After having much success installing over 250 home wind turbines in Scotland, Cascading Engineering is bringing the Swift wind turbine to America and Canada.

The company that specializes in plastics, partnered with Swift’s Scottish designer, Renewable Devices, to install the revolutionary small wind turbine in the U.S. households.

What sets the Swift apart from other small wind turbines is the reduced noise it produces. In addition, the turbine can be attached to rooftops instead of towers.  With it’s five blades and “outer diffuser” ring, the company claims vibration is reduced, resulting in only 35 decibels of noise.

With the turbine’s seven foot diameter and two fins to help it face the wind, it can rotate 360 degrees and it automatically shuts down in very strong winds.  All the elements of its unique design allow the Swift to generate up to 1.5 kW of power in 14 mile per hour winds.  This equates to approximately 2000 kilowatt hours per year, which is about a quarter of the electricity consumed by a typical U.S. household.

At a cool $10 000 to be installed, this turbine does not come cheap.  However, the upfront cost is significantly lower when state tax credits of $1000 for households, and $4000 for businesses is taken into account.

According to Jessica Lehti, Cascade’s senior product marketing manager, this Michigan-based plastics company has already installed 9 Swift turbines in America, and still has at least 25 orders to go.

With a customer base split between residential consumers and businesses, the company is in high hopes that it can sell the Swift to anyone with economic or environmental purposes in mind – even while the economy is in turmoil.

But we disagree with Cascade – not anyone is going to fork out $10 000 just so they can help the environment.  Furthermore, the electricity savings realized by households will only cover their investment after 12 years!

Unless people have the money, we are not sure why anyone would want to waste $10 000, when they could easily make their own small wind turbine at home. Although it would be less efficient than commercial ones, if you built enough of them, you could easily make 2000kW hours of power per year.

In fact, many people all over the U.S are making their own power systems at home, and they are showing others how to do it with step-by-step instruction manuals.  We have a list of these manuals in our reviews section if you feel the need to make your own energy at home.

To conclude, as much as we like the commercial Swift wind turbine, it is not affordable enough for average households to install. So, until technology and prices improve, we are better off making our own renewable energy solutions at home.

Originally posted 2009-12-02 17:15:23. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Energy costs keep sky rocketing with no end in sight. Pollution levels are increasing and our planet is facing a warming trend that could have devastating results. So the question is what can the average citizen do to save money and help the environment at the same time? One great way to help is to lower the amount of electricity your home purchases from the utility company by creating your own power. There are a few ways to do this, and wind power is one of the easiest and more reliable ways to produce energy at your home.

What is a Wind Turbine?

A wind turbine is a simple machine that collects kinetic energy produced by wind currents and converts this energy into power that can be used in the home. Wind turbines are installed on high towers; these towers are usually around eighty to one hundred and twenty feet high. Towers must be high enough to allow the turbine to be above any turbulence generated by objects on the ground. The higher the altitude also results in higher wind speed and in turn, a higher amount of energy can be produced.

How do Wind Turbines Work?

Wind energy is used to create mechanical energy. Turbines have blades that are turned by the wind; these blades turn a shaft to which they are connected. The shaft is then connected to a generator; the mechanical energy is transferred into the generator through the shaft and converts the mechanical energy into electricity. This electricity can then be used in the home for any electrical need. Homes that are using wind turbines to produce power are still hooked up to the power grid. Being hooked up to the power grid allows the home to still have power when wind currents aren’t strong enough to produce electricity. Another benefit of continuing to be connected to the power grid is that at the times your wind turbine is producing more power than your home can use, the utility company is absorbing the extra energy and paying you for it. This can lead to very low electric bills. A wind turbine can lower your power bill by 50-80% depending on the amount of wind in your area.

Types of Wind Turbines

There are two main types of turbines: horizontal- axis turbines and vertical-axis turbines. Turbines also come in different sizes as well. Utility companies use wind turbines that can range in size from 100 kilowatts up to several megawatts. These larger turbines are found in groups on wind farms. If you ever drive over the Temecula pass in California, you can see large wind farms along the highway. It is a spectacular site. Small turbines, 100 kilowatts or less, are used at homes. These are place on towers on the homeowner’s property and then used to provide some of the energy needed to run the home. Since the size of the tower is quite large, they are usually used in areas where the home is on one acre or more. There are very small turbines on very small towers that may be able to be of use in urban areas or on smaller lots.

