Say you live out in the country, with plenty of acreage. Is it worth building your own wind turbine, say 75 ft in height, that is capable of powering your house for a few

 

hours a day? Not necessarily the only power source, but something to reduce energy bills over a year.

 

 

~EE

Depends on a lot of factors, including how much wind you got. Residential wind turbines cost (without tax incentives) in the order of 2-8k per kW with a lifetime of ~20-30 years (though repairs and maintenance would have to be factored in). Obviously it will not be possible to offset the cost within a year. But whether it is possible through its lifetime will also depend on use and cost of alternative sources.

Forget it. A couple websites I looked through say installation is an easy payment of $30,000-$50,000. I was thinking $2000-$3000. Even with a gov't subsidy that would still be alot.

First, what are your energy needs?

I used to have 353 kWh per month,

but bought watt meter,

measured literally the all devices, around me.

Including computer speakers etc.

And guess what. There was plentiful of devices that even if they are turned off, but not unplugged, still eat energy like they would be completely turned on, with marginal difference.

That was the case with HD satellite receiver, and computer speakers..

After making complete list of the all devices on paper, calculated the cost, and possible gain, if they will be plugged only when used.

I started turning them off, when they are not needed, unplugging from wire.

And after a year and half, I have 45%-50% energy used.

Double less than 2 years ago. Approximately 175 kWh per month.

And it's visible on the bill.

Not a single 100 W traditional light bulb has been replaced. I like them (unlike LED).

 

Forget it. A couple websites I looked through say installation is an easy payment of $30,000-$50,000. I was thinking $2000-$3000. Even with a gov't subsidy that would still be alot.

 

Reading your 1st post, I thought so you wanted to build your own, not buy ready.. After all we're in "Engineering" section.

 

60 ft wind turbine, AFAICS on the Internet, can bring up to 10 kW, that's like 20 houses, not one..

 

Search "wind turbine" on eBay.

See this f.e.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Phoenix-Max-550-W-Watt-12-V-DC-Wind-Turbine-Generator-System-Charge-Controller-/201422483490?hash=item2ee5b73022:g:TFEAAOSw5VFWLcgt

300 usd for 550 W (would be enough for me even prior optimizations, as long as wind speed >10 m/s).

Have couple such, and there will be smaller wind speed needed at a time.

Edited June 16, 20169 yr by Sensei

Here in old Europe, a wind turbine is paid by the electricity sales in about 10 years, which is an excellent investment. The returns on real estate are slower, on improved bank accounts too.

 

Though, it means a big wind turbine, like 1-3MW, that produces electricity injected in the mains. Smaller investors often join their capital to pay one turbine. They often include farmers for which a wind turbine wastes only a few sqm at one corner of a field.