Residential Wind Turbine, anyone got one up and running?

[Big Wave D]

If you could explain what the process was like: permits, finding best location, choosing unit, cost, needing wiring additions for connecting to house/energy grid, any grants or tax credits to know about.

I live in a relatively winding area of the country, especially when winter rolls around. I have an all electric home, so I'd be getting the most use from the turbine when my bills are at their highest.

Many thanks for sharing what you've been through and learned. :thumbsup:

 

[Dutch445]

The company I work with just took on a line of turbines,
so we were given a crash course on what to ask, etc.
I would start here:
Wind Powering America: Wind Maps and Wind Resource Potential Estimates
and map your property and see what wind you have.
that will give you a good idea whether you are wasting
your time or if you are a candidate. Payback is years,
but subsidies are high. One thing I learned that I wasn't aware
of, wind power is not applicable with "grid outages", as it
would back feed, so it is not a backup power source. The
power you generate is fed into the grid thru a meter, anything
generated above your usage is credited back from your power
supplier. or something like that.
very interesting stuff though... start with the map and see how it looks.

good luck!

 

[Big Wave D]

Dutch445,

Thank you very much for the link. I most certainly will check it out.

I put in a call to my REMC Cooperative and had a good conversation with the Energy Consultant that is on staff. They have two small wind turbines that have just been put into use. They don't have any real track record to go by so far. The lady I spoke to was very nice and gave me some other links of a more local flavor. She seemed to say that right now the gist of what she's hearing at conferences and the like put these home wind turbines at the 20 year useful life, and it takes about 25 years to pay them off. Not a resounding endorsement.

I went to the site of a U.K. turbine maker, Proven Energy Wind Turbine Energy - small wind turbines ,and did some perusing of their info. Most interesting

One of the links she gave me posted the generating records of two smaller units. Winter months these little guys really shine, not so much over the summer months though.

As they say, "Your location may vary..." :laughing:

 

[jbarker855]

My wife and I looked into wind power when we first moved into our home in the country. This info is very vague (it's been a few years since we seriously looked into this). But for what it's worth, we found that a moderate size windmill would cost us ~60 grand. Government subsidies in NY might cut that number in half as our final cost. We figured we would break even in 15-20 years. As you have found, it just did not seem like a good idea. These things are not maintenance free either, and there will be some additional costs down the road. I am not saying that wind power is a bad idea in general. But for us, where we live, it did not appear to be a wise investment. Good Luck.
-Jay

 

[texasjohn]

In general, you must have about 20mph AVERAGE wind to make a generator pay... and I do mean AVERAGE...all day, every day, 365days/year..this is extremely windy....few places fit this profile.... I looked into it and my conclusion was that unless you are in one of the extreme wind areas, it isn't economically feasible...I'm sorry to say...at the present time... as several others have commented.

 

[wedge40]

Just curious. If you're in an area that you can get lots of wind, it seems like it would be an open area that would be conducive to solar energy.

Wedge

 

[flyingcow]

Just curious. If you're in an area that you can get lots of wind, it seems like it would be an open area that would be conducive to solar energy.

Wedge

I got a residential windmill......I'll second the solar idea. Put your money into solar or come up here buy my unit.

I live on a very windy hill, had the same thoughts as you. It looks nice, Al Gore would be proud, but it ain't worth it.

 

[Big Wave D]

Overcast and cloudy days are rather regular for my area, especially during the winter. Solar wouldn't do very well, even though I'd have the footprint to put a system down on. I'm also seeing all of the batteries to make the thing work as a MAJOR hassle. Anybody with solar, that can comment on this aspect, please do.

Flyingcow,
You live a 'fer' piece from me; however, I'm curious what kind of windmill you have and how old is it? Are they maintenance 'nightmares'? Is it something that a fairly mechanical type can manage oneself or does it have to be a wind turbine company to perform service? Has it helped cut your electric bill in a 1/3 - 1/2 - 3/4's? Did you install it yourself or have it done 'turnkey'? Does it seem like you'd ever see it recoup its cost or is it just a sliding scale of more money always being put into it to keep it generating? Are you still using it or have you shuttered/shut it down?

Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[sodamo]

Overcast and cloudy days are rather regular for my area, especially during the winter. Solar wouldn't do very well, even though I'd have the footprint to put a system down on. I'm also seeing all of the batteries to make the thing work as a MAJOR hassle. Anybody with solar, that can comment on this aspect, please do.
....Thanks for everyone's input.

I have 12 Rolls Surette, 4ks25 1350 amp hour 4 volt, 315 lb each batteries in my 4.5kw PV system - that is 24 cells. I spend about 1/2 hour, usually the 1st of the month on battery maintenance. MAJOR hassle? - nah - about a cup+ distilled water per cell and sometimes clean a terminal or two with a brush and baking soda solution. And run an EQ cycle on my generator.

 

[Big Wave D]

Sodamo,

What kind of life expectancy do they claim for your batteries?

I would agree that your monthly maintenance doesn't seem to intrusive.