Tag → homemade wind turbines

Wind Turbine Costs

15 August, 17:36, by homemadejoe Tags: , ,

The thought of becoming independent from utility companies and producing your own electricity is a worthy yet daunting task. Although we want to be free from costly electric bills, the issue of the cost-effectiveness and the total installation cost of wind turbines seem intimidating.

Cost of commercial wind turbines are affected by the following factors:

•    construction contracts

•    project location

•    type of machine

•    cost of wind project components including expenses for site analysis and resource assessment

•    freight and price of tower and turbine

•    upgrades of utility system

•    metering and protection equipment

•    construction expenses

•    transformers

•    operations

•    warranty

•    repair and maintenance

•    insurance

•    consultation and legal fees

•    taxes

All of these factors affect the overall installation and operational cost of commercial wind turbine. However, if you are building homemade wind turbines, you don’t need to meet all these requirements and spend such great amount of money.

Cost of residential wind turbines

While commercial wind turbines can range from more than $2 million in total expenses, a residential wind turbine with a size needed to generate power for an average home can roughly cost $35,000 to $50,000, and can still drop if you are planning to build homemade wind turbines.

Wind energy cost higher than solar energy, with insignificant fuel cost but a higher capital cost. Professional installation of wind turbine systems ranges from $4,000 to $6,000 per kilowatt capacity, not including rebates and credits. If you are new to building residential wind turbines, it is recommended to build a single unit and then check the reliability of the system before installing another tower. This way you can eliminate errors and verify the consistency and wattage output of the wind turbine system.

Through the years, there is significant drop of turbine prices, allowing project developers and individuals to venture into wind energy and create their own wind turbines.

Facts about wind energy cost:

•    the higher the capacity of wind energy system, the lower the cost per kilowatt hour

•    a gradual increase in turbine cost is expected in 2012 to 2013

•    onshore turbine costs is lower compared to the steel price surge and other commodity prices

•    the decrease cost of turbines is due to the higher yields per MW

An average home needs to be powered by at least 10kW of wind energy. That means you need to spend at least $40,000 to power your home. Building homemade wind turbines is relatively cheaper compared to having the turbines installed by a private company or a professional wind system installer. It also allows you to get off the grid and avoid monthly utility bills from your electric company. However, there are several setbacks like not getting warranty for the whole wind energy system and less rebates from the local government.

One way of reducing wind turbine costs is to connect your turbine to the national grid. This allows you to get up to 40% of subsidies and dividends a year. To get more information on wind energy, turbine costs, subsidies, credits, and rebates, visit your local government agencies.

Different Wind Turbines Designs

07 August, 17:33, by homemadejoe Tags: , ,

Over the past years, wind energy has gained popularity as a renewable source of energy. Wind energy is a resultant of solar intervention to Earth’s atmosphere. As sunlight strikes the Earth, it causes heat to spread in the atmosphere. But the extent of heating at the poles and at the equators is not the same. The uneven heating on the Earth’s surface then causes a motion starts in air. This movement is known as the wind.

Wind energy can produce electricity that is pollution-free, environmental friendly and are highly sustainable.  The best way to collect wind’s kinetic energy is the use of wind turbine systems. They come in different sizes and designs. Large wind turbines can produce large amount of energy and are commonly use in clusters. These can generate electricity in hundreds of megawatts that can power hundreds of households.

Small wind turbines on the other hand, are designed for home and small business purposes. These homemade wind turbines can only produce electricity about 100 kilowatts or less. Smaller wind turbines generating only 20 to 500 watts of electricity can be used in charging batteries like those employed in sailboats.

There are two main types of wind turbine designs – horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) and vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT). To understand these two types, it is better to know something about the components of a wind energy system.

A wind energy system usually consists of five basic parts: the blades, the tail, the wind generator tower, the batteries and charge controllers. The blades convert wind to rotational energy used by alternators to produce electricity. The tail helps the turbine blades align with the wind direction. The wind tower aids in harnessing enough amount of wind energy. Lastly, the batteries and the controllers are important in storing all the power that has been generated.

Between the two, horizontal axis wind turbines are the most widely used. These types of turbines have at least three blades rotating in horizontal axis. They need to be aimed directly at the wind direction. This type of turbine is considered to be more efficient in converting wind to electricity. The design of its blades facing into the wind, create the least possible resistance to wind forces.

These turbines come in different sizes from very small to commercial scale generators. They are usually installed on top of the towers to get the strongest and consistent airflow. Most of the homemade wind turbines are of these types.

The design of vertical axis wind turbines on the other hand can generate wind energy from any direction. Though they are known to be less efficient than HAWTs, they do offer some benefits especially in low wind conditions. And because they can operate using multiple wind directions, they are still considered to be suitable designs for homemade wind turbines.

Whatever design will be adapted, proper and planned installation will still be the main factors that will dictate its efficiency. The proper selection of the location where to install, the size, the type of blades, and the materials used will all matter and should be considered.