Wind Sensor Placement

Um, chimney tops should be 4 feet higher than the highest peak to avoid turbulence effects.

Maybe 3Doug will be along to correct me

I'm thinking 6, maybe 8 feet above peak.

The higher you can get it above the peak the more accurate it will be. An earlier suggestion to mount it on a chimney is valid.

However, depending on the type, you need to be able to get at it for maintenence periodically. It's a trade off. The higher it gets, the more difficulty you will encounter if the carousel needs simple attention.

I mounted mine off the side of an existing FM antenna rotor post.

A word of caution: if there are no tall trees or other taller, man-made structures to divert discharges, static buildups will find your weather station very attractive.

Be sure to mount a high resistance air gap to a well grounded earth ground and attach the other end to whatever mechanical structure is supporting the weather station. That way, any lightning will be more inclined to discharge it's energy to the ground and not into your home.

L.J.

Thanks for the advice. No existing antenna masts here. The maintenance issue will probably determine the height. I'm mounting it so that I can lower it to roof peak height for cleaning, etc.

The installation manual suggests mounting the anemometer on a wooden mast, not plastic or metal. What's your opinion?

Hi Lyn,

I think you are on the right track. We constructed a mobile weather station using a LaCrosse anemometer and hooked it into a Scada application for logging. I looked at some of the paperwork to see what we had relating to different type installation tips;

The Davis instructions are the most practical;

Make sure you install the anemometer in a location where wind flow is unobstructed by trees and nearby buildings. For the most accurate readings, the anemometer should be mounted at least 4 feet (1.2 m) above the roof line. You may do this by mounting the anemometer on a television antenna mast or on a raised piece of wood or metal pipe. Make sure the antenna mast or metal pipe is properly grounded. (You may use Davis' Grounding Kit.) If you are not certain about how to ground your installation, consult a qualified professional for national and local codes. In addition, if you live in an area which encounters frequent thunderstorms, installing a lightning rod nearby can reduce the risk of damage.

The highly scientific type advised;

Avoid such as trees, masts and buildings. The WMO make the following
recommendations: The standard exposure of wind instruments over level open terrain is 10m above the ground. Open terrain is defined as an area where the distance between the sensor and any obstruction is at least 10 times the height of the obstruction.

How high are you going to build your chimney?? What type of device are you installing?

Regards,Bob

Hi Bob,

No chimney here in the desert, I'm mounting on the eave of the house. It's in relatively unobstructed space. I figure the sensor will be 25 feet in the air. There are trees circling my yard, so, turbulence may be an issue. I'm basically characterizing the location to determine feasibility for a wind generator. Or so I told the wife when I ordered the station.

The setup is a La Crosse wireless.

Cheers,

Lyn

Well, an expert opinion indeed! Thanks. My goal is casual knowledge of the weather in my back yard.

My wife asked why we don't have a wind generator, here in Arizona. (We have a place in southern Minn. close to a huge wind farm.) Simply telling her that there is not sufficient sustainable wind in the desert of Arizona doesn't satisfy her. So, I'm putting up a small weather station. Mostly I'm doing it because I want to.

PWSlack summed it up pretty well in his comment.

Cheers!

There is a website called "instructables" It has free instructions on a great inexpensive homemade windmill project done by a guy in Arizona. Still available on-line: "How I built an electricity producing wind turbine" by: mdavis19 Date: September 17, 2008 The power could be used to charge batteries which could then charge power tools, power 12v lights (lots of models to choose from used in RV's and boats) or a small inverter for 120v power to a specific load (not tied in to the utility power). Have fun and make your wife happy too.

I will check it out. Thanks! I'm still mounting the weather station(mounting hardware arrives today). Maybe in the future, I'll mount the weather station on the windmill.

The higher the better...

Er, surely it will indicate the wind speed that it experiences at whatever elevation it is mounted?

And for your rain guage, be careful of Birds dropping straw or twigs into your rain guage, that would stop the little bucket inside from working ;o(

Its a pain when they do that, just before a heavy storm comes thru ;o(

Here is mine at home logging.

http://www.rods.id.au/weather

Hi,

Nice site! Haven't mounted the mast hardware on the house, yet. Still have to paint the metal brackets. It's 107 outside now. Maybe early this weekend, when it's cooler.

Thanks for the advice.

The graphing/logging is done with RRDTool ;o)

http://oss.oetiker.ch/rrdtool/

It runs under Linux, not sure about other OS's