wind turbine

Residential Wind Turbines

Marcus — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Energy costs getting you down? Looking to cut down on bills, and get a little greener in the process? With energy bills rising by as much as fifty percent in recent years, chances are you’re eager for some alternatives. Which is where wind power comes in. Wind is a clean, efficient, sustainable and cost-effective source of energy, and it’s rapidly growing in popularity. A growing number of homes in the U.S. are opting to have residential wind turbines installed, and as a result are seeing dramatic reductions in their energy costs. Think wind power might be right for you? Keep reading to find out more.

Why wind?

First off, wind power will save you money—as much as 50-90 percent on your electric bill! Although wind turbines can cost from $6,000- $22,000, it’s an investment that usually pays for itself in around six to fifteen years. Once the cost of the turbine has been recouped, it’s not uncommon to see electric bills of $8- $15 dollars for up to nine months of the year! In addition, wind power is good for the environment—it produces zero pollution, and every kilowatt hour that is powered by wind will offset pollution that would have been generated by your utility company.

What kinds of residences are eligible for wind power?

Since a wind turbine is a relatively large structure, this type of power isn’t really suitable for small-lot suburban homes or anything in an urban setting. Usually, a house on an acre or more of land is desirable. It’s also important to consider wind speed in your area—in order for a turbine to be efficient, wind speed should be at an average of at least 10 miles per hour.

Where can I buy a residential wind turbine?

Take a look at this list of small wind turbine equipment providers.

Is there any way to benefit from wind power if I live in a small and/or urban location?

Why, yes, there is. In most areas, you can contact your energy company and switch to green power—that is, your energy company will purchase your power from sustainable energy sources in lieu of coal or oil. There is a minor charge, but it usually only amounts to a few extra dollars per month. This is a great alternative for city dwellers who wish they could install a massive wind tower on the top of their high rise.

Want to learn more about wind power?

Wind Turbine Power: Farmers Turning the Wind Into Gold

Inexpensive Residential Wind Turbine—Wind Power—Alternative Energy For Your Home

Can You Harness Wind Power or Not?

Home Wind-Power Turbines Going Mainstream

What YOU Should Know About Wind Power!

Can You Use Wind Turbines to Power Your Home?

Wind Turbine Power: Farmers Turning the Wind into Gold

jkraft — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:32:43 -0400

Europe has long led the local wind power movement, starting in the middle ages, when Dutch farmers put up wind mills to grind grain and pump water. They’ve also managed to avoid the corporatization of wind power. In Germany, much of the nation’s wind capacity was built by local landowner associations.

US wind farms, on the other hand, usually require rural landowners to lease their land to external wind developers for an annual royalty. These massive fields of hundreds of turbines connect to far-away electric grids with long transmission lines.

But now, farmers in the Upper Midwest are banding together to turn the air over their blustery pastures into gold. National Wind is a community-based wind development company in Minnesota that shepherds local wind co-ops through the often arduous process of harnessing wind power, assisting them with financing, siting issues, zoning approvals and installation. The developments range in size, but often the turbines are installed as single units or in small clusters so that the energy doesn’t have to travel far.

Community-based wind makes sense for communities that are feeling the impact of industrial takeover of agricultural lands. Small farmers who might be priced out by agribusiness can now reap the advantage of their wind rights in addition to their crop yield.

Additionally, these locally-owned projects allow energy revenue to circulate through local businesses and bolster rural economies. Community-owned wind power has grown from almost nothing 8 years ago to a 3.6 percent share of the wind power market today and continues to accelerate.

Want to learn more about wind power?

Inexpensive Residential Wind Turbine—Wind Power—Alternative Energy For Your Home

Can You Harness Wind Power or Not?

Home Wind-Power Turbines Going Mainstream

What YOU Should Know About Wind Power!

Can You Use Wind Turbines to Power Your Home?

Residential Wind Power

Can You Use Wind Turbines to Power Your Home?

ellen — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

We've recently been doing some research about on-site energy generation using wind as the source for a brownstone project in Harlem. What have we found?

First of all, there is a LOT of interest in the consumer community for clean alternative energy generation but not many options....yet.

There are more than a few companies working on residential wind generating turbines, allowing a home to create enough power for the home and sometimes even additional power, depending on the location. However, the homes that fit in this category are generally situated on a nice large piece of land, with plenty of space to install these devices.

Since our work takes place primarily within the 5 Boroughs of New York City, we are much more interested in "small wind" devices (I love that term) that can be used in a more densely packed urban environment.

What have we found for urban settings? A much different case.

