micro wind power

I have seen small scale wind turbines at a school not far from my home. I have seen small turbines for sale online. So from an experimental point of view is it fun and worth doing?

Hi T;
Anytime you play with new stuff its fun!
Wind as a source of power leaves a lot to be desired unless you go large.

Here are my reasons why)
You must live in a place with constant winds.  Wind that is steady at apx 10 mph minimum and 20 mph + if you expect to make much power.
Nothing wrong with living in a steadily windy place, but most of us do not.
The support structure to hold a wind genny in strong wind must be stout.
They also, are usually tall and require a way to tip them down to work on.
Wind gennys are noisy. Your neighbors if you have any will not be pleased.

Like Hydro power, wind power must be constantly regulated. They must have a place to put the power or they will over voltage and short out inside.

Small wind gennys at a school would be a great way to demonstrate to students about alternative energy, hopefully they have a solar panel as well!

T, I have 2 airx 400watt 12volt turbines.  They were made for weather station battery charging.  They have a built in controller.  At first they didn't give me much, but now the wind blows almost constantly here.  They work great in the winter when we don't get much sun. There are 2 major things I have learned.  First they need a real heavy built stand.  We had 70mph winds hit here last year and that would have been a mess if they blew over.  Second is ground them well.  Ground is the most important thing in a long lasting electrical system.

This guy thinks a company in the Brittish Isles has a concept that will work:



The company is taking advantage of poles put up for other reasons and that already have wires to them, thus making small power generation cost effective. As mentioned about, wind power with "airplane-type" blades are noisy and require really strong poles. This system may not create as much power, but is so cheap that it is believed it will still be worth it.

fantastic

i've looked into getting a couple of the small Chinese wind turbines
they may not be very effective here in Ohio this time of year, but during the winter when we don't receive a great amount of sun the wind certainly picks up to make them worth while .

The solar installer/distributor that I'm talking with is discouraging me from incorporating wind. He says that turbines tend to reach the end of life before paying back the investment, especially when maintenance costs are considered.

Is he looking out for me or looking out for himself when he tells me this?

I understand that it's hard to answer this without any site context but he didn't have any site context yet either.

Nick Neufeld wrote:The solar installer/distributor that I'm talking with is discouraging me from incorporating wind. He says that turbines tend to reach the end of life before paying back the investment, especially when maintenance costs are considered.

Is he looking out for me or looking out for himself when he tells me this?

I understand that it's hard to answer this without any site context but he didn't have any site context yet either.

I would say nick that small wind is hard to install at a profit... self install makes sense but a legally installed turbine with a certified base installed for you gets expensive...