subject: Three Keys To Being Familiar With Home Wind Mill Prices [print this page] Home wind turbine prices can be very confusing. If you look at a manufacturer's data sheet, the amount of information can seem overwhelming.
In order to make sense out of prices you are finding, you need to boil the data down and only focus on what's ultimately important.
Here are 3 things to learn about the ones you are looking at:
1. Cut-in speed of the unit
2. Number of kilowatts it will generate
3. How high are you going to have to install it
Cut-in speed is the wind speed at which the blades start turning and making power. These speeds have come down considerably over the years and some are even in the 1 mph range now!
This is a very important number for you to know about the windmills you are looking at for your home. The reason is the lower the speed the more power you will be able to make. Also, the lower speed units can operate in places like your roof which don't get nearly as much consistent wind speed as those mounted higher up on a tower.
You need to take the time to study you local wind at several places on your property that are possibilities for installing your windmill. All you will need is an anemometer available for under $50 online. The anemometer will tell you average wind speed and direction over time.
You need to buy and compare home wind turbine prices based or your average wind. If your average wind is 6 mph, a wind turbine with a cut-in speed of 10 mph will be sitting idle a lot of the time.
Now, you need to calculate the cost of the unit per kilowatt of power. This is a very critical number as well and will allow you to compare the relative value of the units you are looking at.
Also, how high you are going to have to install the unit to take advantage of the wind is important. If you are looking at home wind turbine prices that seem low, you need to divide the TOTAL cost of the unit with all its components in order to have an accurate picture of what it will cost you.
Adding a tower to the equation for example could double the cost of the wind turbine and that is never included in the prices they quote on the internet.
In summary, you have to be careful in understanding home wind turbine prices. The marketing that companies use to sell these products is not exactly misinformation but it is definitely not enlightening in most cases.
