Consumer Windturbines, anyone using one?

[Tollster]

Curious if anyone was supplementing there electric bills with a turbine? Curious how its working out, what kind you have and if you have had any troubles. Cons and pros.

 

[KansasFarmer]

Don't use one but I looked into it quite a bit for the farm. Hard to make the numbers work and the tower is pushing 60 feet where I live. I believe in alternative energy but the dollar and cents didn't work for us. I hope you get some responses because I would like to read more too.

 

[wcampbell47]

I'm looking into a SkyStream wind turbine. Last quote I got for my area was $10K installed. Need 8mph wind to generate electricity. I live in an area that is rated as Zone 3 for wind generation. I currently have wind at 13 mph and saw a gust to 19 mph earlier.

My electric provider is friendly to attaching to the grid. The SkyStream can connect directly into the grid with no batteries involved. It will be a long term investment - however if you have the wind what other investment out there is returning $40-$50 per month on a $10K investment.

Suggest you acquire a device to measure and record the wind in your area for 6 months to a year to make sure you are getting enough wind to produce electricity.

 

[F250DSLPWR]

Check out Windbluepower.com They sell parts and use standard alternator conversions to build home built wind generators. When I looked into wind power, buying a comercial built wind generator was going to be to expensive. I still have not built a wind generator yet, but it is on my list of future projects.

 

[MadJack]

As wcampbell says, you need a way to record the winds 'habits' in your area BUT... you need to record them 30 feet above anything within 300' so you'll need it on a tower.
I have heard SkyStream is coming out with a 12v-24v DC turbine instead of the 110vac they have now. For $10K I'd go with the Bergey (sp) 3000 watt due to the much larger rotor and their reputation.

I just acquired 68' of tower which I will put up when the ground thaws. I will most likely build my first turbine and go from there.

 

[bearcreek paul]

I looked into it years ago.Thought about building my own about 5,000$ then to build a 20 k windmill plus tower plus connection to the grid.The windmill was the cheapest part.We figured about 25,000 to 30,000 to finish that was 10 yrs ago.
When all was said and done with the cost and the maintenance it wasn't worth it at our age.Once the windmill is up their the yearly maintenance has to be done.That means dropping the tower or climbing 80 feet in the air to work on it.
What it came down to with us was if we were in our 20's it would be worth it.
If you do research there are plans and kits out to build you own.You can have twice the power for half the price if you DIY and recoup your investment faster.

Good luck I'll enjoy reading this thread.

 

[vwnotrunning]

Madjack - Be sure to post picks during your install. I think many of us would be interested!

 

[crash325]

I had a commercial wind gen in about 1980. Basically a generator with a propeller on it. It had a high wind brake and could also be shut down. Wind was far too strong in that area. Almost to NM on the AZ border.

Soon burned out the brake and even in the shut down mode it would turn. Didn't last very long. A total waste of money.

Here near Tucson AZ 60 MPH wind happens fairly often. Doubt than any thing less than the giant commercial jobs would hold up for any length of time.

 

[lilranch2001]

my next door neighbor looked into it and it is quite expensive
Especially the part to make sure you system is compatible with the power supplier

 

[Pete Judd]

I have a friend that lives off the grid. He has large battery banks, solar panels, and propane powered generators. He put a wind generator in a couple of years ago to help supplement the solar. He lives on a "knob" in a valley, and a 50 foot tower was all he had. Wind gives him a 100-300 amp hours a day, and I don't think he spent very much for the used unit, and tower. The reason he lives off grid, is that it would cost him more than 60K to have power delivered, he is 70, and the wife in the late 60's. It is their retirement place, and he is worried about the wife not having power after he is gone.