The Future of the Wind Turbine

In September of 2008, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that grants a one-year extension of the renewable energy production tax credit. If passed by the U.S. House of Representatives the tax credit would be available until December 2009. Wind power is a viable part of the solution to lessen our dependency on fossil fuels. Wind power is a renewable resource and produces no harmful pollutants. The future looks bright for wind power and hopefully, as a result, there will be a bright future for our planet too.

Originally posted 2009-11-14 16:50:02. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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The first thing that many people ask about home wind turbines is how they work. In essence, a turbine, which is placed on top of a tower, collects energy from the wind and turns it to usable electricity. In residences that are not located in remote areas, it is still necessary to get the services of your local utility company because the energy generated by the turbines will not be enough. It is also worth noting that the speed of the wind can greatly affect the electric output of your home wind system. If the wind speed is lower than 7 miles per hour, you should not expect any output from your turbine. However, if you are able to generate more electricity than what you need, your local energy company can purchase the excess power from you.

Another concern for homeowners is how much money is saved when they use home wind turbines. According to studies, a small wind system can actually cut your bill by as much as 50 to 90 percent. Some people even claim that after successfully installing a wind system in their homes, they only pay $8 to $15 dollars in monthly electricity bill for more than two-thirds of any given year.

However, you should understand that the size of your home wind turbine will greatly affect the amount of money you will save. The higher the output of the small wind turbine, the more significant the impact will be on your electric bill. It would be a good idea to use several small wind turbines in order to generate enough usable electricity. The most common turbines available in the market have 600, 800, 1,000 or 3,000 output watts.

Before you buy home wind turbines, there are some things that you need to consider. First, you have to determine local laws on installing small wind systems in your city or locality. You do not want to end up buying a wind turbine only to realize later on that you cannot use it at home. Furthermore, you also need to choose a home wind turbine that is suitable to the size of your home and the size of your property. Furthermore, you also need to look for an online store that will not only provide you with quality small wind turbines but will give you value for your money as well.

Originally posted 2009-11-23 17:55:06. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Why on earth would you want to build your own home wind turbine?

The reasons why many of us want to build our own home wind turbine are varied. Many of us are worried by rising energy costs. Power companies are not investing sufficiently in renewable energy sources. This means that as the finite stock of oil, gas and coal runs out energy prices will continue to rise.

We are worried that energy prices will continue to rise and we need a way of minimizing the amount of energy that our household needs. We’d love to invest in renewable energy systems for our house but we simply can’t afford it. If only there was a more affordable way of harnessing renewable energy than spending thousands on wind and solar power systems.

Many of us are also worried by the environmental impacts of modern living. If much of the energy we are provided with comes from non-renewable sources, we worry about the damage to our environment that is caused by the array of power hungry electric items in our home.

Some of us love DIY projects. There’s nothing better on a Sunday afternoon than being out in the garage working with those power tools. That sense of creating and fixing things with your hands cannot be beaten.

Some of us love working on a shared project as a team. How we can all pull together working towards a common goal. This is a great way to spend time with your kids or friends.

Combine all of these wishes together and you can see why so many of us are getting stuck into building home wind turbines. We can reduce our monthly energy bills at very little cost and help reduce pollution whilst we have great fun with our families working on a DIY project.

Originally posted 2010-01-16 16:46:23. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Home wind power generator

Is about generating wind power electricity for the home and work sheds or out buildings for dam pumps and security lights using the free energy that is available most of the year.

Renewable diy enthusiast are trying to disconnect from commercial utility power grids  find an alternative power source by building and  erecting home wind  turbines generators outside their homes to save money and mainly reduce their electricity use.

In some cases the home owner can produce excess wind electricity and sell the excess power back to the commercial utility power company.

Installing a home wind power generator for the home can be an easy task. Purchase a wind power package from the internet and follow the step by step guides.

Residential – Domestic home wind power generator

In case when the wind has stopped the home owner needs to have a battery bank then converts this battery power into house electricity 120 volts A.C.

Wind flow may be higher than the house and a wind generator Towner may be erected  to put the wind generator up into the wind flow or the Towner could be positioned away from the house and take advantage of a slight hill.

The tower is just a technical name for the pole that the home wind turbine generator or other type of generator mounted on, and in some cases will need steel guy ropes for strength in high winds.

Another issue with home wind turbine generators is when strong winds are present the wind generator needs to have a electrical brake system installed because it would be not be practical to lower the Towner every time there are strong winds.

There are many wind generator installation services. Some things to look for when installing a home wind power generator on the property. 1 Safety Issues/Laws 2 Municipal Regulations 3 City Regulations 4 State Regulation concerning the home wind generator system

There are safety issues that can be overcome with common sense. Example. The Towner would not be position or mount to low to cause harm.

