Wind turbine with Tesla Drive unit

[Zeus]

Hello everyone.

With is my first post so don't put much stones on me

1. I have a small 20kW solar array and Sofar HYD 20K - 3PH hybrid inverter, which is working fine.
2. I have flat roof (80m above ground) which is used for an array and would be a great spot for a wind turbine.

Looking to solve 2 problems:
1. In winter array produce small amount of power, but it needed most, for heatpumps, pums, elevators, etc.
2. Grid may be attacked again (yes I`m from Ukraine), so it may be "long" blackout more then possible.
3. Maybe replace current batteries to Tesla several packs.

But the first thing is generation in winter, which may be important this winter.

We have tons of different parts from salvage Tesla`s (yes we do restore them), so we know how to replace/operate/software join some of them with vehicles. Plus they are cheap here. For example, Model 3 Front/rear Drive unit with inverter depending on model and condition around 1k USD (800-1200usually), same with batteries - Model 3 82kWh pack 7-8k, Plaid pack - 10-11k. So the market is relatively cheap and used widely mostly for restoring salvaged Tesla`s.

So looking for the initial steps in making a wind turbine, from Tesla motor, as a generator.
ready to cover/pay for time/exp and contribute to GitHub (I`m Linux administrator)

[Bratitude]

tesla unit is pretty over kill and kind of cumbersome. but for a large scale turbine it could be made to work.
not to mention the motors are very intergraded with the gearboxes. so mechanically theres a challenge there

smaller units like the Hyundai HSG would make a excellent wind turbine generator.

regarding the tesla, running in a "regen" state would be what your after, maybe some changes to the code to vairy the regen effect based off the available wind load, so you always get something.

modle s/x drive units with the openinverter replacement boards would allow you todo this to some effect.

[Zeus]

tesla unit is pretty over kill and kind of cumbersome. but for a large-scale turbine it could be made to work.
not to mention the motors are very intergraded with the gearboxes. so mechanically theres a challenge there

smaller units like the Hyundai HSG would make a excellent wind turbine generator.

regarding the tesla, running in a "regen" state would be what your after, maybe some changes to the code to vairy the regen effect based off the available wind load, so you always get something.

modle s/x drive units with the openinverter replacement boards would allow you todo this to some effect.

Yeah I fully understand it's overkill, but in theory, it matches almost perfectly.
It outputs upto 400VDC, which is OK for inverter.

So basically all is needed to check Gear ratio for this (maybe reducing it).
Validate cooling and oil will operate fine in changed orientation (half shaft vertical). Plus add a cooling pump...into some reservoir.
Validate motor can permanently work as a generator.
Make a metal mount, everything around, add/weld prop.
Add ground/resisting elements/DC brackers/connect to hybrid inverter.
Think how it can be "stopped" in case ultra-high wind load if it exceeds inverter input loads.
Tesla drive unit "cheap" for its power output it can provide. While using it on "low" power should make it cold and avoid any overheating.
Likely play with regen, yes are right, to allow wind spin at some range.

Anything I`m missing, that may be a blocker?

[jrbe]

What are your inverter specs? Battery storage voltage range for the inverter?
How much wind do you have regularly? It would be a lot of wind and huge blades to drive it.

I too think an electric car motor will likely be too much unless you're powering a neighborhood. The Hyundai / Kia hsg is a great recommendation. It would be a more sensible sized blade too. A few of them together might be a good idea to not have 1 point of failure / 1 target and reduce the height requirements.
*edit* The hsg has a 8kw constant rating if I remember right. 3 of these should make all the power your inverter could use.

If the inverter uses a 48v battery there are a lot of 48v belt assist hybrid motor generators that could work well.

It might make sense to figure out how big of blades you can work with and work backwards from that to find sensible sized generators.

[Zeus]

What are your inverter specs? Battery storage voltage range for the inverter?
How much wind do you have regularly? It would be a lot of wind and huge blades to drive it.

I too think an electric car motor will likely be too much unless you're powering a neighborhood. The Hyundai / Kia hsg is a great recommendation. It would be a more sensible sized blade too. A few of them together might be a good idea to not have 1 point of failure / 1 target and reduce the height requirements.
*edit* The hsg has a 8kw constant rating if I remember right. 3 of these should make all the power your inverter could use.

If the inverter uses a 48v battery there are a lot of 48v belt assist hybrid motor generators that could work well.

It might make sense to figure out how big of blades you can work with and work backwards from that to find sensible sized generators.

