Are You Considering a Residential Windmill?

As energy prices skyrocket, do you sometimes think of ways to generate your own electricity? Do you live in an area where the electricity supply is unreliable sometimes? Would you like to take a step towards doing your part to help the environment? You’re not alone, as many people throughout the years have designed and built a residential windmill for their home electric power.

For sure, having your own windmill won’t be able to supply all or your electrical needs, but it can certainly be a great way to supplement your power usage, and not use any fossil fuels in the process.

When a windmill generates electricity, it’s called a wind turbine.

Here are some wind turbine facts;

The wind turbine is installed on top of a tower to get access to wind.
Electrical generation can happen with wind speed as low as 7 – 10 miles per hour
Wind power usually cannot supply all the household’s electrical requirements
As wind speeds increase, more electricity is generated
When more electricity is generated than needed by the household, it is sold back to the utility
There are no batteries used in a modern residential windmill.

Will a residential windmill system save money?

It is definitely possible to save money overall using wind power to generate electricity. Electricity bills lowered by 50% – 90% are not unheard of. Of course, the savings is highly variable due to the amount of wind in any given month, the size of turbine installed and other factors.

Those with all-electric homes can reap some of the biggest advantages, due to their higher electricity consumption.

One important cost factor to be considered is the investment payback. That is the amount of time needed to pay back the initial cost of the turbine and all other equipment from the monthly utility bill savings. This can be highly variable, depending on how much your installation cost, how much electricity you use, and the wind supply at your location. When figuring these cost/payback scenarios, always calculate worst case and best case to get a realistic idea of possible savings and expenses.

Just remember – the savings will be variable month-to-month, but,on the average, and with some electricity conservation on your part, a decent amount of savings is likely.

Should I get a residential windmill?

Every situation is unique. A wind turbine that can generate enough electricity to power a home (9,400 kilo-watt hours per year) can be a fairly large unit, and not suitable for a home on a small, residential lot. This situation may call for a smaller turbine that, while providing some electricity, wouldn’t be able to supply the entire house.

Average wind speed is certainly a factor. When there is no (or minimal) wind, there is no power generated. As a rule of thumb, experts say an average wind speed of at least 10 miles per hour is needed to make economic sense to buy a windmill.

These are only a few of the things to think about when considering a residential windmill.

This may be one of the best places to find a good set of plans for your residential windmill. It’s definitely worth a look. If you’re not 100% satisfied, your money will be refunded – what have you got to lose?

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