How Wind Power Works
PowerReady Wind Frequently Asked Questions
PowerReady Wind capturing the natural energies of the wind around us, providing for all of our electrical needs.
Q. How much power will it produce?
A. The answer to the first question is literally another question, “How much wind do you have at your site?”. People often tell us that “Oh, the wind blows all the time at my place.” This may be true, but the real factors in wind power are speed and volume.
Consider the following two examples of wind power:
The first month the wind blows 15 mph all month, so the average wind speed for that month is 15 mph. The second month, the wind blows 10 mph for half the month and 20 mph the other half. This month also has an average monthly wind speed of 15 mph; but the second month will actually produce three times as much wind power. This is due to the fact that wind power increases eight fold with a doubling of wind speed. The best way to determine with any precision how much a turbine will produce is to get some site specific wind data. Sometimes you can get a good idea from local meteorology stations or we can provide you with some monitoring services.
Q. How long is the payback period?
A. Payback periods vary greatly with the particulars of each site. The real question should be “What is the life cycle cost of an installation?” If you buy a wind turbine system that has a design life of 10 to 15 years (most prop type turbines), you will only reap the benefits of that system for about 10 to 15 years. However, if you buy a system that has a design life in excess of 20 years, you will benefit from the production of the system for more than 20 years, and through periods of ever increasing utility and fuel costs. Return on investment calculations seldom figure in the increasing cost of utility or fuel charges so often result in ROI’s greater than reality. With renewable energy sources your utility or fuel cost to run them is – ZERO!
We have a wind turbine platform with a 20+ year design life and very low maintenance that will provide a free source of energy for you for a very long time. Even if you can’t predict that you will be at any one location for 20+ years, you are installing a value added resource that could well increase the value of your property.
Q. Aren’t wind turbines noisy?
A. There are two basic design platforms for turbines – Horizontal Axis (Propeller) and Vertical Axis (Various designs with the rotation occurring in a vertical plane). Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines or HAWTs tend to be the noisier of the two by far, due to the speed of the rotation of the blades relative to the speed of the wind. Even HAWTs that claim to be “quiet” produce quite noticeable sounds.
Our turbine, a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine or VAWT is noiseless against background sounds. This is due to our ability to have a Tip to Wind ratio of 1:1. What this means is that the rotor spins at the same relative speed as the wind blowing through it. As there is no “slapping” of the wind against the blade because of this, no noticeable sound is produced.
Q. So, which kind of turbine should I buy, a HAWT or a VAWT?
A. Zoning regulations for your area may determine which turbine type you will be able to use. Prop type turbines may not be allowed in many areas due to noise, concerns about impact upon wildlife (whether founded or not), and what many perceive to be their “unsightly” nature. They are definitely more prone to the “NIMBY” (Not In My Back Yard) effect. HAWTs harvest from larger areas of sweep, so can potentially produce more power than a similarly sited VAWT. However some important considerations are that HAWTs are not able to sustain high winds without braking or furling to keep from self destructing; whereas our turbine will produce power through these winds which are much more productive. HAWTs have to re-orient themselves to changes in wind direction, which some of them do with reasonable performance. This may, however, reduce their efficiency in some measure. VAWTs adjust immediately to changes in wind direction.
Q. Can I power my whole house with a turbine?
A. Many factors will determine your ability to power your whole house:
* What is the wind resource available at the site?
* How much power do you consume?
* Do you utilize a storage medium for low consumption periods?
* Does your utility allow for grid connected net-metering?
* Are you willing to utilize low power consuming technologies (Example: LED lighting, natural gas for heating, etc.)?
We all know the wind does not blow all the time, so if your goal is to reduce your utility consumption to near zero, we typically recommend a hybrid (combination of any available solar/wind/geothermal/hydro) system with the capacity to store energy.
Q. Can I mount the turbine on my roof?
A. Our turbines can be roof mounted with some structural considerations. However, that surely won’t be your best option for siting to produce the most power from the available resource. Remember that it is best to get the turbine as high as possible and in a location with the fewest obstructions to the wind to get the most out of it. Our turbines integrate very well with architectural or advertising design.
We will be the first to tell you that if you want a “Whirlygig”, buy a “Whirlygig”. If you want the turbine to do something productive we will help you try to accomplish the best of both with the design of the siting.
Q. What is the warranty for a VAWT turbine?
A. The standard warranty is Five (5) years with an available 5 year extension.
Q. How much do they cost?
A. Installation costs for renewable energy systems vary with siting considerations and the complexity of the system design. Rule of thumb costs range from $8 to as much as $16 per installed watt capacity.