Regulation is relative to where you live. The extremes in regulation go from no regulation at all, to extremely prohibitive. A good site to check out is the EERA website and do a Google search for wind power in America. Both websites will give the home owner all the relative information regarding state regulations, detailed information about tax credits and rebates for wind power listed under each state.

Home wind power is becoming so popular that a lot of local authorities are either ignoring the usage of wind energy by saying nothing or they simply are not caught up with the times.

The general way that home wind power system works is: Wind Turbines or wind generators will take advantage of wind [spin the Blades] that will agitate magnets in the motor [permanent magnets] to generate friction [Magnetic flux] and produce electrical power [current – AMPS] for home electricity.

The potential growth is strong for the wind turbine generators to power home throughout the states.

Wind power for the home is a great alternative to traditional grid power, it is simple to put in place and can help off-set or eliminate power bills and save the money each month. $$$$

Contributed by Bret Parker

Originally posted 2009-11-22 17:38:17. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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It’s important to understand the role that technological change plays in the pricing of your home solar panels and home wind turbines. This is the third most important ingredient in budgeting for your homemade electricity solutio. Understanding your homemade electricity needs and how efficent both home solar panels and home wind turbines can be in your living environment are the other two key factors.

The Technolgy Pricing Curve

The technology price curve, when shown on a chart, looks a litle like a ski slope. On this chart the vertical axis represents price, the horizontal units sold. When the technolgy is first released it ver expensive and not many buy. However overtime more buy and as they do the price plummets until you have very large numbers being sold at a low price. This is how the technolgy pricing curve generally works.

Calculating your best time to buy.

In short the best time to buy the components to make your home solar panel and home wind turbine solution is when a component has just become yesterdays news. Many people buy the latest thing they can and this is great, but not financially efficent. Buying whatever is the standard, middle of the road component can be a good idea, however the products to watch are those that used to be the standard but have just become “old” in the last few weeks. These components should see a rapid price fall that eventually stabalizes. If you buy as soon as the price stabalises you will get the best value for money in terms of technology for your home solar panel and home wind turbine solution.

Conclusion

Buying just behind the technology curve is not for everyone. Some people want to show others that they have made a serious investment in becoming energy independant and cheaper older technolgy doesn’t fulfill this goal. If on the otherhand your goal is to build from costs effective and well tested components this brief guide will ensure you dlollar goes further.

Originally posted 2009-11-08 20:28:11. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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We all know that fossil fuels aren’t the great energy source we thought they were.  One of the most promising source of alternative energy is wind energy.

A lot of us have become very disillusioned with the big oil companies.  While we’re scrambling to keep our heads above water, in part because of higher utility bills, they were making record profits.  For this reason a lot of us would like to be able to generate our own electricity and get off the grid once and for all.

That’s probably why so many people are building their own home wind turbines.  They can save money, help out the environment, and be more independent and less reliant on their utility company.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you are interested in using the power of the wind and building your own wind turbine:

1. If you wanted to buy a turbine you would have to pay $600 and up.  For many it would just take too long to get that money back so it doesn’t make sense to go that route.

2. But, you can build your own turbine very easily and it won’t cost you more than $200.  You don’t need any special knowledge and you can have a turbine built in just a few days.

3. Even though one turbine won’t generate enough electricity to get you off the grid, it can be enough to generate about 60% of your household energy needs and save a bundle on your utility bills.

4. If you aren’t planning on staying in your home for at least a few more years, it might not make sense for you to install your own turbine.

Hopefully these points will help you decide whether or not wind energy makes sense for you .  Building your own turbine is a viable option that can save you thousands of dollars, or more, over the life of your turbine.

Originally posted 2009-12-09 16:48:22. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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You may have seen the many different small home wind turbines you are able to purchase in the shops, yet you may be undecided whether one of these small scale wind turbines is for you. Before purchasing a turbine, you should do some research regarding; can your environment make a turbine efficient enough, what alternative energy sources can you harness, and which technology is the best value for money.

Below we shall discuss each of the three points explained above in more detail, outlining the factors relating to each.

Wind turbines only generally work to their full potential in very few areas. To gain an efficient use of a turbine, you should do some in depth research and a site survey into how sustainable your environment is to support a wind turbine. For efficient placement of a wind turbine, you need to look into the average annual wind speed and direction. There are many references available to explain what speed the wind must be for different sized turbines. Wind direction is only a factor which relates to which position your place your turbine in, yet many modern small home turbines are very mobile and you can usually twist them to face the direction you prefer.

