PRODUCTS - 20kW WESTWIND
The 20kW is the latest edition in the family of Westwind turbines. It was released for commercial sale in mid -2003 after an extensive three year field testing stage at Murdoch University's Energy Research Institute in conjunction with ACRE.
Like all Westwind turbines, the 20kW is designed for trouble free installation and operation in remote areas. Our tow up tower design allows easy installation & maintenance without the need for large cranes normally associated with wind turbine installation.
The tow up tower design allows economical installation in cyclone prone regions where the turbines can be easily lowered to the ground ahead of any cyclone activity. This was demonstrated in a recent project with western power. For details of this project utilising three Westwind 20kW turbines please download the press release courtesy of Western Power. "Exmouth Advanced Mini Windfarm" project summary report
The project is a direct benefit of Westwind's close association with ACRE. This association has allowed a machine to be designed and constructed with leading edge technology throughout especially the generator, and power controller.
The 20kW is available for 240V battery charging, heating, grid-tied or a combination. This combination option is unique in the market, as well as the turbine size. Like all the Westwind range the 95% efficient PM generator is horizontally mounted with no gearbox, minimizing the margin for customer costs after installation.
All Westwind turbine generators are ran in our dyno test bench before final assembly to the nacelle. We do not know of any other manufacturer that checks their systems in such detail.
The machine has pitch control so whatever the wind speed the blades are set at the optimum angle to give you a controlled & efficient turbine. As the machine reaches its rated speed the blades alter their pitch angle, enabling them to maintain the rated speed. There are no problems with over speeding and unlike some of our competitors there is no need to brake / stop the turbine every time the forecast predicts 50 or 60mph winds. Since moving to the UK we have continued to use the same pitch control as the original design, but we have replaced the bushes with double row spherical contact roller bearings (as mentioned in our bearing section). This means the mechanism is now sealed from loss of lubricant and ingress of dirt or water and like other changes; many of the parts can now be mass-produced making for greater consistency. The pitch mechanism now has dampers that cut down on the system workload in gusty conditions. We learned the hard way as installers for many years about other turbine designs that were good for most places, even with high winds, but when we installed them there were premature failures due to severe unpredictable gusts. There has been Westwind 20kW's in the U.K. for a few years now without failure, and we like to promote that we have the best product available; and if we can make it better, we do.
The market place offers a colossal range in small wind turbines, but if you want a machine that will run for many years without extra maintenance expenditure then the Westwind range is the one for you. We make no apologies for our machines being more expensive than competitors, as over a few years you will find they will accumulate the extra money due to our low maintenance; plus you will not have the same problems with down time (time when the turbine is out of operation when waiting on maintenance). We at J A Graham as installers know the benefits of a good simple machine. If you take the time to read all the information about Westwind you will learn that there are few bespoke unserviceable parts used. Please read all the sections you will see why we are so fond of our machines.
Like the rest of our range we like to offer you some features that you can choose yourself; the painted white option & black blades rather than white blades for anti icing purposes.
(See our Gallery for images on all of our turbines, the link is located within our 'news' pages)
Contact us at Westwind if you are interested in further information on this machine. It is not only our largest and most impressive turbine, but also our best selling.

Daily Energy Output Curve

Power Curve