Residential Wind Turbines

   / Residential Wind Turbines #2  
I haven't had the chance yet, but would really like to get one within the next few years. If you dont mind my asking, which systems have you been looking at?
 
   / Residential Wind Turbines #4  
From browsing the Northern Tool catalog I hope you have A LOT of steady wind.. Reading the fine print in the ad you need something like a 20 mph steady wind to get full power/potential of the windmill.. I was surprised that it would need so much.. we have an ave of 4 or 5 mph and i originally thought that would be enough to generate some power quite easily

brian
 
   / Residential Wind Turbines #5  
thatguy said:
From browsing the Northern Tool catalog I hope you have A LOT of steady wind.. Reading the fine print in the ad you need something like a 20 mph steady wind to get full power/potential of the windmill.. I was surprised that it would need so much.. we have an ave of 4 or 5 mph and i originally thought that would be enough to generate some power quite easily

brian
Very true, I worked for a company putting up turbines back in the early eighties. The business died when the tax credits dried up due to the relatively high installation costs vs. the payback.

Most people did not want to go through the expense and time to put up guages to monitor the wind prior and were often quite upset when they saw the generator sitting idle more often than not or barely moving.

The first thing to do is to check on your zoning. If there is a variance involved, the neighbors will come out of the woodwork to try to stop you from putting one up. Check on your homeowners insurance as well and talk to your electric provider.

Unless you are talking being off the grid, you will want to set one up that feeds back into the grid.

We put up generators made by Enertec, Jacobs and Bergey. I think Bergey is still around but I have not kept up with the industry nor do I know what technology is out there these days. I am impressed with those big commercial units going up all over the place.

PV cells are getting more efficient as well as coming down in price. That may be a more effective way to lessen your power use.
 
   / Residential Wind Turbines #6  
thatguy said:
From browsing the Northern Tool catalog I hope you have A LOT of steady wind.. Reading the fine print in the ad you need something like a 20 mph steady wind to get full power/potential of the windmill.. I was surprised that it would need so much.. we have an ave of 4 or 5 mph and i originally thought that would be enough to generate some power quite easily

brian
that may be true of the smaller more innefficent designs, but the designs that otherpower makes will output some decent power in moderate windws (10-15mph) as they are a much larger rotor (ie lower speed) design.

Remember that the power output goes up by the sq of the swept area.
 
   / Residential Wind Turbines #8  
Unless you live in an open place where you constantly curse the wind and your wife has the washing blown off the line , forget about wind power . As stated , put some Photovolactic solar panels on the shed roof and sit back . Even on a cloudy day my panels are putting charge into the batteries . Turbines are noisy , unsightly , are often stationary and have parts that wear out , it's a nice thought to harness the wind but is not a trustworthy supply of power .
 
   / Residential Wind Turbines #9  
Iron Horse said:
Unless you live in an open place where you constantly curse the wind and your wife has the washing blown off the line , forget about wind power . As stated , put some Photovolactic solar panels on the shed roof and sit back . Even on a cloudy day my panels are putting charge into the batteries . Turbines are noisy , unsightly , are often stationary and have parts that wear out , it's a nice thought to harness the wind but is not a trustworthy supply of power .

I agree with Iron Horse, I live on top of a mountain at 3,000ft. and There is a company that is in the process of putting up commercial wind turbines on the same mountain that I live on. But, I still don't think I would want to pay $20,000+ to put one up. If i put out that kind of money I would want that thing spinning 24/7.
I do have a very nice creek that runs through my farm and after doing all the calculations, I can make more than enough power using Micro Hydro in the creek to power my whole house for about $7,000. That project is on the "To Do" list for sure...
 
   / Residential Wind Turbines #10  
QRTRHRS said:
Unless you are talking being off the grid, you will want to set one up that feeds back into the grid.

this is often what will kill the install for most people as the power companies are quickly wiseing up to home generated power.

1) you might be required to go to on-demand metering
2) you might be required to sell the power back to the grid at wholesale price (a faction of what you pay)
3) electronic converters that will likely be required will likely run as much as the wind turbine itself did.
 
 
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