Residential Wind Power Facts - Should You Build A Windmill Powered Generator
Since the beginning of time wind has been used to power ships, grind grain, and pump water. Wind power is the fastest growing renewable energy source in the world. It is said to be at a rate of 30% annually here in the U.S. Germany outranks all other Eurogrowing pean countries for this type of power generation. Wind power is clean, renewable, and produces no carbon dioxide emissions or waste products.
President Obama and the new administration, has allocated millions of dollars to subsidize the creation of green jobs. One the main objectives is to specifically increase the manufacture of windmill powered generators. Just recently an out of work Maytag company was revived to produce propellers for wind powered generators.
According to the U.S. census there are approximately 20 million homes located on land that is appropriate for small windmill systems. The government will actually allow a tax credit of up to 30% of the cost of installing a solar or wind powered home system. There is also a law that requires local utility companies to purchase any excess power generated by a homeowner. That means if your system produces more power than you can use then your utility meter can actually run backwards and you would receive a credit or real money back.
Wouldn't that be a change, the utility company paying you?
Small wind power systems for residences usually save homeowners up to 50% of their utility bill. Contrary to popular belief, windmills are very efficient and it does not take much wind to produce electricity. If combined with solar panels, the electricity costs could be eliminated all together.
The major drawback up until recently has been the costs of installing wind powered systems. A typical windmill generator for a private home would cost $3,000-$6,000 installed. That would make the utility payback period 10-20 years and might not justify the investment. Unless you were just doing it for the environmental benefits, which would be commendable. Just as anything else though, as more and more windmill generators are starting to be manufactured the prices are falling. You can go online a find a windmill for about $800-$900.
In the last couple of years DIY kits for wind and solar power are becoming more popular. Step by step guides that teach regular people how to build their own personal windmills and solar panels. Video tutorials are also included and that makes it that much easier to follow along. Material costs are somewhere around $200 for the windmill parts and about the same for the solar panels.
President Obama and the new administration, has allocated millions of dollars to subsidize the creation of green jobs. One the main objectives is to specifically increase the manufacture of windmill powered generators. Just recently an out of work Maytag company was revived to produce propellers for wind powered generators.
According to the U.S. census there are approximately 20 million homes located on land that is appropriate for small windmill systems. The government will actually allow a tax credit of up to 30% of the cost of installing a solar or wind powered home system. There is also a law that requires local utility companies to purchase any excess power generated by a homeowner. That means if your system produces more power than you can use then your utility meter can actually run backwards and you would receive a credit or real money back.
Wouldn't that be a change, the utility company paying you?
Small wind power systems for residences usually save homeowners up to 50% of their utility bill. Contrary to popular belief, windmills are very efficient and it does not take much wind to produce electricity. If combined with solar panels, the electricity costs could be eliminated all together.
The major drawback up until recently has been the costs of installing wind powered systems. A typical windmill generator for a private home would cost $3,000-$6,000 installed. That would make the utility payback period 10-20 years and might not justify the investment. Unless you were just doing it for the environmental benefits, which would be commendable. Just as anything else though, as more and more windmill generators are starting to be manufactured the prices are falling. You can go online a find a windmill for about $800-$900.
In the last couple of years DIY kits for wind and solar power are becoming more popular. Step by step guides that teach regular people how to build their own personal windmills and solar panels. Video tutorials are also included and that makes it that much easier to follow along. Material costs are somewhere around $200 for the windmill parts and about the same for the solar panels.
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