SMA WB 5000-US - Manual (Page 4)

SMA America, LLC Turbine operation
Addendum operating requirements DBWB50-80US-UUS113611 4/12
3 Turbine operation
The Windy Boy is a single phase inverter that converts DC current into AC current and feeds the
energy generated by a wind turbine system into an existing power supply system.
The Windy Boy inverter has a special operating mode for wind generators (see figure below). That
allows performance adjustment to the characteristic curves for generators of many different
manufacturers. In this way maximum yields can be obtained from your wind turbine system.
Figure 2: Operation mode display
The mechanical power of the wind turbine is delivered to the Windy Boy in the form of a direct,
rotational-speed variable DC voltage (RPM) and current intensity (torque).
Most small wind turbine systems have a permanent magnet generator. For converting the variable
frequency AC generator voltage into DC current a rectifier like the Windy Boy Protection Box is
needed.
3.1 Characteristic curve function
The "Turbine" operating mode of the Windy Boy uses a programmable characteristic curve to regulate
the input current depending on the generator voltage.
A characteristic of wind turbine systems is that for every rotational/wind speed there is a different
optimal working point for voltage and current. This behavior is not linear.
The Windy Boy approaches this non-linearity using an approximation composed of a number of
connected linear functions. These can be programmed by the user to correspond closely to the
behavior of the small wind turbine system and thus provide performance adaptability.
If a different operation mode is displayed:
• Activate the operating mode "Turbine" by using Sunny Data Control.
• If problems occur contact the SMA Serviceline.