Greening Your Home - To Buy or Not to Buy - Wind Turbine
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doc
07-12-09, 12:10 PM
We're thinking about buying a Windspire wind turbine. How do we go about trying to figoure out if it's worth the initial investment or not? Does anyone out there have one?
Bud9051
07-12-09, 02:36 PM
The ones I have looked at have had a payback beyond my years. There are usually charts or some source in your area that can estimate the wind you would have available. Transfer that information over to the data from the turbine to determine the KWH you can expect. Some of that energy will replace what you normally use, so multiply by your current electric rates. The surplus you hope to sell back to the power co., but you will need to confirm that and what they will pay. To re-sell the surplus, you will also need the right equipment to connect to the grid.
The other choice is to use battery storage and convert back to house voltage as needed. The turbine is only part of your expense.
If you have a lot of wind and a lot of money and the town approves, it could be fun. But not profitable.
IMO
Bud
The other choice is to use battery storage and convert back to house voltage as needed. The turbine is only part of your expense.
If you have a lot of wind and a lot of money and the town approves, it could be fun. But not profitable.
IMO
Bud
Gunguy45
07-12-09, 03:52 PM
All depends on where you live. Federal and state tax credits, utility company assistance, etc, can make a big difference. Yes, you need to lay out the cash up front..but Jay Leno had an article in a magazine a few months back. Basically he got a wind generator system (10 KW? 20 Kw?) for free after all the credits....like he needs credits?
mboxwell
07-30-09, 03:20 PM
Wind power is a tricky technology to get right. You need lots of wide open space with lots of wind and with no obstructions, such as trees, buildings or nearby roads - all of which can cause turbulance.
So if you live in a built up area, forget it - a lot of people have bought wind turbines and have ended up very disappointed with them. I've seen some crazy installations with wind turbines mounted on the sides of houses in built up areas which are never going to achieve anything more than a few watts of electricity a day, simply because they are the wrong product in the wrong area.
If you live on a farm that's a different matter - go for it!
If you are seriously interested in trying out wind power, get yourself a professional survey done first. If you would prefer to do the survey yourself, you can do it (and if you do it properly, you can do a better job than the professionals because you can carry out wind measurements over a period of days or weeks rather than just hours) but make sure you do your research and read up on it first!
So if you live in a built up area, forget it - a lot of people have bought wind turbines and have ended up very disappointed with them. I've seen some crazy installations with wind turbines mounted on the sides of houses in built up areas which are never going to achieve anything more than a few watts of electricity a day, simply because they are the wrong product in the wrong area.
If you live on a farm that's a different matter - go for it!
If you are seriously interested in trying out wind power, get yourself a professional survey done first. If you would prefer to do the survey yourself, you can do it (and if you do it properly, you can do a better job than the professionals because you can carry out wind measurements over a period of days or weeks rather than just hours) but make sure you do your research and read up on it first!
lilypotter
08-04-09, 03:45 AM
I agree with mboxwell and Gunguy45. But the idea of buying wind turbine. Going green is good.:)
doc
08-04-09, 12:20 PM
Thanks for the replies folks!
We, in fact, do live out in the county with lots of open space, especially to the W, NW, and SW of the house. The model we're looking at is rated at 1.2 KW (or KWH?) but the dealer tells us it probably generates more than that. I hope that's right.
Payback looks like a tad less than 15 years - I hope we live that long.....
Again, thanks.
We, in fact, do live out in the county with lots of open space, especially to the W, NW, and SW of the house. The model we're looking at is rated at 1.2 KW (or KWH?) but the dealer tells us it probably generates more than that. I hope that's right.
Payback looks like a tad less than 15 years - I hope we live that long.....
Again, thanks.
Concretemasonry
08-04-09, 01:06 PM
They can make far more sense than solar if you are in the right location. The wind does not go down every night.
It is amazing how many wind farms (20-50 turbines) you see with a small individual footprint in in IA, IL, SD, etc that are strategically located in fields to not disrupt the corn growing/ethanol production. The only result of ethanol is the corn prices raise the cost of meat, which Al Gore does not care about.
Dick
It is amazing how many wind farms (20-50 turbines) you see with a small individual footprint in in IA, IL, SD, etc that are strategically located in fields to not disrupt the corn growing/ethanol production. The only result of ethanol is the corn prices raise the cost of meat, which Al Gore does not care about.
Dick