Inverter is Sofar HYD 20KTL-3PH
Max. input voltage 1000V
Start-up voltage 200V
Rated input voltage 600V
MPPT operating voltage range180V~960V
Number of MPPT 2
Max. number of input strings per MPPT 2/2
Max. input current per MPPT 25A/25A
Max. short-circuit current per MPPT 30A/30A

The inverter is HighVoltage (in terms of battery) unlike the usual 48V, scaled as Amps, High voltage are scaled by voltage 180-800V with 25A charge/discharge limit.

Battery storage is currently absent.
But likely will end up as Tesla modules (just still need to make Can control over Tesla modules for communications with inverter)

Wind averages ~10mph=16kph, with more importantly higher in winter than in summer + as I wrote it`s over 80meters about ground level roof, which makes it even faster.

With windrose


Its not about powering myself, its 26+2level residential building (actually 30 if count the elevator top). there are tons of pumps/heat pumps/light/elevators, who are constantly drain big amounts of energy, currently over 10kwh (without have of pump (no heating) and 1 elevator).
Diesel generator has several large issues in this construction, as it needs a place outside of the building itself, which is absent.
+ smell
+ fuel
+ wirering
+ so keep it as backup only source, making it almost pointless


Plan is to make something like this, with help of Tesla (or some other drive unit, as you say here), and connect it to MPPT.

So in summer, it will be solar as the main power supply, instead in winter it will be wind, as solar drops to 15-20% its powers.
So having at least some of critical load may be powered.

[jrbe]

Do you have access to bifacial solar panels? A partial vertical install could be a good option to help supplement solar generation. They typically make power earlier and later in the day, benefit from no snow accumulating on the energy producing faces, and can make a surprising amount of energy from albedo light which goes up when there's snow on the ground.

From https://cleantechnica.com/2022/07/25/ne ... rformance/

Do you know the buildings power usage throughout the day, and how much power needs to be made / stored while dark?

The IMPLUX style wind turbines are interesting. From
https://newatlas.com/implux-wind-turbine/18625/

Sureshan says the bigger the IMPLUX is, the more efficient it is and he has modeled the design up to a 30 kW unit that measures about 15 m (49 ft) in diameter using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analyses. However, a unit of such size would be impractical for most buildings, so to test the technology a prototype unit measuring roughly 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and 4 m high with a rotor of about 2 m (6.5 ft) in diameter has been built that is expected to produce up to a maximum of 2 kW. The prototype is set to be placed atop a high-rise building in a city environment for real world testing in June.

If the tests go as expected, Sureshan says he plans to produce units that are slightly smaller to give the device the best chance of meeting as many council planning permission regulations for placement on existing buildings as possible. These will measure around 3 m x 3 m (9.8 x 9.8 ft) and are expected to produce around 1.5 kW.

That gives some nice dimensions to kw references, if their calculations are accurate / close.

I wonder if a weather vane like rotating top cap (that finds the direction of the wind) would help efficiency by cutting out wind interference at the top. Likely would help keep snow out too.

There are also the venturi style wind turbines if it's worth going with a fixed unit.
https://electrek.co/2022/10/14/rooftop-wind-solar/

They claim to be blade-less but have the turbine in the base. These are likely an easier shape to make if you're going the do it yourself route.
Adding a wind direction sensor nearby and a motor to rotate the venturi top to match wind direction could be very beneficial. That could be an evolution path as you get time.

If you go the Hyundai / Kia hsg route and keep the serpentine belt you can test different gear ratios with different pulleys and belts. But you'll have the tensioner and belt to maintain and belt / roller losses.

Washing machine rotors & stators have been used for diy wind turbines. They should have a decently high pole count and would likely fit the speed and power generation better. It's hard to find their specs though.

I wonder if a few Prius inverters with their boost stage would work well for this?..

You might be able to find axial motors that could be direct drive as another option.

[Zeus]

So I started to make a CAD model, and so far so good ^^

Adding a wind direction sensor nearby and a motor to rotate the venturi top to match wind direction could be very beneficial. That could be an evolution path as you get time.

The Venturi effect is cool, but IMO pretty pointless, when you have an almost 100m building. Therefore almost any hour it have atleast 3-4m/s wind speed.

So current list to do:
1. Finish CAD model.
2. Order board. Check/tune code for a task.
3. decide how to mount motor, and shaft.

[marcexec]

It might not fit your profile with the high voltage, but I have been following OpenSourceLowTech for a while, their wind turbine is now V2.1:
https://opensourcelowtech.org/wind_turbine.html
Always wanted to give that a go with a direct drive bike hub motor.

[Zeus]

It might not fit your profile with the high voltage, but I have been following OpenSourceLowTech for a while, their wind turbine is now V2.1:
https://opensourcelowtech.org/wind_turbine.html
Always wanted to give that a go with a direct drive bike hub motor,

thx, took few ideas.
first of all aerodynamics testing on truck ^^