It will be well worth your time to browse the market looking for alternative renewable energy sources. This mainly depends on your budget, but solar panels are a very popular choice as either an addition, or a total replacement for a wind turbine. Solar panels generally offer you a greater pound per watt, and are also generally more efficient for home power production.

Deciding which technology is the best value for money, also ties in with the environment factor. You need to do research and decide which of the renewable energy sources is most in abundant in your region, for example if you live on a small island off the coast of northern Scotland, then you would more than likely choose a home wind turbine as you are exposed to strong winds, but if you live in the center of England (where wind speeds are usually quite low), you may opt for a solar panel.

So, as we can see here, many factors will decide on the right natural energy source for you. If you can afford to integrate renewable energy production methods into your home, it is strongly suggested, considering the current situation with global warming, that you make an attempt to install these more environmentally friendly appliances.

http://www.clean-energy-ideas.com/wind_turbines.html

Originally posted 2009-12-12 16:46:22. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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The Act offers a federal tax credit for 30% of the total installed cost of any wind power system with a 100 kilowatt capacity or less, but the credit will not exceed $4,000. The limitation of the Act is that it only applies to new systems installed from 3 October 2008 through to December 2016, so any current systems will get no tax relief.  In addition, for home wind turbines, the credit is further limited to the lesser of $4,000 or $1,000 per kW of capacity.

America, who has typically lead the worldwide small wind turbine market recently begun to feel pressure from other nations that offered enticing incentives for small renewable energy systems. So the new legislation was warmly welcomed by a Small Wind Advocate of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Ron Stimmel, who said:

“We thank Congress for recognizing and supporting small wind systems as an important contributor toward energy security and a cleaner environment. This credit will help individuals cut their electric bills while combating global warming in a tangible way.”

This bill is the first federal incentive for small wind turbines since 1985, and industry members believe the credit could grow the U.S. wind power market by 40% or more annually. And along with the upcoming equipment certification scheme, it will help secure it as the global leading market.

To put the industry on equal grounds with the photovoltaic (PV) solar industry, the AWEA, and its members have long requested a 30% federal investment incentive for small wind turbines 100kW and smaller. And now their persistence has paid off.

Since the two industries share the same renewable energy market, the wide legislation also expands on a similar credit for the PV solar industry that was first enacted in 2005. Domestic PV solar systems now receive a 30% credit, limited to $4,000, and commercial installations can get the same, but uncapped, credit.

So how does this act affect anyone who has installed their own system?  By the looks of things, diy renewable energy enthusiasts can also enjoy the federal tax credit as long they have proof of all installation costs and the date they were incurred. But, it is best to get sound legal advice first to help you maximize any tax credit due.

With the new tax credit, coupled with potential state-side credits, we cannot see a better time for anyone to invest in their own renewable energy system at home and offset the wind turbine cost. Whether this means getting an expensive professionally installed solar/wind power hybrid, or learning to do it yourself, potential electricity savings are a decision away. At the end of the day the choice is yours.

Originally posted 2009-11-14 16:50:04. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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The the ever decreasing supply of fuel for highly sought after non-renewable energy sources, living off the grid by utilizing home wind turbines is becoming more and more necessary. Living off the grid is becoming much easier and affordable as our technology progresses and becomes more easily available. These days, living off the grid is not only an affordable plan but can even save you money and give you the satisfaction of knowing you are not contributing to the pollution and environmental degredation that comes along with more traditional power supplies. There are many advantages to living off the grid with home wind turbines, let’s take a look at a few.

There is a massive reduction of dependabilty on resources that are being rapidly exhausted. When living off the grid, you are self sufficient, you no longer rely on large corporations or the government. When using wind or solar power, energy is stored so even when your neighbors are complaining about power outages to your old electric company, your home is still running strong.

After the initial set-up fee, and some cheap, maintanence every now and then, there is no cost. You can use as much energy as you want without worrying about the bill at the end of the month. Nature will power your home cheaply and cleanly. Wind energy may actually help rescue you from debt. Think about how one less monthly bill would feel.

Possibly the most important benefit, especially to those not worried about bills, is the contribution to a better tomorrow. Environmental concerns are possibly the biggest problem for our future. Wind energy will help contribute to a better Earth for you children and grandchildren. The sooner we can begin to eliminate our use of fossil fuels, the sooner we will be on the road to restoring the health of our planet.

Living off the grid is very possible and affordable. In this day and age a home wind turbine is not only feasible but very cost efficient and practical.

Originally posted 2009-11-17 18:35:02. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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