SWWP – Air Breeze www.airbreeze.com.au

admin — Tue, 19 Sep 2000 15:22:11 +0000

How can you prepare for a rainy day? The answer is blowing in the wind.
Small wind electric systems can deliver serious energy. This is just one lesson people are learning all around the world. From remote homes and cabins to rural communications towers and monitoring stations, people are using small wind system to generate inexpensive energy, right where it’s needed. And for a great many of these people, the system of choice is Southwest Windpower’s Air generator.

Today, Air Breeze, the new generation of the world’s best-selling small wind generator, powers countless lights, radios, computers, tools and appliances. It is also used widely to complement solar PV systems. Air Breeze is a perfect choice for hybrid wind/solar systems that provide you with the most reliable year-round energy supply.

Wind energy is clean energy
This isn’t just any energy. Air Breeze produces non-polluting electricity. No fossil fuels are mined or burned to make this electricity. No carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. With Air Breeze and the power of the wind, you can forget about carbon footprints.

There is also a marine model available. Please qualify requirements at time of order.

Air Breeze Land Specifications

What’s In Air Breeze	What it means to you
Microprocessor-based smart internal regulator with peak power tracking	Improved performance. Optimized energy output. Improved battery charging. Reduced sound.
3 durable composite blades	Increased reliability and durability. Reduced sound.
Brushless neodymium alternator	More efficient energy delivery with no maintenance.
Only two moving parts	Increased reliability. Reduced need for maintenance.
Technical Specifications
Rotor diameter	46 in (1.17 m)
Weight	13 lb (5.9 kg)
Shipping dimensions	27 x 12.5 x 9 in (686 x 318 x 229 mm) 17 lb (7.7 kg)
Mount	1.5 in schedule 40 1.9 in (48 mm) OD pipe
Start-up wind speed	6 mph (2.68 m/s)
Voltage	12 and 24 VDC
Rated power	200 watts at 28 mph (12.5 m/s)
Turbine controller	Microprocessor-based smart internal regulator with peak power tracking
Body	Cast aluminum (Air Breeze Marine is powder coated for corrosion protection)
Blades	Injection-molded composite (3)
Overspeed protection	Patented electronic torque control
Monthly Energy Production	38 kWh/mo at 12 mph (5.4 m/s)
Survival wind speed	110 mph (49.2 m/s)
Warranty	3 Year Limited Warranty

Based on preliminary testing data.

How it works…

DOWNLOADS:

Air Breeze Brochure(315 KB)

Making AIR turbines even better with Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT)

admin — Tue, 19 Sep 2000 11:58:11 +0000

Over the years, we’ve learned a few things about building the best wind turbine in the market. AIR has gone through a series of continuous refinements from the AIR 303, AIR 403, AIR-X and AIR Breeze. Each successive model has been more successful – in fact, AIR is still the world’s best-selling machine; with more than 135,000 units sold. Even with this success, there is always room for improvement. As technology advances and we learn about people’s needs, we evolve our products to do more while fulfilling customer expectations.

Today we’re releasing our latest and most reliable generation of AIR turbines: the AIR Breeze Marine, for sailing and off-grid coastal applications, the AIR 40, for off-grid remote homes, industry and telecommunication towers in non-corrosive environments, and the AIR 30, for hobby, RV and educational use.

The latest designs required a great deal of efforts on the part of our engineers as well as independent laboratories which helped us pinpoint weak spots in our products. Specifically, the most common causes of failures were excessive heat build-up during extreme wind events and mechanical stresses on the circuit board.

What did we do?

Southwest Windpower is probably the only small wind company with its own wind tunnel. Our engineers gathered information from warranty claims and in-house and external product analysis. We then duplicated identified problems in our wind tunnel and then began the process of changing the design. Specifically we:
1.Performed a comprehensive characterization of the AIR 30 blades to determine the optimal tip and root angle to capture the wind and made changes to the mold.
2. Optimized the software on all AIR products to enhance performance, reliability and reduce excess heat build-up in high wind speeds
3. Upgraded the circuit board using higher temperature rated components to further reduce susceptibility to extreme temperatures
4. Integrated changes to the circuit board configuration to reduce mechanical stress on the board and mitigate component failures

How do we know we did it right?

After completing improvements, we contracted an independent laboratory to perform a Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT). HALT uncovers issues in product design, component selection and/or manufacturing that we couldn’t otherwise find without running units in various field environments for an extended period of time. The HALT subjects the turbine to all kinds of stresses and weather and temperature fluctuations in quick succession.

AIR has been around for nearly 15 years and each year we discover new ways the product is used. AIR is found everywhere from a monitoring site in Antarctica to a village clinic in Sri Lanka. It’s the best because it is easy to install and operate. We at Southwest Windpower remain committed to making a difference with wind energy.

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» Air Breeze

SWWP – Air Breeze www.airbreeze.com.au

Making AIR turbines even better with Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT)