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How can I log data from anemometers? Are there any anemometers with ability to log data for long periods of time? I want to collect data for about a year or two. What are the options? Which will be cheapest? I will do this at home and I want to calculate the potential wind power and is it worth to install a wind turbine.

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  • The first link in that search gives you a cup anemometer that puts out a standard 4-20mA signal that can be logged by a standard industrial data logger, meaning you can buy whatever duration you want. It's likely overkill for you, though (ie, expensive). The second sells a kit which is likely much cheaper, but requires a Windows PC to do the data logging.
    – Móż
    May 6, 2016 at 0:38
  • The second link seems to me like quite good solution. And if you don't have Windows PC you can buy one that is compatible with this device second hand for under $50. You can also find the product on amazon and ebay. Thanks! If you write this as an answer I'll mark it as accepted.
    – Pavel Petrov
    May 6, 2016 at 10:28

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The first link in that search gives you a cup anemometer that puts out a standard 4-20mA signal that can be logged by a standard industrial data logger, meaning you can buy whatever duration you want. It's likely overkill for you, though (ie, expensive). The second result sells a kit which is likely much cheaper, but requires a Windows PC to do the data logging. You might find once you buy it that the output can be logged by something smaller and cheaper like a Raspberry Pi, one of the "windows on a USB stick" devices or similar. I log my PV system output using a Pi, for example.

Your second question probably makes this pointless though:

I will do this at home and I want to calculate the potential wind power and is it worth to install a wind turbine.

Both answers to "are home windmills sustainable" addresses this, and to summarise... small urban wind generation doesn't work, so it's not sustainable or economical. The (Australian) Alternative Technology Association study is probably worth reading if you want more technical detail.

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Firstly, if it's rooftop wind you're asking about, then that's easy: it's not worth it - the air's too turbulent.

But if it's a pole-mounted turbine that you're considering, then talk to a supplier or installer - they'll have the right kit for you to hire cheaply.

It's best to measure speeds at the hub height you have in mind. It's just an anemometer and a data-logger: all you need, is to pick an anemometer that will output its data in a form that the data-logger can read: that might be a simple voltage, it might be a digital stream of data - it doesn't matter, as long as the anemometer transmits what the data-logger expects to receive. Lots of places sell them as a combined unit, and you can pay anywhere between a few tens of pounds (dollars / euro) to tens of thousands. How much you need to spend, depends on the quality of data you need.

It's not simple to go from a set of wind speed measurements, to a generation forecast. For a long time, the standard process was measure-correlate-predict. There are better ways, but it's not a bad way to go about it.

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    That's useful information but still as an enthusiast I want to log the data.
    – Pavel Petrov
    May 5, 2016 at 12:52
  • Why not on a rooftop? If it was on a house on top of a windy hill, then surely it could be viable?
    – Highly Irregular
    May 5, 2016 at 22:00
  • @HighlyIrregular the air's too turbulent on the rooftop
    – 410 gone
    May 6, 2016 at 6:03

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