subject: Low Cost Wind Energy - 2 Strategies To Ensure It Isn't Too Cheap [print this page] When folks are in the market for a wind turbine, they want one that is inexpensive but does the job. In other words they were great deal. Cheap wind power is the right objective, but you got to make sure that you don't get something that's too cheap. What I mean by that is that you may pay the least cost up front but then the job is never completed because all the parts aren't there. You don't get the wind converted to electricity like you expected. In other words, you have very expensive roof ornament if you buy something that's too cheap.
The way to keep from buying something that's too cheap is to make sure that you size the wind generator correctly right from the very beginning of the project. It's way too easy just to dive into a windmill project and try to get something done and off your list. It is far better to take a little bit of time on the front end and make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row. That way, you optimize your purchase and you will not buy something that ends up costing you more in the long run.
The two fundamentals that you need to make sure you pay attention to, to optimize your purchase are:
* Make sure you know what you want to do with power that you create through your wind turbine. There are of course many things it can be done with the electricity you make. The simplest application is just to charge a set of batteries. Then you can deplete the batteries to power any number of devices around the house. However, you've got to have the batteries reasonably close to the device that you want to power. The reason for that is you want to make sure you don't suffer too much in electromechanical line losses by having the source of power too far away from the appliance. You can also have the objective of powering your entire house or even exporting electricity you make to the broader grid that your utility controls.
Once you know what your objective is it's time to understand what sort of wind resources you have on your property. You've got to be specific and detailed about collecting data at the specific spots, preferably with an anemometer.
* The second thing you need to pay attention to before you get going on your quest for cheap wind power is to thoroughly check out available rebates and credits. If you are going through a dealer, it'll be fairly simple and straightforward. The dealer will know all about the available rebates and credits. That's their bread-and-butter. However, if you doing this yourself - which is usually the case if you're looking for really cheap wind power - you will have to assemble the credits and rebates available yourself, also. Each state has different wind tax credits that you need to be aware of. You utility very well may also have credits or rebates available.
In summary, cheap wind power is not always actually cheap. It can be very expensive if you aren't careful about sizing up the project completely before you began. You simply have got to know what you want to do with the power and how much wind you have available to optimize its location. Then, to really get the lowest price, you've got to be able to turn over every rock and find the rebates and credits that are available.