 

[Furu]

I did a wind study for 2 years to determine what the economics and sizing (KW) of a wind turbine should be. (recording the wind at set intervals for analysis) Without the full knowledge of your site and conditions most knowledgeable wind power experts will tell you that you will be wasting your money. Looking at the windy months only or the calmer months only can skew the data. A full year is what is recommended; more data is better.
Look at the web site Small Wind ? Wind Power ? Wind Energy ? Wind Turbines -::- Bergey Windpower and see what they have to offer. Site Welcome! - APRS World, LLC is also good on data gathering.

A good primer to read is "Wind Power" by Paul Gipe.

 

[Scooby074]

There is a dairy farm near here running 5 (IIRC) Skystreams. There is also a hatchery running 2 or 3 Skystreams in the same area.

No idea on the costs but it certainly can be done.

Im gathering wind data so ill be prepared to go wind if the prices (or subsidies) allow.

 

[dieselbeef]

i have lloked into this...almost 50k total install..it lasts 10 yrs. my elec bill is about 300/mo...usually less....

wouod i save 50k in 10 yrs? NO! so whats the point...not ready for consumers yet.

i was looking at a 20 ft turbine on a 60 ft tower.. also there is onoise from the blades and i was going to be hooked up to the grid but only pulling when i needed it. not running off battery storage. yes you can sell back but they pay you less for it then when they sell it to you

not a good return on your investment really

 

[Furu]

yes you can sell back but they pay you less for it then when they sell it to you

not a good return on your investment really

Depends on the "net metering" laws in your state and how they are structured. In some cases your statement is accurate, in some cases that is not true.

 

[forgeblast]

A student of ours made one for his farm as his Sr. Project to graduate. The turbine charges a bank of batterys it is not grid connected.
Welcome to OTHERPOWER.COM is a good site

found this when looking for somehting else
http://www.saferwholesale.com/category-s/70.htm
its a bunch of windmills

 

[MotorSeven]

Solar has come way down in price, so I would not even consider wind.

I have a big creek that runs through my place. I could hydro off it easy but would have to build a weir. If I did that the State/Feds would go into de-fib now days. All around this area are old grist mills and weirs that made creeks produce 100 years ago.....progress eh?

 

[forgeblast]

I was listening to NPR and they had a lady on that was upset with the natural gas industry. It appears that the low cost in ng has made owning solar panels push back their roi almost to the break down point on the panels.

 

[g0rd0]

we inquired about both wind and solar to tie into the grid with battery backup for our own use durring power outs.
Here we are not allowed to sell electricity but we can put back into the grid for credits. The idea here is to have a zero dollar power bill over the years accounting.
A 20k system solar (as wind turbine was too much), to tie into the grid installed with NSpower approval $20,000.00. The battery backup added an extra $4800.00.
Either way we were looking at 20 to 25 years pay off (not includeing the batterys)
On this house that is just too costly. But, for building a new house solar electric with geothermal heating pays off big time. At least for around here.

 

[IXLR8]

I live on the coast of Maine, town has a population of 1300 people and there are 5 wind turbines here. I figured there should be enough wind here to make it feasible. Just to be sure, I put up a $500.00 weather station to collect data. After collecting data for over a year, I decided there was not enough wind. So the weather station saved me from spending $17,000 a wind turbine that would never have paid for itself. Having since talked with 4 of the 5 owners... they agreed, they wouldn't do it again. I never talked with the 5th owner. All of them have the Skystream units. It takes 8 mph wind to produce any power at all, but you need to average at least 12-15 mph to have any meaningful amount of power. I think it is over 20 mph to produce the rated output. Then you figure, at least with the Skystream, the warranty is over about the time the payback happens and with all the moving parts... maintenance is needed. Most places need at least a 60 ft tower to get the turbine up in clean air. Otherwise you get less power and the "dirty" air causes more turbulence/vibration in the unit which leads to a shorter life and more maintenance. As others have said... solar has become much more cost effective, little to no maintenance and a quality system has a 25-30 year warranty rather than a 5 year one. When the dust settled, I installed a solar DHW and I am saving for solar PV. Wind here is just not cost effective.