Windmills Pay for Electric Bills

[TB Gardens]

Hey,

So I am purchasing a home in the near future with a couple buddies and we have been shooting the shit about a million different possibilities and design setups. One thing that came up, that I think could be brilliant if something suitable is available, is using a small scale windmill on your property. I have done no research into this at all, friend just brought it up so I thought I would test the waters to see if anyone has dabbled in this area. I am sure there are small scale windmills available for home use (thinking anywhere from 10'-30' windmill), does anyone know anything about this subject? I would be very surprised if not.. it seems like such a logical way to at least cut down on a large power bill. 10kw+ with no electric cost or security problems from power co. would be sweet. Thanks for reading and sharing on the subject.

 

[northstate]

Hey, I looked into wind and if you have very constant wind that blows with almost unpleasant strength then you should be fine. Seriously though to get your offset that would supplement even 5k or so would be spendy, around 15k+ when its all done and spinning. IMHO solar is a better long term deal with no moving parts, but micro-hydro would be good too given the location, plus it runs 24/7. Good luck with whatever you choose but a nice generac or kubota diesel gene would be cool for about the same cost although not very eco-minded and requires fuel. NS

 

[jack.]

There are some smaller scale windmills available, but they are about $18,000. Plus, you have to hook them up to your house and the grid - so it's generally even more. But it was a couple of years ago that I toured the country talking about this. Additionally, there are often times local regulations against windmills in the city/town because they pose a hazard if they fall.

You'd be better to look at a small PV solar setup. I think you can get a smaller setup for about $5,000 (even less, but you won't get much power and they're usually not designed for a home, but a shed or battery while camping); but it's just going to suppliment and not pay for your electricity by any stretch of the immagination. I'd say for about $30,000 you could easily pay for all your electricity usage and get some money back - if your state has "net metering."

 

[Strapped]

how about geothermal, energy star house, wind mill, AND solar. The electric company would pay you! Not to mention the govt. has grants for that type of thing that can get you close (if not more) than half of that bill paid.

 

[jack.]

micro-hydro would be good too given the location, plus it runs 24/7.

That's certainly worth looking into and may be your best bet. But you may run into environmental regulations depending on your state.

 

[maxmurder]

30' guyed tower kit about 6200.
estimated energy production is 400 kWh per month in areas averaging 12 mph wind speed. oh that's a 12 foot diameter blade...
i looked into solar and it's a little better- 8-9 grand per 1k light run on bats. it takes like 4 of the 40"x60" panels (approx).
sucks, i want to NOT use nuclear power or fossil fuel to run lights but it ain't easy!

 

[jack.]

how about geothermal, energy star house, wind mill, AND solar. The electric company would pay you!

Where I'm from the local power company has grants available to pay for up to 1/2 of the price for solar installations. That's something to look into.

Geothermal is awesome and easy to do if you're building your house from the start. The easiest way to do geothermal is with the passive geothermal for temperature regulation. Basically put some tubes 8' under ground and run it though a system in your home. It stays about 55 year round down there. So, in the winter 55 is warm - depending on where you live - and in the summer 55 is cool.

Passive solar is also super easy --- windows and skylights. Energy star is *kind of* a joke. It's something, but not really great. It's more industry monitored. LEED is where it's at if you're looking for true energy conservation.

I found a link with some home wind turbines that are pretty cheap. You still need to live in a place with a constant wind -- not too strong and not too weak: http://www.homewind.net/homewindturbines.aspx

 

[maxmurder]

wtf! i answered this a few minutes ago cuz no one replied now theres 4 haha...

 

[TB Gardens]

haha, im too high.. i forgot i even posted this. just came back and saw all these responses! thanks everyone for the information, very quick i might add too! okay - so yeah we were just guessing something that would fit our needs would be in the 15-20g range to get up and running. That is good to know about he solar energy being the more efficient means, i do have high wind in my area (some our our local power is supplemented by windmills already), but solar might be something to look into. one of my good friends fathers started a solar company back around y2k, i'm going to shoot him a call to gain some knowledge and possibly setup a lil discount for friends, lol! And yea, we are actually leaning towards building our own place.. the homes we are looking at are right in the same range as it would cost to put up a post and beam, so we are very seriously looking into that. my father had a post and beam barn put up in the late 90s, easily converted into living and office space on the second floor.. and the plans ran much much cheaper. many homes use the barn style anyways in our area, which i do like alot .. so building a home with geo thermal and solar power might very well be something under consideration. im going to roll with this, find out some more information and talk with my partners. in the long run, if we are going to build the place ourselves it makes sense to do these green energy fitments .. as someone said, i am sure we can get tax brakes or grants & will save us a TON of money over the years. This could be something very interesting, if this is the route we take i will be sure to document the whole process (as discretely as i can ... so probably no outside of the house shots ;-\ .. but installation of solar and geo thermal workings i could definitely document. thanks for the help.. +rep to all, and all a good night!

