Wind Energy…at My House?

Solar is only one half to the renewable energy coin, on the flip side there’s wind.

Wind energy is one of the cleanest forms of producing energy.

But unfortunately, not all homes are geographically equipped to produce enough wind.

Fortunately, many homes are.

But can I realistically use wind at my house?

The answer is…maybe.

When I speak of Wind Power I’m talking turbines.  Not the large utility scale turbines floating 150 feet overhead, but smaller localized turbines that we can use on our property to generate our own power – better known as “small wind.”

They stand from about 30 to 45 feet above the ground depending upon your property conditions and, like solar panels, are rated for how much potential power they can generate.

A sufficient size for an average home should be rated anywhere from 1.5 to 5 kilowatts (depending how big your house is).

How They Work

Turbines aren’t that difficult to understand.  It is basically an automotive starter, alternator and motor inverted to generate power as opposed to using power.  The basic principals apply and so does the operation.  The simplicity of the system means that most turbines will last a long time, 20 plus years (think about that old 1950’s Ford truck that we still see occasionally keeping pace on country roads).  And if something does break, it’s pretty easy to fix – again, any gearhead who knows something about cars can do it, but we’d suggest calling a professional.

Is Small Wind Right For Me?

Figuring out if solar will work for you is pretty easy, you look at a solar insolation table to see how many sun hours a day you get and voila.

Unfortunately small wind isn’t quite as simple.

Yes, there are lots of wind tables out there that you can find online, but they are more for utility scale wind, giving measurements at heights of 150 feet and above.  What those tables are most concerned with are the steadiest winds that are going to generate the most consistent power.

The higher up in the atmosphere you go, the more consistent the wind is, thus atmospheric wind.  With small wind, we’re more concerned with where are we going to pick up wind on a local level.

How do you know if your property has got what it takes?

Small wind makes use of the daily and seasonal fluctuations caused mostly by local geography.  Walk outside.

Do you usually have a nice breeze?  Do you live on a lake or a large farm?  On a hill, or between two valleys?

It is relatively easy to tell if you’ve got wind.

The real question is…

Do I Have Enough Wind?

Figuring out how much wind you have, and therefore how much power you can potentially generate, is pretty easy, but it takes a little time.  Basically, what you need to do is set up an anemometer (fancy for wind meter).

You can find anemometers on Amazon.com, but the handheld versions aren’t really the most effective (these are the ones that go for about $150).   You need a fixed meter that’s going to stand at roughly the same height as your turbine and is going to take measurements of wind direction and wind speeds (minimum, average, and maximum).

And you’re going to need to test the site for at least a month.

And you may want to test two sites.

A professional anemometer is going to set you back about $2,500.  But don’t worry, there’s no need to buy one.  Call up a renewable energy expert, see if they do wind studies (they should) and have them set it up for you.  Typically they’ll charge you a small rental and set up fee combined.  They’ll run the tests, analyze the data, and give you charts and graphs that will outline what you should expect.

I can’t give you any hard and fast rules.  I can’t tell you how your results are going to turn out.

Small wind is really a site specific resource.  My best advice to you is do a little research and do the test.

If you live on a big property that’s over an acre in size, you’ll have the room to install one without anyone seeing it.  Most of the newer turbines on the market these days run pretty silent.  If you’re outside, it generates about the same noise level as a conversation at typical speaking volume.  At 40 or 50 feet away, it’ll be a whisper.  With your windows closed, you’ll never even know it’s there.

On a cost basis, wind power costs about 40% less than solar, so if you’ve got the wind, it’s more cost effective.

If you want to try out wind, or set up a study – feel free to call our offices and ask for me and we’ll help you out.  We’re based in Miami but we’ll use any excuse to get out of town during hurricane season.

Your home may be perfect for clean, efficient wind energy.  There’s only one way to find out.

Check out www.electronsolarenergy.com for more information.

by Ken Fields

Ken Fields is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Electron Solar Energy, a fully integrated renewable energy company based in sunny South Florida.  Having completed over 500 jobs in 23 countries, the company is happy to help, educating being the first step.