Questions and Answers about Wind Power
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Can I put the Triad Windgen head on my existing water-pumping windmill tower?
While on first glance it might appear to possible, the short answer is "no". While the Triad WindGen is proportioned to look to the eye like the old water-pumper windmills, in truth it is significantly bigger. Our standard tower height is 80' and the blade diameter is a wind-catching 25'. Traditional water-pumping windmill towers are not up to the job, and so no conversion kit is possible or planned.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Wind Energy? http://www1.eeere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_ad.html (also printable version)
How can I find out what my area's Average Wind Speed? A general map can be found here (DSIRE). Individual state maps are accessible on the Wind Powering America Web Site. Note that most wind maps are for higher a altitude than you will find for most "small wind" towers so the m/s or mph data should not be used. However, the maps are useful for determining the relative "windiness" of your area. If there is wind at 30 meters or 50 meters, it is also probably available at your tower height. See also the publication: The Importance of Tower Height for more information.
Where can I find the Rules, Regulations & Policies for renewable energy in my area? Rules, Regulations, & Policies for Renewable Energy (by State). (Note: Not all renewable energy rules, regulations, & policies apply to wind power.
How do I find out what State, Local, utility, and Federal incentives promote renewable energy for my State? http://www.dsireusa.org/index.cfm?&CurrentPageID=7&EE=0&RE=1
Newest incentives by State: http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/incentivenew.cfm?&CurrentPageID=3&EE=0&RE=1
Most recently updated incentives: http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/incentiveupdated.cfm?&CurrentPageID=3&EE=0&RE=1
Many places refer to Meter/Second (M/S). How do I convert that to MPH? The formula is 1 M/S = 2.237 mph
What is "net metering"? We refer to net metering as "on grid" wind power generation. In short, it allows you to connect your wind turbine to your electrical meter. Any excess power that you produce, in effect, runs your electrical meter BACKWARDS. For a more in-depth look at net metering, see http://www.awea.org/faq/netbdef.html
Does wind power makes sense for me if my state does NOT currently allow net metering?With all the talk about "Net Metering" laws, you might think that until your State "gets with the program" and implements Net Metering laws that you don't need to consider wind power generation. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, "Net Metering" laws really only benefit you if you produce more wind power than you can use. Few are in that category. Most of use are generating wind power to reduce our use of more expensive grid electricity - and are not in a position to eliminate it completely and sell excess back to the utility company. Does that mean that a wind generator is a bad investment? Hardly! Any KW of power that you produce and use is a KW of power that you didn't have to purchase. Think of all of the kilowatts of electrical power that are flowing over your property that are currently "getting away" from you. Isn't it time for you to harness the wind and make it work for you?
There are plenty of other reasons to invest in wind power generation NOW, in the absence of net metering laws:
- Bring power to areas not serviced by "the Grid" in a very cost-effective manner.
- Reduce your "carbon footprint"
- Projects a progressive image for your operation
- Promotes community social values
- Take advantage of the many financial incentives currently available.
Where can I find if Net Metering is available for my state? Here are links to both maps and links (by State). (Note that the maps are dated and may not reflect up-to-the-minute changes in State laws.
How much electricity does an average 2-story 3-bedroom house use per day per month or per year? The answer from an electrical engineer for a power company on wiki.answers.com says:
More information is needed to address this question well:
- What type of appliances are being run?
- Is it an all electric house? What appliances run on gas?
- Is there a Central Heat and AC? What is the approximate square footage?
- With answers to these questions you can get a pretty good ball park answer.
Otherwise I will contribute this: As an electrical engineer for a power company I see on average a house that is 1600-2000 square feet and having electric appliances except for the furnace use an average of 1500Kwatt-hours per month making 50 Kwatt-hours per day and a total of 18,000 Kwatt-hours per year.
Having said that it is also important to know why the question is being asked. If, for example, one is trying to determine usage as part of a plan for creating an alternative energy system for the house, one really needs to find out the actual usage for the house. Average numbers can be very misleading. Nova ran a story about a couple that installed a solar based 6 kWatt system who were generally running a surplus. No data is provided for actual consumption and converting the rating of a solar system back to Kwatts/day is moderately complex.
On the other side of the spectrum, it has been reported that Al Gore's mansion uses about 221,000kWh per year. If you scale this number down to the requested 1600-2000 square foot house, the result is around 60,000 kWh per year. It is reasonable to assume that Mr. Gore has already done all of the obvious things to reduce his energy footprint (e.g. energy star appliances, energy efficient lighting) so this clearly should not be considered an upper bound on electrical usage. Mr. Gore also purchases carbon offsets and extra wind power to balance out the remainder of his home's energy consumption.
The most important part about this question is that knowing the average value is useful if you just want to know the average but knowing the specific number may be significantly more important in some cases.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy "Electricity FAQs", the average monthly residential consumption in 2007 was 936 kilowatt hours (kWh).
