or charge) your essentials. If you find that the area you live does not produce enough wind speed to generate enough electricity for your needs, then the Pikasola will not be worth the money.
However, if you’re lucky enough to live in an area that’s generous with wind speeds consistently over 2.5 m/s, then you’re in luck. The Pikasola 400 watt wind turbine produces 400 watts of power at a wind speed of approximately 18 meters/second. Even if you’re averaging 5-10 m/s over a 24 hr period, you’re still producing enough electricity to keep the batteries charged or the lights on. This is one benefit of having wind power – you have the ability to produce power 24 hrs a day, whether the sun is shining or not (as long as the wind is blowing).
So, are micro wind turbines really worth the investment? The real answer is – YES and NO.
YES – If your property generates enough consistent head wind to turn the blades on your wind turbine (2.5 metres/second MIN).
NO – If your property doesn’t generate consistent head wind to start and keep the wind turbine spinning (2.5 m/s or lower).
Is the Pikasola wind turbine generator still a good deal? Absolutely yes, if the wind in your area can keep the blades turning, and the electricity flowing.
Pikasola 400 Watt Wind Turbine Specifications
SPECS
Rated Power Output: 400 Watts
Max Power Output: 410 Watts
No. of Blades: 3
Voltage: 12 Volts
Wind Speed Start Up: 2.5 meters/second
Rated Wind Speed: 13 meters/second
Working Speed (for power generation): 3-25 meters/second
Max Wind Speed: 40 meters/second
Total Blade Diameter: 51.18 inches
Blade Material: Nylon Fiber
Generator Type: 3 Phase AC Permanent Magnet
Braking Mechanism: Electromagnetic
Automatically Adjusts to Wind Direction
Operating Temp: -40 to 80 Celcius
Magnetic Material: Neodymium Iron Boron
Housing Material: Die Cast Aluminum Body
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Package Contents
Wind Turbine x 1
Blades x 3
Charge Controller x 1
Nose Cone x 1
Hardware (Screws, Nuts) x 1 Package
Installation Insructions
Anemometer x 1
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How Big of a Wind Turbine Do I Need to Power a House?
The Pikasola 400 watt wind turbine is considered a micro wind turbine, which means it generates smaller amounts of electricity even at full speed. However, this doesn’t mean that you couldn’t power your whole house using just a wind turbine generator. The average house uses approximately 11,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, or about 900 kw/h per month. So, you’d need a wind turbine in the range of 5-15 kilowatts in order to meet your electricity demand.
What does this mean? Well, the Pikasola doesn’t even come close to meeting this electricity demand (rated at just 400 watts) so you’d need to make a significant investment to upgrade to a much larger, higher output wind turbine in order to power your home. However, this doesn’t mean that the Pikasola couldn’t make a contribution to your off-grid power needs – it absolutely could. In fact, if you had more than 1 of these micro wind turbines working at the same time, you’d be doing a great job of supplementing your solar power when the sun decides to go away.
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How Much Electricity Can a 400 Watt Wind Turbine Produce?
There are many answers to this question. Let’s break them down into smaller, more manageable answers. In short, the Pikasola 400 watt wind turbine can produce as little as 0 watts of electricity or as much as 400 watts of electricity (obviously). This isn’t really the answer we’re looking for, so let’s talk about the specifics.
Property/Site Location – Does your site where you intend to erect your wind turbine offer good, clear wind exposure? Are you able to put up a wind turbine that will clear the taller obstructions in your area? You’ll also need room for guy wires (wires/cables to stabilize your wind turbine pole).
Wind Speed (Average) – If your location doesn’t produce enough average wind speed in your area to keep the blades on your wind turbine spinning, then erecting a wind generator isn’t worth your time. If you’d like to find out what the average wind speed in your area is, check out the website www.Windatlas.ca – it will tell you what your average wind speed is at your location. It will also calculate how much power you would get from any sized wind turbine, based on your wind turbine size and average wind speed at your location.
Wind Turbine Power Curve – All wind turbines provide a power curve or graph that show the power output (in watts or kilowatts) which is relative to the average wind speed in your area. Important note: If your wind turbine doesn’t show a power curve graph, steer clear of purchasing it. All wind turbines should show this power output graph, and if it doesn’t, its performance could be questionable.
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So, using the information above, we can now calculate how much electricity our Pikasola 400 watt wind turbine could generate. If your site is averaging about 5.5 meters/second headwind, your 400 watt wind turbine would produce about 40 watts/hour (or about 32.5 kw/h per month, or 390 kwh/year). While this isn’t enough to power your whole house, it is sufficient to provide power to a small cabin, boat, etc. On average, it’s safe to say the Pikasola 400w wind turbine generator will produce about 10% of its maximum rated power (400w) per hour, on average – so about 40 watts per hour.
Final Review – Is the Pikasola 400 w Wind Turbine Worth It?
Depending on your power needs and what it’s intended purpose is, yes. The Pikasola wind generator is perfect for small off-grid cabins or boats who need to keep the lights on and the batteries topped up. And for less than $300 bucks, this micro wind turbine does a fine job at that (as long as the wind is blowing). As previously stated, you could even add more than 1 micro wind turbine to your property to increase the amount of power produced via the wind to harness even more electricity. If your property sees consistent head winds, the Pikasola 400 watt wind turbine would be a great addition to your off-grid power needs.