Application of wind turbines on roofs of higher buildings is a subject of increasing interest. However, the wind conditions at the roof are complex and suitable wind turbines for this application are not yet developed. This paper addresses both issues: the wind conditions on the roof and the behavior of a roof-located wind turbine with respect to optimized energy yield. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) are to be preferred for operation in a complex wind environment as is found on top of a roof. Since the wind vector at a roof is not horizontal, wind turbines on a roof operate in skewed flow. Thus the behavior of an H-Darrieus (VAWT) is studied in skewed flow condition. Measurements showed that the H-Darrieus produces an increased power output in skewed flow. The measurements are compared with a model based on Blade Element Momentum theory that also shows this increased power output. This in contradiction to a HAWT in skewed flow which suffers from a power decrease. The paper thus concludes that due to this property an H-Darrieus is preferred above the HAWT for operation on a flat roof of higher buildings.

The roof is a possible site for small wind turbines. This is a new but more and more accepted idea. Several Dutch companies in close cooperation with the Section Wind Energy of Delft University of Technology are busy with the design of small roof wind turbines at the moment. The important flow features for a wind turbine on the roof however are unknown. The common wind engineering knowledge is only focussed on extreme wind speeds in order to have a safe building. So, models to calculate the flow features on the roof, important for a wind turbine, have to be developed. This paper gives a first attempt to describe the flow features and guidelines necessary for siting of small wind turbines on the roof. They concern: the desirable height above the roof, the change of the undisturbed wind to the wind speed above the roof and the probability distribution of the wind speed above the roof. With use of the guidelines three example calculations are given to assist the reader in the calculation procedure.

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Small wind turbines sited on a flat roof have good opportunities to become widespread. They operate in the accelerated wind above the roof and deliver the power where it is needed. Since the power produced offsets that which would otherwise be bought from the utility, they reduce energy demand and bills from the utility. Furthermore excess power can be sold back to the utility, thus producing income as well. Flow over a building separates at the roof leading edge at a certain angle. Wind turbines sited well above the roof thus operate in skewed flow. H-Darrieus operating at (flat) roofs just recently start to be at public interest, operation of an H-Darrieus in skewed flow is thus not discussed in literature until now. To examine this, a model of an H-Darrieus with high Tip Speed Ratio (λ) in skewed flow is developed. The model is based on multiple stream-tube theory: a combination of axial momentum and blade element theory on an actuator plate representation of the rotor, which is divided into multiple stream-tubes. The model shows that, for an H-Darrieus designed for skewed flow, the optimal power output in skewed flow can be up to two times the power output in normal - perpendicular to the H-Darrieus axis- flow. The spatial dimension of the H-Darrieus is responsible for this.

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