subject: Wind Power Cost Is Complicated [print this page] Your wind power cost at home can be more than a little complicated because there are so many factors involved. If you don't take the time and make sure you cover them all you can end up making big mistakes. Lifecycle costing is the way you have to analyze a project like this because it considers all possible expenses associated with a project. This way of looking at costs makes sure that not only the initial cost is taken into account, but also all the other smaller costs that sometimes get lost along the way and forgotten about.
These are the factors that you must consider in your lifecycle wind power cost analysis...
Upfront cost of wind turbine equipment - this is the cost of the wind turbine and any related equipment that is sold along with initial purchase. It is the price that you will pay initially and you have to be very careful that you know what is in the initial wind turbine kit package so you don't double up and get a bunch of additional equipment that you don't necessarily need.
Tower and related foundational equipment - It is very uncommon for towers and other foundation related pieces of equipment to be included in the initial wind turbine. You are going to have to price that carefully, depending on your specific project. The only way to get down to the level of detail that you need to be able to determine what foundation you need is to take some time and size up what your particular when conditions are and where you need to locate the turbine in the first place.
Installation costs and expenses for hooking up the load to the wind turbine - This too is very location dependent. Everything to do with installation has to do with exactly where you put the wind turbine kit and to know exactly where that should be you have got to understand the details of your particular wind scenario.
Replacement costs and general maintenance - Replacement costs are mostly for blades and that really is not a negative because it gives you the opportunity to reassess the aerodynamics and weight ratios that contribute to the amount of wind that you can harvest from one of these devices. But, those costly to be included to if you're going to do a total lifecycle analysis on this product.
In summary, the wind power cost at your home can be complicated but you need to consider all the money that you are likely to spend regardless of how trivial or unpredictable it may seem right now in the time before you begin to seriously look into the project.
