Residential Wind Generators
Home Wind Turbines Promises of Power
If you read only a few renewable energy statistics and watch only a few clever television commercials, you may fall prey to residential wind generators seductive charms. Seriously, who can resist the siren song of an electric meter spinning backwards and money clinking into your account instead of draining out from all the energy you are creating? Small wind turbines seem to pump-out not only electricity but also that same all-over tingly feeling you would experience if you won the lottery—that indescribable “money for nothing” feel. Who easily can look past or fail to feel the wind’s power…and all that wind power is for free! The most widely publicized facts about wind turbines further encourage your romance. Reliable sources have told you the United States ranks second among the world’s wind energy producing nations, and they report, by early 2011, the U.S. will surge into first place as the leading energy producer as several expansive new wind farms come online. Although wind turbines still accounts for less than 1% of all electrical power generation, wind power already lights up and runs the computers in over a million American homes; why not yours? It is probably time to start seriously looking at the wind turbines for sale and picking a model. In order to stand firm in the face of this powerful seduction, you must consider all the facts about wind turbine generators.
Residential Wind Power Comes From Steady Winds
Yes, the wind is free, and it blows even at night, so you might surmise home wind turbines could outperform solar cells simply by virtue of persistence. However, the wind blows no more steadily than the skies remain cloud free; and, in your urban downtown neighborhood, the wind probably does not blow strong enough to warrant installation of home wind turbines. Unless you can catch a steady blow of 10 M.P.H. or more, or can put up a 75 foot tower, to harness the wind power, your windmill will serve essentially the same purpose as your yard gnomes and pink flamingoes—purely ornamental. Across North America, for somewhat urban areas, only California coastal foothills, the eastern slope of the Rockies, and a few spots in the Appalachians lend themselves to genuinely effective use of wind turbines. Almost every other place if the density of building lots is less than an acre, remains “iffy” at best to generate wind power electricity. Simply the fact that you live in a “neighborhood” may kill your domestic wind power potential, because rooftops from other houses block steady breezes, creating serious turbulence.
Wind Power Vs On the Grid Prices.
You have two perspectives from which you may examine the costs of home wind turbines: You may look long and hard at numbers from single machines powering single homes, to micro rooftop generators or you may examine the cost of residential electricity produced by wind farms. You probably will discover the numbers power saving numbers contradict your intuition: Because wind generators require no fuel, you naturally surmise electricity from wind farms costs the least. In fact, though, wind power ranks right in the middle of electricity from all sources. Nuclear power still costs less than 1/4th the price of wind energy, and electricity from coal-powered generators still costs about 1/3 the price of wind power. Because the majority of North American and European neighborhoods will not sustain domestic wind turbines production of power for single-family homes, residents use wind power to reduce their energy costs but not completely to replace their demands from the power grid. In the United States, only a handful of communities rely entirely on wind energy for all their residential electrical power.
Wind and Solar are Here Now.
Revelation of the facts behind the promises need not discourage your search for clean, infinitely renewable energy, though. Experts promise residential wind generators, integrated with solar cells, and combined with improved solar architecture will eliminate most communities’ need for electricity from old-fashioned power plants within the next twenty years. One solar skeptic-turned-advocate concludes, “We make a tragic mistake if we consider residential wind generators as our only tool for energy self-sufficiency. But if we combine windmills with other natural power, every home in America can become energy self-sufficient.”
Installation of a Tower at your Home
If you have a property it should be at least half an acre in order to put up a turbine tower of sufficient height to be able to capture the type of wind strength that you will need to turn the blades fast enough to get the power you want. The higher the tower you install the better the more wind strength you will have and the wind will blow much steadier. So tower height is very important if you want to maximize the power that your turbine will produce.
Contact Your Local Wind Dealer for the Best Model Types
Local Dealers know the terrain and the prevailing wind strength in your area. So it is wise to find one who has sold and installed many local units so you can talk to that dealer and get the best idea of how much wind you have and how much power you will be able to produce for your home. You will also be able to compare blade design and blade length and the swept area those blades will cover. Personally we prefer a 3 blade design with a vertical tower. The 3 blades are the most efficient. Again tower height is one of the most important factors in your success. Make sure your tower is high enough. The local dealer will be able to guide you on the best spot for your wind turbines installation.