We have tried to answer most common question below, please scroll down to view further questions and answers.

What Equipment do I need for my system?

There are two types of system: Battery based and battery-less grid tie.

For a battery based system you will require:
A Samrey Turbine – Captures and converts energy from the wind
Optional Photovoltaic Panels – Captures and converts energy from sunlight
Support Structure – Mounts the turbine in airflow (the higher the better)
Batteries – Stores the generated energy as low voltage DC.
Charge Control Unit – Prevents the batteries from becoming over or undercharged
Inverter – Converts the low voltage electricity to 230V 50Hz alternating current.

An inverter is not always required as low voltage lighting and appliances can be used. These will operate directly from the battery bank. This type of system has the advantage of independence from the grid. This is especially important in remote or rural areas where no mains electricity is available. Another advantage of this type of system is that you can still run your lights when there is a grid failure (power cut).

For a battery-less grid tie system you will require:
A Samrey Turbine – Captures and converts energy from the wind
Optional Photovoltaic Panels – Captures and converts energy from sunlight
Support Structure – Mounts the turbine in airflow (the higher the better)
Grid Tie Inverter – Directly converts the electricity to 230V 50Hz

A battery-less grid tie system is much more efficient in terms of energy and costs less to install. However the grid tie inverter must be connected to a mains supply and will only operate whilst the grid is online.

How much power will a ‘Wren Micro-turbine’ generate?

On a good site, a single Wren Micro-turbine will generate 40Kwh per month given an average wind speed of 12mph. As an example, 40Kwh would power 10 compact fluorescent light bulbs for 12 hours per day, for a month.
With higher average wind speeds, the Wren has the potential to capture exponentially more power.  See the graph at the bottom of the Wren Technical Specification document under the Wren Mirco Turbine in our Products section.

How much power will a ‘Mistral’ generate ?

See the graph at the bottom of the Mistral Technical Specification document under the Mistral Packages in our Products section.

How much power will a ‘Merlin’ generate ?

See the graph at the bottom of the Merlin Technical Specification document under the Merlin Packages in our Products section.

Why should I buy a Merlin 2.5kW and not something much bigger ?

The Merlin has been sized at 2.5kW maximum output for several reasons:
1)  Most of Europe now allows permitted development (read as "no planning approval required") on Wind Turbines that are on towers of 10m or less. 

The Merlin has 3.5m diameter rotor that is proportionately balanced with a 10m tower in the hope that the UK will follow Europe with this directive.

UK Connection
2)  To grid connect here in the UK the electrical Distribution Network Operator (DNO) by law must accept your turbine connection to the grid if the turbine supply does not exceed 16 amps per phase - which the Merlin does not and is sized not to.  You simply tell the DNO on the day that you have connected your wind turbine and will be supplying electricity to the grid.  You can still connect larger turbines to the grid but the DNO does not have to accept it and may charge you to upgrade the Network in your local area to accept your turbine supply.  You will need to ask the DNO's permission in advance of installing a wind turbine larger than a Merlin.

How much noise do small wind turbines make ?

All small wind turbines generate some acoustic emissions as their blades move through the air. However Samrey products are some of the quietest turbines around thanks to the low TSR (tip speed ratio) rotor blades. This means that the blades do not need to move as fast -so are much quieter. Depending on the wind conditions, Samrey products generate a swishing sound that is just audible above the background noise of the wind.

How much wind do Samrey small wind turbines need to operate ?

All Samrey small wind turbines are ‘rated’ at just 8m/s (17.8mph) instead of the usual 12m/s rating of other turbines. All of this means that Samrey turbines will capture more energy over a range of different wind speeds that are realistic on most sites.

Do not be fooled by lesser turbines that use ‘peak power production’ as a marketing tool. On top of this, all of Samrey's products ‘cut-in’ at a much lower speed, which means that a Samrey wind turbine spends more time generating energy instead of ‘freewheeling’ in low wind speeds.

Can I mount turbines to my house ?

It is possible to mount a Wren Micro-turbine to a house or building (often called a roof-mount). However this should be considered as a last resort as the turbine will be less efficient due to the turbulence caused by the building itself. This will result in less power production and will increase the stresses on the turbine due to turbulence. This is the case for ALL small wind turbines even though some manufacturers claim that their turbines actually work better in roof-mount applications. A specially designed anti-vibration system should be employed to help prevent vibrations from the turbine from being transmitted to the building.  It is best practice to mount the turbine as high as possible away from obstructions such as buildings and trees. This will greatly improve the power production of the turbine.
We do not advise that any turbine larger than 1 metre diameter is mounted on a house or non commercial building.

Do small wind turbines hurt birds or other animals ?

With regard to the impact of birds: Studies carried out in the UK (at existing commercial wind farms) show hit rates of less than 1 per turbine per year. When scaled down to a small domestic turbine the rate drops to less than one. Compare this to the 10 million birds killed by cars every year.  
RSPB (2004): Information leaflet on Wind Farms and Birds. The RSPB stated, “in the UK, we have not so far witnessed any major adverse effects on birds associated with wind farms”. Wind farms are always subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment and BWEA members follow the industry's Best Practice Guidelines and work closely with organisations such as English Nature and the RSPB to ensure that wind farm design and layout does not interfere with sensitive species or wildlife designated sites. Moreover, a report published in the journal Nature (Extinction risk from climate change, Nature 427, 145 – 148) confirmed that the greatest threat to bird populations in the UK is climate change.

Do more blades mean more Power ?

No. It is common misconception that by adding more blades, more power can be obtained from a wind turbine. In fact adding more blade significantly reduces the overall performance of a wind turbine. In theory, an extremely efficient turbine would only have a single blade. Unfortunately, turbines with less than three blades suffer from chronic vibration and fatigue problems, and turbines with more than three blades suffer from increased drag, weight and tip noise.

Three bladed turbines are considered 'optimum' and are the industrial standard from micro turbines up to wind farm sized machines.