Wind generator question.?

Question

Has anyone ever has a windgenerator fitted to their house ? In the UK the DIY store B & Q are selling 1kW wind generators, has anyone had one fitted and if so was it worth it? What did you run on it or was it simply a waste of time ?

Answer 1

I was interested in getting one... but read some worrying stuff about the vibrations on some types causing structural damage... and noise pollution (minimal on some models).

I'd like a standalone system too.... not one which feeds in to the mains directly... well both are pretty good.... but off-grid one would be ace if the grid goes down.  I'll party whilst you are all in the dark.... I'd have to fend you lot off trying to get in like zombies from 28 Weeks Later.

Answer 2

fitting to a house is not an ideal situation, especially in built up areas due to turbulence.

better to invest in energy saving, eg http://www.green-shopping.co.uk/reviews/... . OK not as publicly "green" as a wind turbine, but they claim typical savings of 25%

Centre for Alternative Technology run excellent practical wind/alternative energy courses and well worth a visit anyway

http://www.cat.org.uk

Answer 3

i do not own one but seen them, also a buy my spuds lol from a farmer who does have one fitted and he loves to talk about it,

he runs all his lights from it and we are talking some high power security lights, it holds a charge  during the day to store electric up.

he claims his bills are 25% cheaper then they use to be and is seeking permission to install another 2 where he is.

he erected the turbine himself but did lash out just over 400 quid to have it hooked up and to be honest he worked it out and said it will take 5 years to pay for it's self then after that he will be saving money.

i myself think they are a good thing and if it was not for the people around here blocking those who wanted one i would have one myself

regards x kitti x

Answer 4

I have seen them used in Kansas in the USA.

People actually get money back from the Electric Company when they produce more energy then they use from them.

It really depends on if there is enough wind in your area to make it worth while.  Kansas doesn't have a problem with that for example, lots of wind on the US plains.

Answer 5

I have found this interesting quote on a UK village website : -

Sir, There is an old saying: "No one ever built a windmill if he could build a watermill." The wind is an unreliable source of power. It seldom blows steadily and sometimes not at all.

The power generated by the wind varies with the cube of the wind speed. That means that if the wind speed drops from 40mph to 20mph, the power output does not drop by 50 per cent: it drops by 87.5 per cent. At 10mph, the wind produces only 1.56 per cent of the power generated by a 40mph wind.

The wind can never become a major source of power.

Norman Plastow, Hon Curator, Wimbledon Windmill Museum , London SW19

Letters, Daily Telegraph, 4 September 2007

I think the gentleman who wrote and observed the above is correct.  I do not oppose windpower but do not believe it will solve our problems.

What we can do is cut back on useage of power by installing modern power saving lamps and devices in our houses.

Oh yes, one more point, switch everything off at night - do it by unplugging from the mains.

Answer 6

Just answer this question before you buy ,where was it made ,by whom ,with what materials and how did it get to B and Q .

Taiwan

peasants

most likely non recyclable

carried ten miles down a dirt track on emancipated donkeys led by four year old barefooted waifs thrown on lorries maybe a boat then by plane or two back on a truck and on the shelf for uninformed dogooders like us

think before  you buy

Answer 7

Hi Do not know area you live, I live in the sticks. I made my own wind generator. Washing machine tub from scrapyard, fitted wind vanes. The belts turn a HGV alternator then via a regulator I heat my greenhouse, light my shed and use a few tools via an inverter. It looks like a chimney pot on the shed.

Answer 8

WE SHOULD USE THE 'ALTERNATE ENERGY, USING THE WATER, SUN. WIND AND BIO-GAS.

Answer 9

No and I've no plans to.  However, I do applaud those who have done so and are planning to do so.  Every bit helps.

What I've done so far is reduce my car annual car miles from a monster raving 12,000 to 800 - yes a massive improvement.  Walk and bus ride instead.

Some while back I saw briefly on TV a wind generator on top of a Westend store here in London in the immediate aftermath of WW2 - I think in 1945/1946.  Why did we not carry on with that?

One other historical note.  When Henry Ford brought out his first Model-T Ford off the production line, he declared to an eagerly awaiting public, "this car will run on ethanol, the fuel of the future".  So what happened?  Yeah, the oil barons forced us to use their filthy oil which has thus polluted our planet.

I hope we can in time repair the damage which we have done.

Good luck to everyone out there playing their part in the battle against Global Warming and Climate Change.

PS I now have a house full of low power light bulbs.  It's just the beginning.