How to Install a Wind Generator
With energy costs rising and concerns growing over global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels, people are looking for ways to make their homes and businesses more energy-efficient. Installing turbines to harness the power of the wind is one way to do this. The wind turns generators that produce electricity while creating no carbon emissions, so it's a completely clean energy source. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Determine if your home is in an area where conditions make it worth the investment in a wind turbine. You should live where average annual wind speeds are at least 10 miles per hour, your utility has expensive rates (10 to 15 cents per kilowatt hour) and your utility doesn't charge you too much for connecting to the grid. ThisOldHouse.com has a map on its website that shows how feasible wind power is in different areas of the United States. And the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's "In My Backyard" tool, which allows you to plug in the specifications for the setup you want to install, to give you the expected power output. Would you be better off with a solar array or a hybrid system (combination wind and solar) than wind power in your area?
-
2
Check with your local government or zoning board to see what, if any, restrictions you'll have on installing a turbine. Many municipalities have restrictions on the height of structures, and your neighbors might complain about the noise or the turbine blocking their view.
-
-
3
Work out the financing for the project. In addition to the cost of installing the turbine (which could run from about $6,000 to more than $20,000 depending on the system you decide to use), you'll have to pay for permits and hooking your turbine up to the power grid. Contact your state government and the U.S. Department of Energy to see what tax credits or rebates you might be eligible for if you install a wind turbine. While your wind turbine will eventually pay for itself, figure out how long it will take for that to happen. (You can get a rough estimate by subtracting you estimated output from the turbines from your utility bill.)
-
4
Once you've cleared the permit process and gotten the financing in place, have the turbine installed. In addition to hooking the turbine up to your utility's power grid, you'll need to run it through an inverter (which will convert the DC electricity created by the turbine to AC electricity used by your utility), as well as hook it up to a battery that will store electricity for you to use at times when it's not windy and your turbine is not generating electricity.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
While you don't need to hook your wind turbine into the power grid, doing that could pay for itself because you can sell any excess power you don't use back to your utility.
