APPLICATION NOTE

NRG IceFree™ and NRG #40 Anemometer

Response Characteristics
Introduction
The NRG IceFree™ anemometer was designed to measure wind speed in icing environments. The shape and
geometry of the sensor results in a different off-axis response and a longer distance constant compared to the
NRG #40. These differences may be reflected in the data when using both sensors in a wind assessment
project. Therefore, a method to compare and correlate the data from the two sensors is needed.

This application note discusses the differences and provides such a methodology.

Off axis response

The IceFree™ anemometer is sensitive to off-axis winds and tends to over speed in upslope winds which have
as little as a 5% to 10% upslope component. Over speeding will be more prevalent at sites with complex terrain
and is difficult to quantify. The NRG #40 anemometer is not sensitive to off-axis winds.

Distance constant
The IceFree™ anemometer has a longer distance constant than the #40. The distance constant is a measure of
how much air must pass the sensor in order for the response to reach ~63.2% of the step increase. The longer
the distance constant, the “slower” the sensor will respond to changes in wind. Conversely, the shorter the
distance constant, the “faster” the sensor will respond.

The slightly longer distance constant of the IceFree™ sensor results in a tendency for it to "under report" true
wind speed when the wind is increasing and to "over report" true wind speed when the wind is decreasing,
especially when compared to the NRG #40 (or any sensor that has a shorter distance constant). This is
expected. At sites with no upslope wind components, long term averages for the IceFree™ and NRG #40 will
tend to converge.

Interpreting IceFree™ data for wind assessment studies

1) Wind resource assessment studies utilizing an IceFree™ sensor require the installation of an NRG #40 at the
same level as the IceFree™ anemometer.

2) Establish a single correlation coefficient between the NRG #40 and the IceFree™ data for the "non-icing"
months (typically April-October in the Earth's Northern Hemisphere). Once established, the correlation
coefficient will compensate for the response differences. Always use the published transfer function for each
sensor model when determining the correlation coefficient.

Correlation coefficient = long term average NRG #40 / long term average IceFree™

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anIceFree-40-response.differences.doc Rev # 1 03 May, 2005
 APPLICATION NOTE
Example:

Seven months of "non-icing" data is collected for a site. The average wind speed for the NRG #40 is 8 m/s and
the average wind speed for the IceFree™ is 8.4 m/s.

Correlation coefficient = long term average NRG #40 / long term average IceFree™

Correlation coefficient = 8 / 8.4

Correlation coefficient = 0.952

3) The Correlation coefficient can now be applied to the IceFree™ data as follows:

Compensated IceFree™ data = recorded IceFree™ data x correlation coefficient

How to get the compensated data into SDR

Once you have established the correlation coefficient as described above, you may change your baseline SDR
site sensor information for the IceFree™. To do so, apply the correlation coefficient to the slope and offset of
the IceFree™ in order to compensate for the response differences.

New IceFree™ slope = (published IceFree™ slope x correction factor)

=0.547 x 0.952
=0.521

New IceFree™ offset = (published IceFree™ offset x correction factor)

=0.8 x 0.952
=0.76

Re-import the IceFree™ raw data with new slope and offset. Once the re-import process is complete, the
database will contain scaled data with the compensated slope and offset. Reports and exports generated will
then reflect the compensated data.

Global leaders in wind assessment technology

110 Riggs Road · Hinesburg · VT 05461 USA · TEL (802) 482-2255 · FAX (802) 482-2272 · EMAIL sales@nrgsystems.com
anIceFree-40-response.differences.doc Rev # 1 03 May, 2005