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Home > Archive > Alternative Power sources > January 2006 > Home Wind Power
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| Seve Si 2006-01-25, 10:21 am |
| Firstly, apologies if this kind of thing has been posted before.
I live in Devizes in the UK, and I'm interested in installing a small
domestic wind turbine to my house (therefore it would have to be really
quite small to avoid planning problems, etc). My questions are:
How much would a suitable wind turbine cost me?
Who makes them?
How do I connect to the electricity the turbine creates?
How much electricity can it generate? What is this in layman's terms?
Can I install the turbine myself?
Is there enough wind, and how can I measure this beforehand?!
Can anyone help with this? I'm really keen to do my bit for the
environment and wind power seems to be the cleanest and most
sustainable power option, but it's really quite difficult to get simple
answers to my questions!
Many thanks,
Simon
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| Harry Chickpea 2006-01-25, 11:21 am |
| "Seve Si" <simoncthompson@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>I live in Devizes in the UK, and I'm interested in installing a small
>domestic wind turbine to my house (therefore it would have to be really
>quite small to avoid planning problems, etc). My questions are:
Advice- DON'T attach it to your house. Our house has passive roof
turbines to exhaust hot attic air. They are very lightweight and free
spinning. After the last hurricane, I found them in a neighbor's
yard, bent them back into shape, and re-installed them. They look
perfect, but the slight variation from perfect balance makes them
thump just a little when they rotate at speed. That thump gets
transmitted down through the rooof deck, rafters, ceiling joists, and
ceiling, and is plainly audible inside, to the point that I am going
to have to replace them. If those few ounces of rotating spheres of
metal are a problem, imagine the noise and vibration that a wind
turbine would create when attached to a dwelling.
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| Ulysses 2006-01-25, 12:21 pm |
|
"Seve Si" <simoncthompson@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1138196507.964374.141120@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Firstly, apologies if this kind of thing has been posted before.
>
> I live in Devizes in the UK, and I'm interested in installing a small
> domestic wind turbine to my house (therefore it would have to be really
> quite small to avoid planning problems, etc). My questions are:
>
> How much would a suitable wind turbine cost me?
>
> Who makes them?
>
> How do I connect to the electricity the turbine creates?
>
> How much electricity can it generate? What is this in layman's terms?
>
> Can I install the turbine myself?
>
> Is there enough wind, and how can I measure this beforehand?!
>
> Can anyone help with this? I'm really keen to do my bit for the
> environment and wind power seems to be the cleanest and most
> sustainable power option, but it's really quite difficult to get simple
> answers to my questions!
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Simon
>
Much of the information I've found applies to the USA but this site can give
you an idea of what to search for:
http://www.nrel.gov/wind/wind_map.html
Unless you have very consistant wind it would probably not be a practical
choice.
In most places in the USA it is possible to connect wind/solar power
directly to the "grid" via a grid-tie inverter. This method basically
supplements your electricity and reduces your monthly bill. In most cases
it is cheaper just to buy it from the utility company because it takes a
long, long time for solar/wind to pay for itself, if ever.
Another option is a stand-alone system that charges batteries and in most
cases an inverter attached to the batteries supplies you with AC power.
Places like this sell the equipment: http://www.solar-electric.com/ in the
USA.
With a little searching on Yahoo you should be able to find companies that
supply equipment that operate at the proper voltage and frequency for your
area.
| |
| Derek Broughton 2006-01-25, 12:21 pm |
| Harry Chickpea wrote:
> "Seve Si" <simoncthompson@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> Advice- DON'T attach it to your house. Our house has passive roof
> turbines to exhaust hot attic air. They are very lightweight and free
> spinning. After the last hurricane, I found them in a neighbor's
> yard, bent them back into shape, and re-installed them. They look
> perfect, but the slight variation from perfect balance makes them
> thump just a little when they rotate at speed. That thump gets
> transmitted down through the rooof deck, rafters, ceiling joists, and
> ceiling, and is plainly audible inside, to the point that I am going
> to have to replace them. If those few ounces of rotating spheres of
> metal are a problem, imagine the noise and vibration that a wind
> turbine would create when attached to a dwelling.
I have an Air-X attached to my garage - and I can attest that the noise
would be intolerable if it was attached to the house.
--
derek
| |
|
| > How much would a suitable wind turbine cost me?
Not sure on the cost, you will have to ask the companies for a quote. I
am aware that there is a UK governemtn scheme called 'clear skies'
which gives you a grant for domestic wind turbines to cover some of the
cost. You can also sell spare electricity back to the grid if you opt
for a grid connect turbine
> Who makes them?
www.provenenergy.co.uk
www.eclectic-energy.co.uk
are two uk companies that i know of. Proven are particularly good if
you have abit of land to put up a mast.
> How do I connect to the electricity the turbine creates?
Either grid connect - where the turbine is wired into your distribution
box. Or via batteries... where it is isolated from the mains. A grid
connect turbine is not allowed to generate in event of a power cut.
> How much electricity can it generate? What is this in layman's terms?
5KW = 83 light bulbs
The biggest domestic turbine available is about 15KW
> Can I install the turbine myself?
Depends if you know what you are doing! You would have to get any
domestic connection/wiring checked by someone who is part P registered.
