Residential windmill saves money, the environment
By Evan Blass 
posted July 5th 2006 7:16PM
posted July 5th 2006 7:16PM
Even if you're not into that whole "respecting the environment" thing, how many of you homeowners out there haven't dreamed of slashing or even eliminating your electricity bills? Well a new residential windmill from a company called Southwest Windpower promises to not only help keep you green by reducing your dependency on coal-fired power plants, but to actually provide up to 90% of the juice that a typical household consumes in a year (and by typical, they aren't talking about your 5-computer, 10-monitor family). Even better, the so-called Skystream 3.7, which incorporates its controls and inverter right into the main unit, will automatically switch your house over to grid power if winds fall below 8MPH (maximum efficiency is reached at 20MPH) -- no storage batteries necessary. At around $8,500 including installation of the 35-foot-tower, the Skystream supposedly pays for itself within four to twelve years depending on local wind levels and electricity costs, and if you're really frugal with the juice, some municipalities will even allow you to sell unused output back to the power company. Just because this is fit for residential installations, though, doesn't mean that just anybody can pick one up -- Southwest recommends that you own an acre of land in an area that averages 10MPH wind speeds, and of course, that not-unobtrusive tower needs to comply with local zoning laws -- so the millions of us living in dense urban settings or gated communities will have to continue paying through the nose and destroying the environment in order to power our many gadgets.[Via Gizmag]
For times when it's not windy, what you do is you attach it to a steam engine attached to a furnace, and build a little coal shed. You shovel a few hundred pounds of coal into that furnace and the steam keeps that baby spinning for hours.
The neighbors keep calling the cops about the coal smoke, but I think they're just sore because when I built this forty foot windmill the neighborhood property values got real cheap, plus some of the neighbor cats have disappeared.
We just setup one in our place in Nova Scotia. A few things...
"At around $8,500 including installation of the 35-foot-tower, the Skystream supposedly pays for itself within four to twelve years"
The tower is just part of the cost, you are also going to need some sort of storage mechanism (bank of batteries or flywheels or something), inverter, etc. But if you are in an area where bringing power lines in is not ideal, its probably worth it.
We actually generate more power than we can use, for which our excess goes into heating the hot-tub. Previously we had a generate that would turn on automatically to charge the batteries, which is still there, just in case.
Noise is not an issue.
And no birds yet.
Hi James,
I read your comment on installing a wind turbine on your property in NS. I live near Lawrencetown beach outside Dartmouth and am considering installing one with the intention of going off-grid. I would love to hear more about your experience since installing it a few years ago. What was your total set-up and installation costs, maintenance, how much wind do you get, is it paying for itself well, any advice really. There are so many to choose from and the prices vary considerably. Does yours also power your heat source? Do you have solar panels?
I look forward to hearing from you,
Daina
lot's more wind energy stuff at:
http://www.make-greenpower.com/categories/1/wind-energy/
Dear Sir,
I got to know about this power product during my internet search. I want to state that your company is doing a great job interms of electricity bill reduction. I am a Nigeria and i would like to discuss more on this products if additional information is release to me. In my Country we are realy facing power shortage and as such i strongly beleive that this products will do well in Nigerian Market. I will appreciate your quick response.
Thanks
I have a speach to make for my class at Thomastown S.C and I need to find out what a windmill is good for and how they save us money. I would really like it if someone could help me out.
Thanks
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i have been looking for project sponsors, to make a mechanical system that can be used to generate electricity naturally. the project wouldnt cost much,, if ur interested pls contact me in this mail ajith_s_kumar007@yahoo.co.in
Chopped birds? Noise? Are you kidding? We have a few dozen just to the south of us here in Buffalo and are installing a few dozen more on the old Bethlehem steel site... no dead birds and they are completely silent, that's right, silent. Not to mention very elegant compared to the stinking filth that's ususally pumped into our atmosphere. I don't understand the problem. The average sailboat generates more noise than one of these things. I want one. Or two. Or ten. And disconnect me from that stupid grid!
Would this system power a small farm and does snow effect the operations?
Nuclear is the way to go , We are so far behind other countries now at this since we abandoned it , it is pitiful.