Does anybody have, or know anything about, using wind power at home? How easy/hard is it to install, how expensive, can you use it to go completely off the grid, or is really only feasible to supplement?
-
If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
-
Be sure to enter the NES/MFS May Giveaway ***Canik METE SFX***
Wind Power
- Thread starter BCEagleAce
- Start date
- Joined
- May 17, 2008
- Messages
- 16,975
- Likes
- 2,821
Wind is not the best solution for small sites and anything not right on the coast. Look at solar. It is a better option. There are also state tax rebates on solar. http://www.masstech.org/SOLAR/
Thanks for that site. I will look into it. I don't have a south facing roof, so I didn't think solar would be a plausible option. I guess you can angle panels. Do you have solar?
- Joined
- May 17, 2008
- Messages
- 16,975
- Likes
- 2,821
Yes, you can angle the panels on an East/west roof. No, I don't because I just bought my first house and I can't afford them right at this moment. I will be getting them when I recover from the first 6 months.
I do work for the MTC as a contractor on their renewables program (the grant money they give is based on production and I helped build the production tracking system). I am all for any of the renewable energy technologies but wind is not small scale, consumer friendly. It is more effective on a larger scale. However, solar and geo-thermal are really good small scale consumer oriented renewables.
http://www.otherpower.com/
A lot about homemade wind turbines there. Not as difficult as one might think for someone with a little diy experience. Nowhere near as expensive as a commercial generator. Most of what is on that site is designed to work in the normal every day winds (5~10mph) and simply survive (while still producing) in the higher winds that most commercial instalations require. Also easier to maintain after the SHTF.
A lot about homemade wind turbines there. Not as difficult as one might think for someone with a little diy experience. Nowhere near as expensive as a commercial generator. Most of what is on that site is designed to work in the normal every day winds (5~10mph) and simply survive (while still producing) in the higher winds that most commercial instalations require. Also easier to maintain after the SHTF.
Palladin
NES Member
![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
I have been doing some research myself for sometime. http://www.provenenergy.co.uk/ is the one I decided to go with. Going off the grid is expensive but it is a must for a SHTF situation. Find out how many KW you need first and then decide on the wind turbine. This company has 2 different kinds. I was in NH last week to take a look at one of their installations. I found out that it was pretty quite despite the high rate of spin. The other thing to consider If you live in close proximity to others you might have to go to zoning to get permit to put one up. I am going to give you a good news on the wind turbines administration has just pass a law to pay one third of the cost. Good luck
- Joined
- May 17, 2008
- Messages
- 16,975
- Likes
- 2,821
You live in hingham, so you will have a decent source of wind on many days, but not all days. If this is for a SHTF scenario, wouldn't you want something that could run every day? I am not against wind, just I would back up your wind install with some solar. Once you have the interconnect, the hard part is over, and it is just adding in another source.
I thought about that but for the money I could buy so many quality back up batteries to store my extra output for weeks. If I menage to put this wind turbine up I will have a diesel generator too.
I have a solar-powered electric fence (single strand) that works nicely. The other day I wiped some snow off the panel with my bare hand (trying to be careful) and nearly soiled myself from the shock I got. Solar and wind are both terribly under used. But I think that is going to change going forward.
- Joined
- May 17, 2008
- Messages
- 16,975
- Likes
- 2,821
I am not trying to be a PITA, but check out the battery lifetimes and compare that cost over time with alternatives. You may get a different answer. Also, the batteries will last longer if you don't run them inline with the power source. In other words, don't drain and recharge them continuously. Have them on a separate circuit with a battery charger maintaining them, then cut over to the batteries when needed. If done right, you don't even need a second inverter, just the battery charging circuitry.
Thanks for this. Given your background, do you know about how much a typical install would be? Also, can you do it in stages? Let's say I wanted to start by getting 1/2 my power from solar, and maybe add capacity down the road, is that doable?
If you can PM me, I'd love to call you for questions too.
- Joined
- May 17, 2008
- Messages
- 16,975
- Likes
- 2,821
PM Sent.
There's another thread in the offtopic section too:
http://northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=56753&highlight=wind+power