There are very few wind companies currently producing an appropriate wind turbine suitable for an urban setting, even in a windy urban environment such as Manhattan or Brooklyn. Here in Brooklyn, we scored a "Good - Class 3" (out of 7) on the wind power resource scale at choose renewables. Our clients in Harlem only scored an "Average - Class 2" but this tool only really deals with broad strokes. The Harlem house is up on a hill and feels way windier than where I live in Brooklyn....but I digress.

There are some models that we've found that seem like great options for our projects, however it will still be some time before we're able to incorporate one of these in a renovation in our local communities. Most of the companies we spoke with were still completing their research or were trying to develop nationwide distribution that would allow them to sell directly to consumers

At first I was very encouraged when I called Helix Wind

because they suggested a feasibility study for $1,500 where they would install an anonemetry (sp?) system and monitor it for a 3-month period. They would also review the local zoning and building codes and if the location was a good candidate, they would then give us pricing for the system.

However, (yes, that’s bold AND underlined), at this time they do NOT recommend attaching these devices to old houses because of the possibility that the resonant frequency(ies) caused the movement of the unit may cause structural damage over time. They recommend installing the unit(s) on tall poles in the yard with the unit above the level of the roof (no WAY will Landmarks approve that). They are still conducting tests to determine these structural loads and come up with solutions that the company is comfortable with.

I also called Oregon Wind, whose beautiful green turbine is shown at the top of this post, and Enviro Engineers (magwind)

and they both are doing testing and working out production and distribution issues and are not going to be ready for sale before the end of the year.

Other companies we researched:

Windside, in Finland who has done several installations overseas.

Pacwind: This company is out of California (and has done an installation at Jay Leno's home), and we're still researching if this would be a good solution. The height may be problematic with Landmarks.

Please let us know if you've had experience using a wind energy generation device in a city setting - your ideas, opinions and thoughts are gladly welcome!

www.ehapc.com

[brooklyn green] www.ehapc.wordpress.com

Want to learn more about wind power?

Wind Turbine Power: Farmers Turning the Wind Into Gold

Inexpensive Residential Wind Turbine—Wind Power—Alternative Energy For Your Home

Can You Harness Wind Power or Not?

Home Wind-Power Turbines Going Mainstream

What YOU Should Know About Wind Power!

Residential Wind Power

Inexpensive Residential Wind Turbine -- Wind Power

jchait — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:53:37 -0400

Over at one of my favorite green blogs, The Alternative Consumer, I saw a post about inexpensive residential wind turbine. That's very cool, because while nifty, thus far, powering your home with wind, hasn't exactly been the most cost efficient option. If you'd like to learn about the inexpensive wind turbine, check out the Alternative Consumer post linked above. If you're new to idea of wind power, keep reading, and we'll look at some basic facts.

Wind is a great way to provide energy for your home, without depleting natural resources. Wind power has really changed how people can live off-grid, or with less of an earth impact in recent years.

There are many different sorts of wind turbine systems available. They run the gamete, from big to small, to less powerful to full force, and some are hybrid, which means a wind/solar system.

With all wind power systems comes some basic benefits, like...

Lower energy bills. In some cases people use wind power to reduce their energy costs. In great cases you can power up, using wind and other methods and reduce your paid our energy costs to zero (after all system costs and installation of course).

Bergey Windpower, one of the world’s leading suppliers of small wind turbines suggests that you first work on conservation efforts to save on energy costs and then make the move to wind power to supplement the rest.

Bergey Windpower offers a quick test on wind power feasibility. They note, if you'd like to, "recoup your investment in 15 years or less, you should consider wind power if: Your electricity costs more than 11 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), your area has an average wind speed of 11 miles-per-hour (mph) or more, and, you have one (1) acre of property or more."

Earth benefits: Thankfully, wind is still renewable, we haven't run out yet. In some areas wind works better (obviously) but proper placement can also allow someone in a low-wind area to utilize this system.To see what kind of resources are saved when people use wind, both eco and eco-economically, visit the Earth Policy Institute.

Power when there is no power: If you have a back up generator wind power is useful during outages, and if you live off-grid bringing in wind and solar can be cheaper than bringing in utility. Of course the side benefit is that you won't be dependent on the energy grid and rising costs.

No see a run-down of more wind power benefits visit NRG Systems. The Realities of Wind Energy is a great article that tells it like it is when it comes to wind power, plus offers installation tips.

You also might like to read Treehugger's take on one popular wind turbine question: Common Eco-Myth: Wind Turbines Kill Birds.

Want to learn more about wind power?

Wind Turbine Power: Farmers Turning the Wind Into Gold

Can You Harness Wind Power or Not?

Home Wind-Power Turbines Going Mainstream

What YOU Should Know About Wind Power!

Can You Use Wind Turbines to Power Your Home?

Residential Wind Power