> Is there enough wind, and how can I measure this beforehand?!
http://www.bwea.com/noabl/
should help. Most companies recommend an average wind speed greater
than 5m/s
> Can anyone help with this? I'm really keen to do my bit for the
> environment and wind power seems to be the cleanest and most
> sustainable power option, but it's really quite difficult to get simple
> answers to my questions!
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Simon
| |
| Arnold Walker 2006-01-25, 1:21 pm |
|
"Seve Si" <simoncthompson@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1138196507.964374.141120@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Firstly, apologies if this kind of thing has been posted before.
>
> I live in Devizes in the UK, and I'm interested in installing a small
> domestic wind turbine to my house (therefore it would have to be really
> quite small to avoid planning problems, etc). My questions are:
>
> How much would a suitable wind turbine cost me?
>
> Who makes them?
>
> How do I connect to the electricity the turbine creates?
>
> How much electricity can it generate? What is this in layman's terms?
>
> Can I install the turbine myself?
>
> Is there enough wind, and how can I measure this beforehand?!
>
> Can anyone help with this? I'm really keen to do my bit for the
> environment and wind power seems to be the cleanest and most
> sustainable power option, but it's really quite difficult to get simple
> answers to my questions!
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Simon
How small is a small turbine.....seen some used turbines on powerplants
online.
But a small turbine for a utility company is 80KW.
Big is in MW's.
>
>
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|
| Seve Si wrote:
> Firstly, apologies if this kind of thing has been posted before.
>
> I live in Devizes in the UK, and I'm interested in installing a small
> domestic wind turbine to my house (therefore it would have to be really
> quite small to avoid planning problems, etc). My questions are:
>
> How much would a suitable wind turbine cost me?
>
> Who makes them?
>
> How do I connect to the electricity the turbine creates?
>
> How much electricity can it generate? What is this in layman's terms?
>
> Can I install the turbine myself?
>
> Is there enough wind, and how can I measure this beforehand?!
>
> Can anyone help with this? I'm really keen to do my bit for the
> environment and wind power seems to be the cleanest and most
> sustainable power option, but it's really quite difficult to get simple
> answers to my questions!
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Simon
>
Hi Simon,
There are some good starting links here:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Wind/wind.htm
The Paul Gipe book is very good.
You have the right idea in wanting to determine how much wind you have before
spending a lot of time and money.
A lot of people build or buy a small wind turbine and run it for a few months
(or more) just to find out if they have enough wind to be worth doing a larger
project. This way, if it turns out you don't have enough wind, you can just
sell the small turbine and not be out much.
www.Otherpower.com has a very active wind power set of forums you might want to
take a look at.
Gary
www.BuildItSolar.com
--
Gary
www.BuildItSolar.com
gary@BuildItSolar.com
"Build It Yourself" Solar Projects
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"Seve Si" <simoncthompson@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1138196507.964374.141120@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> Can anyone help with this? I'm really keen to do my bit for the
> environment and wind power seems to be the cleanest and most
> sustainable power option, but it's really quite difficult to get simple
> answers to my questions!
>
Get the book "Windpower Workshop" by Hugh Piggott
The monthly Homepower Magazine covers everything for off-grid living.
both have websites.
| |
| Innovate808 2006-01-26, 8:21 am |
| Hi Simon,
Follow the advice given and don't attach a small turbine to your house...bad
idea. If you want to spend as little as possible for a domestic turbine,
goto www.futurenergy.co.uk and ask them for a 1KW Upwind Turbine, not the
Downwind one on their site. The Upwind one is also on eBay. This will
produce 1000W in 12.5m/s winds, but you'll rarely get winds of that speed,
so you'll probably get a couple of hundred watts in the winds you'd expect
to see around the UK.
If you're OK at DIY then these are easy turbines to install, and the output
should be connected to a SunnyBoy 1100LV Grid-Tie inverter, set to Turbine
Mode, which can also be supplied by futurenergy. You utility company
probably won't bother to provide you with an export meter, but these are £80
if you can get an electrician to install one for you.
These turbines will save you around 20% of your annual bills, which means
that it will take a while to repay itself (many years). But it's your doing
your bit for the environment that's the real benefit for these systems.
I know the above, since I have one of their turbines up, and it's grid-tied,
so I've lived with the setup, unlike most people who offer advice in any
groups...
Hope this helps
Innovate 808
"Seve Si" <simoncthompson@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1138196507.964374.141120@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Firstly, apologies if this kind of thing has been posted before.
>
> I live in Devizes in the UK, and I'm interested in installing a small
> domestic wind turbine to my house (therefore it would have to be really
> quite small to avoid planning problems, etc). My questions are:
>
> How much would a suitable wind turbine cost me?
>
> Who makes them?
>
> How do I connect to the electricity the turbine creates?
>
> How much electricity can it generate? What is this in layman's terms?
>
> Can I install the turbine myself?
>
> Is there enough wind, and how can I measure this beforehand?!
>
> Can anyone help with this? I'm really keen to do my bit for the
> environment and wind power seems to be the cleanest and most
> sustainable power option, but it's really quite difficult to get simple
> answers to my questions!
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Simon
>
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