Self Sufficient Living » home wind power http://selfsufficientlivingblog.com All about everything self sufficient... Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:04:42 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Home Wind Power http://selfsufficientlivingblog.com/home-alternative-energy/home-wind-power http://selfsufficientlivingblog.com/home-alternative-energy/home-wind-power#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:00:59 +0000 admin http://www.selfsufficientlivingblog.com/uncategorized/home-wind-power The main component of a home wind power system is the wind turbine. The main determining factor in power output is the diameter of the blades or roter on the turbine. The other parts of the system are the tower, wiring, batteries, charge control, and invertor. If you are using wind in conjunction with solar or hydro, then you can utilize the same battery bank and invertor (you will need a separate charge controler). While towers should be at least 30 feet high, higher is better. In fact, there’s 40% more wind at 100 feet elevation than there is at ground level.

Most home wind power systems use towers that are supported with guy wires. These are assembled at ground level and then tilted up into position. These types of towers can often be assembled with no more than two people.

When selecting a wind turbine, make sure you know the unit’s power curve. This refers to the optimum wind-speed range. For example, many systems produce optimum electric output in a range of 20-30 mph. If the average wind on your site is outside that range, then you’ll want to make sure you get a system designed accordingly. To determine average wind speed, you can do that manually, by setting up an anemometer and recording results for at least three months. You can also purchase a system to calculate the average for you.

Typcial cost for a wind generator system starts at about $3,200.00 if you’re willing to do the installation yourself.

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