Wind Turbine Charge Controllers

With a battery storage system you will also need a wind turbine charge controller. This is a device that limits the charge to a battery system to prevent overcharging and is essential to keep your batteries in top condition. The important difference between this and a solar regulator is that devices intended for use with a turbine need a way of diverting excess power to a dump load, so that when the batteries are charged, the turbine always has a load and does not overspeed. The dump load can be as simple as a light bulb or a water heating element. Some controllers even have a monitoring and logging system which will show you exactly how much power has been harvested and what charge level the batteries are at. Try to get one that has metering for voltage and current, so that you can be kept informed of your system's performance.