 

[Caramelfan]

Eco Grow

Eco Grow

I looked into this a while ago and had an interesting opinion put to me.
The scale needed to be of any use, is going to create attention. Do you really want to create attention and inspection?

 

[jack.]

Caramelfan does have a point that crossed my mind, too. If you should be getting money back from the power company and you're paying in, it could raise some concerns. But then again an electic bill 3x normal could raise those same concerns.

If you're looking at building a pole and beam structure, you may want to take a look at straw bale homes. They are insanely efficient and keep super cool in the summer and I imagine warm in the winter. I went into one on a 100+ deg day and it was about 70 inside w/o AC. However, I'm not sure what they do to help prevent the flammable nature of dried straw.

 

[Fred el Gato]

They got small ones at Menards, 400w turbine and tower about a grand. Also have seen
10Kw systems at county fairs that run 50K complete. Grow on,Fred

 

[SOTF420]

i looked into solar and it's a little better- 8-9 grand per 1k light run on bats. it takes like 4 of the 40"x60" panels (approx).

Nice, could run like 3 full size Lumigrow LED lights on that

 

[Strainhunter]

We have them here on the Islands where I live.
Since we are so remote besides solar windmills are the only green source of energy we have.
The Island I am on has a 250KW Genset and a few private ones as well.
Plus a few windmills and Solar fields.

We have constant and strong trade winds 90% of the year.

Windmills for electricity are only efficient and worth the investment if certain requirements are met.

The foremast important one is what wind-zone you will be installing the windmill in.

If you live in the US here is a link for you to check out before you move on to anything else:

http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_maps.asp

Study this link as well: http://rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/atlas/maps.html

 

[Strainhunter]

PS to my post above this one: If you want to run 10kw on solar & off the grid it will cost you 50k +

10kw for household use cost 30k.

The biggest because most costly thing for you will be the ability to support the 18/6 cycle during dark hours outside.

 

[Rednick]

If you start think GeoThermal PM me with any Q's. A subject of great interest to me.
But your 20K will probably just cover the cost of drilling should that be required, cheaper if you are running a 'horizontal' or 'lake' system.
I don't want you to give away information on your location, but just know depending on your local geology and sub-teranian features, much about Geo get modified.

Wind, great idea. Just price out your batteries and such first. The sun doesn't always shine, the wind doesn't always blow.

Mini-hydro is awesome if you have access to a stream or can build a dam, batteries sold separately.

 

[Floralfaction]

The sun doesn't always shine, the wind doesn't always blow.

If you've got the cash it's worth considering a hybrid solar/wind system. Cloudy days tend to be windy, so depending on your climate you can get constant power all on one battery system. Micro-hydro requires a steady flow of water with at least 15 feet of head (15 foot drop of elevation directly above where your generator goes in).

Also check out Solartubes. They're not all that expensive if you install yourself, some companies even make large industrial size ones. You could then supplement with lights for cloudy days.

Re: strawbale fire protection. The strawbale is wrapped in plaster, so as long as the plaster is kept up regularly there's no more danger than conventional homes.

peace

 

[Pompey_Monkey]

Here in the UK, it's a known fact that windpower is only "economically viable" because of a credit system that means the power companies can offset their "green" energy costs by charging more for conventionally generated power. In other words, the consumer is paying over the odds for electricity just so the government(s) can meet their green targets.

That tells me all I need to know about the economic viability of wind power - It's bullshit!

I say that even though I believe in man-made climate change and I think we should reduce our carbon footprint!

Hydro/tidal/solar power are much more viable, but still require a large up-front investment.
Nuclear power is the best, because no-one has to pick up the real bill until we are all six feet under!

 

[Floralfaction]

That tells me all I need to know about the economic viability of wind power - It's bullshit!

On an industrial scale, yes. On a personal scale, no. One of the benefits of homescale windmills is the longevity, new models have sealed bearings and such, their lifespan is at least twice as long as solar panels, with less embodied energy. It still all depends on the micro-climate.


peace

 

[Habel]

build a mini nuke plant in ur back garden