mrs.cos Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I know there was someone here who was doing research on them.. So my neighbor and i were talking the other day about putting windmills on our houses. They cost around 6K which is about the same as a whole house generator. ( if feel like windmill isnt the right word all of a sudden) The reason we were talking about this is because our neighborhood has TERRIBLE issues with electricity outages. like.. Alot. Someone wrecks a car 10 miles away and we are out of electricy. Someone sneezed? no power. Winter storm? No power. Wind storm? No power. I think you catch my drift. Its really annoying and its really hard on your electronics. I honestly can say we lose power at least once eveyr other month. On that note, ANYtime there is any kind of outage, it only affects the INNER circle of my neighborhood, so the people across the street will have power, and we wont. So, anyways..we were talking about putting them on our houses, so we could reap the benfits of them all year round, as oppposed to the partial useage of a generator. our houses are all electric, no gas. ~1400SqFt. Would a residential windmill be helpful to us? Would it really make a difference in our bill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 does city code allow it? does your neighborhood have a HOA? Also how tall will it have to be to be effective? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyM3rC Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 One of my neighbors just got a pretty good-sized one, and he said it will never pay for itself and got it as more of a novelty. Don't know if that helps you at all, but he's out in the country on a big hill. I'd go with a generator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Have you thought about solar panels? I believe they qualify for the energy tax credit deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1647545532 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 http://economicefficiency.blogspot.com/2009/06/is-wind-worth-it.html I've never seen the math on a home wind generator come out with any kind of a reasonable ROE without massive gov't subsidies. It depends on what subsidies are in available in your area. My aunt in MD had her solar panels completely paid for within 2 years thanks to all the BS gov't money she got. If it hadn't been for that, they'd have taken 15 years to pay off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted March 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 does city code allow it? does your neighborhood have a HOA? Also how tall will it have to be to be effective? I am in the city of columbus, so i dont know, and no, to the HOA. (old neighborhood, 70's) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted March 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Wouldnt it pay for itself if it ran my house when i had power outtages? We lose power for days at at least 2x a year I have heard (again, i havent researched anything yet) that solar panels were ridiculously expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonda Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 My brother-in-law is an architect/engineer and he has done windmill, solar, battery, generator, and reverse-meter designs. He is hard to stop talking once he starts but he is very knowledgeable if you want to pick his brain and have a few hours to kill. PM me if you want to connect with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergwheel1647545492 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Most of the time Electric companies will object to you having one. if they need to kill the power to a pole to fix something and your windmill is back feeding into their system then that could be really bad. However, I think they are really cool and if i owned a house i would seriously look into getting one just to maybe power some batteries for a backup or something. Like others said, its hard to get a ROE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spankis Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I can answer some questions on this, but you should know that expecting to "power your house" is largely a dream. First, I can tell you that wind power would almost certainly be a novelty in your case as well. There are only very few places in Ohio with enough wind to make "wind turbines" logical choices. Aside from a few strips in Champaign county, the majority of that high wind-potential area is along lake erie. As I'm sure you know, wind isn't constant and as with solar panels, a large part of your cost comes from your energy storage system. This is in most cases a big bank of batteries, or something similarly simple for residential applications. If you're still interested in the anti-generator idea, I might do some more research on solar panels, as they may be more viable than you think. I believe Billiumss has a basic photovoltaic panel setup that powers some electronics in his garage like a radio and I believe some lights. You might ask him about his setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted March 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I only want to power my furnace and my fridge, during outages, I can survive without the rest, but if can get the added bonus of some year round savings even if its not alot.. I wont be upset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spankis Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I only want to power my furnace and my fridge. That would require a pretty substantial system, probably well beyond the budget you're thinking. For what you're describing a generator (diesel/gas) and a nice, soundproof enclosure would probably be a better investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bruh Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 you will not get your money back. It takes something like 20years to get your money back out of solar panels. And I'm sure they will put out more energy then a windmill will in columbus. Now if you were out west it might make more sense, but not here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted March 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I found this one.. http://www.gizmag.com/earthtronics-honeywell-windgate-wind-turbine/11990/ Developers EarthTronics and Honeywell Corp hope the Windgate wind turbine will help meet the energy needs of homeowners and businesses, even if they are not located in prime “windy” areas. EarthTronics says the 6-foot wide, 95-pound Windgate can start to spin in breezes as low as 2mph and can create more power with less wind than other types of wind turbines. The EarthTronics Honeywell Windgate will be available this northern fall. Initially it will be sold in ACE Hardware stores in the US for USD$4,500. EarthTronics says that the turbine’s installed cost is about one third of the cost of traditional turbines, with a lower installed cost per kW than other turbines on the market. now this article is almost 2 years old, but im going to read more on it. http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3800670 6500 http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pACE3-6696073reg.jpg This is what one i am considering.. 6500 doesnt seem like that big of an investment to me.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 I can answer some questions on this, but you should know that expecting to "power your house" is largely a dream. First, I can tell you that wind power would almost certainly be a novelty in your case as well. There are only very few places in Ohio with enough wind to make "wind turbines" logical choices. Aside from a few strips in Champaign county, the majority of that high wind-potential area is along lake erie. As I'm sure you know, wind isn't constant and as with solar panels, a large part of your cost comes from your energy storage system. This is in most cases a big bank of batteries, or something similarly simple for residential applications. If you're still interested in the anti-generator idea, I might do some more research on solar panels, as they may be more viable than you think. I believe Billiumss has a basic photovoltaic panel setup that powers some electronics in his garage like a radio and I believe some lights. You might ask him about his setup. THIS. Harborfreight has a good 45w solar kit for around $225, but I've seen easy instructions on how to set up a better home solar power system for cheap. Solar is surprisingly decent in central Ohio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 I think you are thinking about this wrong. With both solar and wind the power isn't (necessarily) being generated when you use it. Most people don't use batteries since they stay connected to the grid. Then just back-feed and 'spin the meter backwards' when they are producing more power than they are using. So your power goes out, but there is no wind, you're fucked. Batteries to take care of this problem greatly increase the cost and complexity of the system. You could have the batteries to cover you, without the turbine and it would do the same thing. I'm not saying it's not possible, I just don't think it's the best solution. If the purpose of this is cover power outages I don't think a wind turbine or solar panels will work for you. Only a generator is going to do what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Cost effective. http://www.thechildprotectioncenter.org/events/4.06%20sea%20of%20pinwheels.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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