You got wind

Winderwoman turbine testing

If you are in the right location, wind power can meet your energy needs. It can be very cheap, and recoup startup costs in 2-3 years. But you have to make sure you have the right kind of wind. Local buildings or tall trees can disturb the airflow and mess up any turbine, however advanced. On the other hand, you might be able to solve that problem with a taller tower.

First thing is to buy an Anemometer, which measures the wind and makes sure you have enough of it. You can either make one, or buy it from Amazon (recommended).

Once you have decided that you have wind, the next thing is to choose the turbine. You have three choices:

A small yet perfectly formed Generator for under $500. Providing up to 400 watts of power, this model is relatively easy to install and can be powering your laptop just minutes after you take it out of the box. Compare that to a Solio which would set you back $80 with just enough power to run your night light.

A higher-powered Turbine for around $2,100. This one gives you up to 900 watts, and that’s enough power to run many of the gadgets and appliances in your home (although not all at the same time).

The most powerful Turbine that you should consider buying off the internet – for $5,500.

You’ll be pleased every time the wind blows as you run your whole house or office, and even sell energy back to the grid.

So what’s the catch – how come everyone isn’t slapping wind turbines on their homes right now? Well, don’t forget you’ll need batteries to store the power, but they can be bought from car parts stores for a few dollars. There are other more serous drawbacks

Building permits. Most areas won’t allow their residents to install wind turbines because they look different or for another reason we’ll cover in a minute. Because you’ll need to place your generator high, you might need to install a tower or large pole, and most places require you to obtain a special, hard-to-get permit when adding parts to your home that exceed certain height restrictions.

They can be noisy. Small wind turbines are a lot quieter now than they used to be, but one that’s big enough to power your home will probably make at least as much noise as a well-tuned clothes washer. There are organisations trying to change the zoning laws, but its a slow process.

They’re still not that cheap. Sure, you may be able to power an energy-efficient home off that $5,500 model, but it will still take you several years to recoup the costs of installation. Fortunately the typical wind generator lasts 20 years with little or no maintenance, and you’d be able to make most of that money back if you sold your home.

You need wind. Here’s the kicker for about 70% of Americans: the average wind turbine won’t spin in anything less than 8-10 mile-per-hour winds, and you won’t reach peak energy production without sustained winds of 20 mph. That said, even if you go most of the year with just a gentle breeze running along your sidewalk, you’d be surprised how much the wind can pick up just 50 feet above your home. That’s why turbines are much more effective the higher you can install them.

Equipment and installation. You’ll need to buy separate equipment – Powerpack and Inverter safety wiring, and maybe pay to have it professionally hooked into your system. This adds to the cost of getting your wind power system started.

For information on residential wind power, visit the American Wind Energy Association’s Small Wind website. http://www.awea.org/smallwind/

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