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A field comparison of popular wind monitoring systems

Conference ·
OSTI ID:269346
The majority of wind resource assessment programs conducted in the U.S. use the Maximum No.40 cup anemometer and a datalogger made by NRG Systems, Inc. (NRG) or Second Wind, Inc. (SWI). It is common practice, although not necessarily advisable, to operate the anemometers {open_quotes}as is{close_quotes} without a pre- or post-field calibration. Being unheated, the Maximum sensor is also subject to icing in cold climates. Given the growing demand for wind resource information, these related questions must be asked: How reliable and comparable are wind speed statistics when they are observed by different datalogger models, by calibrated and uncalibrated sensors, and also by unheated sensors? This paper reports on the findings of wind speed-related comparisons made in New York State using: the NRG 9300CL datalogger, the SWI NOMAD datalogger, calibrated Maximum No.40C anemometers obtained from both firms, and the new NRG IceFree{trademark} heated anemometer.
Research Organization:
American Wind Energy Association, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI ID:
269346
Report Number(s):
CONF-950309--; ON: DE96011159
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English