Low cost data acquisition system for wind prospecting

This paper describes a data logger system based on microcontroller (wind speed, wind direction, humidity and temperature) and storing data in the SD (Secure Digital) memory card. The evaluation of the wind potential available at a particular site is needed to determine the viability or not the wind turbine installation. However, data acquisition systems for wind prospecting and monitoring of the wind power plants use high cost and precision sensors (anemometer, thermo-hygrometer, wind vane). Therefore, this low cost data acquisition system presented in this paper has characteristics of some commercial data loggers and it is appropriated to study of the feasibility of the installing micro wind turbines for distributed generation.