Product Manual A
AIR 40, AIR Breeze, AIR 30, AIR MaX, AIR X MARINE and AIR SILENT-X are trademarks of Primus Wind Power 2013 Primus Wind Power Inc. AIR Owner’s Manual 3-CMLT-2020 REV-A / 2-26-21 28
TURBINE GROUNDING
Proper grounding of the AIR wind turbine protects people and equipment by
eliminang dangerous voltage potenals.
The following secon describes tower grounding in detail. To ground the
AIR body, connect the ground (green) conductor to the tower ground
rod. Alternately the ground (green) conductor may be connected to the
negave (black) conductor in which case it will be grounded through the
baery bank ground rod. Refer to Figs. 8 -11.
Note that all system grounds should be connected using conductors of the
same size as the posive and negave wires.
If you choose to not set up an earth ground system (not required for sys-
tems under 50 volts), the green and black conductors MUST be connected
to each other or severe damage to the turbine may result and void your
warranty.
Primus Wind Power strongly recommends that boat installaons be
grounded according to American Boat and Yacht Council recommenda-
ons. There are special grounding requirements for boats, in parcular
boats that connect to shore AC power, that MUST be observed or a seri-
ous shock hazard may result. Contact the American Boat and Yacht Council
at +1 410.990.4460 or at www. abyc.com.
TOWER GROUNDING (Fig. 16)
Every wind turbine and tower should be grounded at the tower base even
if the turbine is grounded at the baery bank or service panel by means of
the yaw ground lead.
The following secons are a guide and should not be considered compre-
hensive. Reference the Naonal Electrical Code (NEC) and local building
and zoning regulaons for complete requirements. Relevant secons of
the Naonal Electrical Code are referenced.
ELECTRODES DRIVEN IN SOIL
Electrodes must be a minimum of 8 (2.5 m) in length and free of non-
conducve coangs such as paint. Hollow (pipe or conduit) electrodes
must not be smaller than trade size 3/4 (metric designator 21) and must be
galvanized or otherwise protected from corrosion. Solid rod electrodes
must be at least 5/8 inch (16 mm) diameter. Stainless steel rods less than
5/8 inch diameter, nonferrous rods or their equivalent less than 1/2 inch
diameter shall be “listed” by an organizaon having jurisdicon in the area.
For example: UL in the USA and CSA in Canada.
Electrodes shall be installed such that 8 (2.5 m) is in contact with the soil.
They should be driven into undisturbed soil within 1 of the tower foun-
daon. If rock is encountered the electrode may be driven at an angle
not to exceed 45 degrees from vercal. Some local authories permit buri-
al of the electrode in a trench at least 30 inches (76 cm) deep.
The upper end of the electrode including the grounding conductor should
be below grade. If above ground it must be protected from damage.
Bonding the grounding conductor to the electrode and to the tower may
be accomplished by exothermic weld or by a “listed” mechanical connect-
or. Solder connecons are not permied. Most local authories require a
minimum grounding conductor size of 6 AWG for copper and 4 AWG for
aluminum (if aluminum is permied).
The grounding conductor may be buried directly or contained in conduit. It
is important to have no sharp bends to keep its inductance low.
POSITIVE GROUND
The AIR wind turbine has been used and tested successfully in
a baery posive “earth ground” conguraon. See our FAQ sec-
on on our website at www.primuswindpower.com / FAQ for
more details and links.