How Can Wind Power Put Money in Your Pocket
March 11th, 2010 | 
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Wind power Generators
Wind power generators are a smart choice when searching for a viable alternative power resource for homes for many great reasons. They are proven to be very effective, they are very affordable, Parts for Diy ( Do It Yourself) systems are readily available most anywhere and can generally be found for under or around $200, installation and construction manuals and videos are a dime a dozens, and they only take a few days to install, they increase the resale value of your home, they save consumers thousands of dollars annually, they are very effective for addressing the environment issues that we have at present.
Electricity Production From The Wind.
Wind power is one of the most popular of home solar energy systems selected when going with an alternative power resource for homes. This type of system uses the wind to power the generator (windmills or turbines) that actually produces electrical power from a spinning motion. Typically the wind spins the turbine which generates power as it spins, then the power goes into a charge controler, which regulates the amount of the charge thats going into the battery which stores the charge that is going into it which then goes to an inverter which regulates the amount of charge coming out and on to your application, breaker box or appliance to be ran. This is the basic functioning of how the wind power generator works, it’s very simple.
The Grid
Most understand the term living on or off the grid. For those who don’t know what it means and how it ties into wind power generators I’ll try and explain it. The grid is commonly referred to as the electricity circuit as most of us know it to be or where most everyone gets their electricity from and pay a power company every month and is considered the grid. Off the grid simply means that you either produce your own electricity by an alternative means other than conventional or perhaps although you have alternate methods and are still connected to the grid, by having alternate means of producing electricty you are getting a negative amount of electricity from the conventional way and will most probably, as a result, have the power company paying you for electricity.
Some DisAdvantages
Unfortunately with advantages comes some disadvantages with (in this case) wind powered generators. We already know most of the advantages, but some of the disadvantages are the wind itself. Considering that the wind drives the propellers on the windmills or turbine driven systems there must be adequate wind to make this type of system effective enough to warrant having it at all. No Wind No Electricity or is there. It may not be a bad idea to install solar panels to ensure that if the wind isn’t spinning the propeller, which produces the electricity with the wind powered models, the mear sunlight can charge the solar panels. When running multiple turbines sound could be a factor, depending on size.
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Donald Whitehead
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Posted in solar power electrical
I need some input on Wind Power Generator Savings!?
Hi Folks,
I’m considering installing a wind power generator on my property as well as several solar panels. Where I live, I have hot water baseboard heating and an electric hot water heater. My property is well positioned for this type of application. I have 3 acres right by a lake and the wind blows 50 to70% of the time. I’ve got a local representative coming over in a few days to do a complete assessment of my property. My power bill is $320.00 per month. Can someone give me and idea of what your power bill or actual CASH MONEY SAVINGS IN YOUR POCKET have been as a result of installing solar applications on your property? I think it is a tremendous investment and I see only high energy costs for the rest of my life. I just retired and don’t like what I see. I’m looking at investing over $20,000 to get this done. This includes a wind power generator cemented into the ground. Does anyone have these wind generators installed on their roof? Thanks folks!
Depending on your state and taking full advantage of rebates and tax write offs, you should have the system paying for itself in about 5 years and max without that stuff, about 9 years.
I would convert my hot water heater to gas, especially if you are thinking about an on demand system. Because I’m assuming the base board heating is gas? If not, that could explain your high utility cost. Gas is more efficient as an energy source. If gas is not an option, then I would couple the hot water system with a solar hot water system, this is cheaper than more photovoltaic panels.
I would not put the wind turbine on my roof for maintenance issues, and if you have a large enough body of water then wind at lower levels should not be a problem.
Shop around 20K should get you a system that will cover your electric needs.
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I cannot answer all of your questions, but I’ll try to help with some.
First off, my hubby works on the giant commercial wind turbines. Second, he and I live/own/work on a permaculture farm. We are quiet dedicated to living not only environmentally friendly lives, but as independently as possible. Independance to us means freedom from bills, like power, fuel, ect. (we already make our own biofuel).
We will be building our own straw bale house, totally off grid, powered and heated with solar, wind and a Central Boiler (brand name).
My husband has been doing research on household wind turbines. Thus far his absolute favorite is the Skystream 3.7.
He likes it so much he’s concidered becoming a dealer/installer of them. However he’s waiting to make that final decision AFTER we have one of our own, and make sure it really performs as advertised.
The Skystream has the ability to have it’s tower lowered to the ground, to make repairs. This is a HUGE bennifit to the average homeowner who does not have big cranes to lift them up to where it needs to fixed. The tower is bolted onto a hinged base, set in concrete.
Here are a couple of links to info about Skystream 3.7’s.
http://www.genproenergy.com/skystream_wind_turbine.html
http://www.skystreamenergy.com/skystream/
For the actual money savings, you need to sit down with a calculator, the average energy outputs of whatever turbine you are looking at (NOT the peak output!) and what you predict your average amount of wind is going to be. Wind and solar can be so VERY varriable from place to place!
Also be sure to check out if your state has tax savings if you install wind or solar. Some states (like Nevada) are VERY generous, and with your tax write offs, the installation will very nearly end up being free in the end.
My husband and I also view investing in solar & wind power for our house to be an investment in our retirement security.
Having land near a lake is GREAT for wind! Nothing to slow that wind down as it comes across the water!
My husband has not found a single wind turbine that roof mounts that he conciders to be worth a darn. Thus far, his favorite is the Skystream 3.7. We do not yet own on, nor are we in any way affiliated with the company.
It is however the wind turbine we will be installing to help power our straw bale house.
Hope this information helps you a bit.
By the way, with your solar, do you know the difference between passive, and active? Passive solar is solar that generally speaking heats up the water your house uses. Sometimes that heated water is also run through your floor to help heat your house. With active solar, you are converting solar radiation into actual energy and trapping the engery in batteries. Active solar is a lot more work, but you produce actual power to run things with it. Trade off of course is having to mess with those huge batteries.
~Garnet
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