windmills

[moloss]

our home is on a small hill and gets it's fair share of wind......that said the other day I was thinking it sure would be nice to have some sort of wind mill to generate some energy to decrease my utility bill.....anyhow does anybody have any expierence with them.....I don't have a clue.....Chris.

 

[zzvyb6]

In a gale force wind, my 8' wheel is rated at the incredible 1.5 hp. The advantage of such a machine is the continuous duty if you can keep the wind up.

Best use would be water pump or a dc generator heating water.

 

[Bill Barrett]

This would give you some power. Couple hundred going up about 15 mile from me.

 

[texasjohn]

moloss, I've watched the wind energy scene with wishful eyes for a long time. The clues I've gathered are as follows:

You need steady wind almost 24X7 and at 15mph or better to be economically feasible.

A wind generator is quite expensive up front cost.

Electrical storage is a problem... only practical way is to feed it back into the grid and get credit from your electric company.

All the above is why you don't see wind generators hardly anywhere.

Harbor Freight has some stuff you can buy and play with. Note that its capacity is very, very small. This is a toy unless you are WAY in the back woods. This is only half a system.... once the wind starts turning, you need a way to store the energy... batteries or back into the grid... this is significant ADDITIONAL costs.

 

[wushaw]

moloss, I've watched the wind energy scene with wishful eyes for a long time. The clues I've gathered are as follows:

You need steady wind almost 24X7 and at 15mph or better to be economically feasible.

A wind generator is quite expensive up front cost.

Electrical storage is a problem... only practical way is to feed it back into the grid and get credit from your electric company.

All the above is why you don't see wind generators hardly anywhere.

Harbor Freight has some stuff you can buy and play with. Note that its capacity is very, very small. This is a toy unless you are WAY in the back woods. This is only half a system.... once the wind starts turning, you need a way to store the energy... batteries or back into the grid... this is significant ADDITIONAL costs.

They are growing like weeds in the Texas panhandle and Dodge city Kansas area.

They really don't need much wind to keep going and that 15mph # would seem feasible since these areas have a steady flow of wind.

 

[texasjohn]

Agreed, when conditions are right, they can work well. You named some of the places where such conditions exist.

The OP is in Alabama and is interested in reducing HIS energy bill.... I doubt he's quite in the league of the posted generator photos.

 

[Tororider]

The newer technology allows the mills to start spinning at lower speeds and turn less spins into more energy. I agree that at this time, unless you have a hybrid system with solar and batteries, the best way to do it is to have it tied into the grid and try to offset your electric bill. They are becoming cheaper and cheaper. I will probably try to do one in MI when I build my house in a few years, even though conditions aren't great. The newer ones are easier to maintain and service. I say go for it.

 

[RichNJKubota]

You'll need to know your average wind speed. Check with your local airport or get an anemometer and record the data for a year.
Check out wind generators such as:
Living with Ed - TV series on HGTV
Welcome to OTHERPOWER.COM
Pacwind
Skystream 3.7 Compact Wind Turbine and Wind Energy System

You need to check and see if your state has a law called 'net metering'. Your local utility company may know.

 

[ToadHill]

I just drove by the 9 they set up on the shore of Lake Erie near Buffalo yesterday. Three were in operation and the other 6 were sitting waiting for repairs to the gearboxes.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

We've got about 22 of those large ones here in ne Pa. The towers are about 200' tall, and the blades are I think 130' long each. They are quite a sight. I do wish they would turn them off. It has never been so windy around here until they turned on the windmills.

You might want to check your local regulations before you even consider this. I wanted to put up a 60' tower with a wind generator on top. Our township wouldn't allow it. They called it an eyesore. Everyone is all for the environment, if it is convenient for them.

 

[SPIKER]

that is something, sorry I kno0w you want to be clean & green but we won't let you cause the rich folk think it may look bad sick AL GORE on them



MarkM

 

[RonMar]

Well if you put in a solar array and grid tied inverter, this would give you pretty steady returns. Grid tied PV arrays have a pretty predictable return on investment. Then you add a DC windmill and add that to the DC from the panels to add to your returns. If The wind blows all night, then you are backfeeding the grid all night(if your house isn't using the energy) when the solar would not normally be contributing.

 

[texasjohn]

The idea is appealing....the practical and realistic implementation seems to run into such difficulties that small scale implementations by individuals seem to be almost nonexistant. I looked at the Pacwind web site... seems the closest actual installation to central Texas is nowhere in Texas, but Oklahoma, and it only showed one there.

I'd think that TBN would be fertile ground for actual implementations: technical and mechanical savvy folks, sufficient $$ to put out $10K - $30k+ when it appeals and makes sense to them (tractors are an example) and (Wayne County Hose excepted), most are in areas sufficiently rural to benefit from or allow their installation.

I'd be interested in hearing from any TBNer who has actually installed a wind generator... how is the experience going and how are the $ return working out?

 

[fishpick]

We are in the "collecting data" phase - it always seems windy... and the shingles that keep leaving the roof suggest it is windy... but the key is constant wind of the over 8mph variety for the systems that would offer any payback potential over the next 15 years.
Weather station is installed - that's it for this year.
Check out - Bergey Windpower Co., the world's leading supplier of small wind turbines - they have some good calculators / spreadsheets you can use to determine payback and capacity...