Is wind energy cheaper than regular an what would my bills be like if i switched to wind energy?

Question

Is wind energy cheaper than regular an what would my bills be like if i switched to wind energy?

Answer 1

it would cost more,because ,it would take an awfull lot of wind turbines to produce the same amount of power created by fossel &nuclear stations,wind turbines are expensive to build.

Answer 2

Ok, I work on commercial wind turbines, and have looked into setting up a homeowner scale turbine for myself.  Here are some facts.

First, I do not know where Stephen M. found a wind turbine for $100,000.00.  Most homeowner scale wind turbines cost in the $6000 to $15,000 range...depending on their output and how much of the work you do yourself.  (you need to build a foundation, run wiring, etc.)  

What Mike has is what is known as a "grid tie" system.  If he is producing electricity on a good windy day, and not using all that he is producing, his electric meter spins backwards.  The power company is required by law to buy his excess power from him.  The power company does not have to pay you the same amount that it charges you, but it does have to pay you for the juice.  If you pay 15 cents per Kilowatt Hour (KWH), the power company might pay you 3 1/2 cents per KWH.  This is an example, not a hard and fast rule.  Grid tie is the easiest way to get into producing your own electricity.  

If you want to go "off grid", then you need batteries to get you through a low wind period...which might last several days.  You also need an inverter to convert the electricity stored in the batteries (DC power) to AC power to run appliances like a refridgerator, fan, lights, etc.  Some people do this because they want to be free of the utility company, others because where they want to build is a long way from power lines and it will cost major bucks to get it pulled into them, and still others because they want to build way the heck and gone away from anyone else.  If you want to go off grid, you are looking at $20,000 at a minimum to get set up, and very likely more than that.

On the other hand, there is commercial scale wind turbines.  I work on 1.5 Megawatt wind turbines.  These machines cost 2 million dollars per tower, installed.  The power company buys the electricity from the owners of the turbines at a fixed rate.  Some will only buy what the owner says that they will produce, and any excess power produced is a bonus to the power company.  These towers are 65 meters, 80 meters, and 100 meters tall, and require trained technicians to maintain them.  They also require VERY large machinery to set them up.  

A homeowner could be trained to maintain their own, much smaller turbine by reading the owners manual or taking a short class, 1 day long perhaps.  Homeowner scale wind turbines are rated in Kilowatts, and are much smaller in size, footprint, and height than the commercial machines.  Also, instead of climbing up to maintain them, the smaller ones are usually lowered to the ground somehow for maintenance.

If you switched over to wind power in an off grid manner, you would have 1 monster bill to get it started, and then no bills at all for some time.  You would need to buy a few maintenance items for the machine most likely...grease, oil, etc. on a regular basis.  Other than that, you would need to replace your batteries every so often...and any other components that wore out or broke.

So, to answer your question, your bills would go way up, then drop off to very low unless something wore out or broke if you went off grid.  If you go with a grid tie system, you have a large expense at the front that pays back over along time.  (see Mike's post)  

I do not think it is cheaper, but that depends on where you live and what source your local power company uses for most of their power.  Where I live, the power company uses mostly hydro power, so we have some of the lowest power rates in the nation.  If your power company uses oil burners, then it just might be cheaper.

A few final notes.  You also need to check local zoning laws to see if you can build a turbine on your property...and if you have enough space to do so.  The rule of thumb for this is "1, 15, 20."  You need at least 1 acre of land, you need to situate the turbine at least 15 times the the diameter of the rotor away from your house, or your neighbor's house, and it needs to be at least 20 feet higher than the highest object within 300 feet.  You also need to know if you have enough wind to make power with a turbine.

Hope this helps.  D_Offio

Answer 3

My local power company has a "wind power" option on the bill.  It is more expensive.  I guess it gives some people a good feeling to believe their power is coming from wind, even if they pay more for it.  I doubt any power company would sell wind power at a lower cost than the standard rate.  If so, nobody would buy the electricity generated from coal,nuclear, etc.  

By the way, I installed my own "windpower".  I make 400-500 KWH per month with my own turbine.  I did all the work myself, for a total of $7000.  I save almost $75 per month on my electric bill.  It will take almost 8 years to pay for the turbine at this rate.  It has a service life of 20 years and a 10 year warranty.  Mike

Answer 4

Its better to get a solar hot water heater. They are cheaper to buy and more efficient than wind. You would save a larger amount of energy on heating your water that way than getting the energy from wind, converting it to electricity and then using the electricity to heat your water... Next best is solar PV electric panels, but they are fairly expensive. Best way for them, is if you sell your energy to the grid and buy back what you need... then if you have enough panels you can even make a 'profit' so it pays for itself quicker.

Wind power is still not very efficient unless you live somewhere very exposed and even then you need quite a high tower to get the more constant winds and if you want to be self-sufficient then you need a bank of deep-cycle batteries and an inverter to convert your battery 12 volt power back to 240 volts...

For now the best everyone could do is get a solar hot water heater... then solar PV panels and maybe in exposed places people might find larger wind turbines ok as well.

Good luck.

Answer 5

One problem with wind energy is that sometimes the wind stops blowing.  Another problem is that the largest windmill can only produce about 4 Megawatts of Electricity, with that comparable footprint you can install a coal fired unit or nuclear unit that produces at least 10 times the amount of electricity.

The best thing you can do would be to install a personal windmill and hook it up to your house in conjunction with regular electricity, so on windy days you are storing electricity and not so windy days you pull from the grid, without an interruption of service.

Answer 6

If you do it properly and go to a supplier which doesn't sell credits to other companies so they can pretend to be green, it is much more expensive.  If you use the Green energy schemes from the mainstream companies like Powergen, it is a little dearer than conventional electricity.  I don't know how much you can get from an affordable wind turbine of your own.

Answer 7

You can't "switch" to wind energy.  You have to have a tower, a generator, a prop, cables, converters and batteries installed!  Mucho dinero!

Answer 8

Your electric bill would go to zero (if you have enough available wind) but it would take you several years to pay for the cost of the wind generator, they are not cheap at all.

Answer 9

The power companies in most states in America allow you to switch to renewable energy sources.  This doesn't mean just wind, it would also mean hydro, solar, and other similar sources.  It does cost a little extra each month but you then have the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are doing your part.

Answer 10

you don't get bills, you just pay a lump sum for that windmil thing and thats it!!!!!!!

Answer 11

It is not cheaper now, but since it uses no fuel it shouldn't get more expensive as fuel prices go up. But it will get more expensive as prices in the economy as a whole go up, because it takes maintenance and people operating it. And the general cost of everything, like spare parts and salaries, WILL go up as the price of fuel goes up, because 99% of the economy is totally dependent on fuel of one kind or another.

Some power companies have a "green energy" option, where you agree to pay a HIGHER price for energy and they promise to use only green sources, like wind, solar or hydroelectric to supply your needs. And they grarantee not to raise the price for some period of years. I seem to recall talking to someone who took this option from his electric utility and now, years later, his price is LOWER than the regular price of electricity, because the regular price went up but his did not.

Check with your local utility to see if they have such a program.