Practical Wind power to offset my utility cost?
When I was in 8th grade (1979) I made a wooden rotor blade in shop class. I took it home and attached it to an old Chevy alternator. With a little help from my friends’ older brothers, we managed to make it operate a headlamp. We later added an old motorcycle battery. I was not smart enough to figure out how to make the light turn off at night, so it was lit all day and night. It lit up our back yard rather well, even though there was not always enough wind to keep the battery charged enough to operate a car headlight 24 hours a day. It was pretty ugly but it worked until a big storm destroyed it.
Today I am a software engineer but I have a lot of schooling in electronics. I could easily make myself two 1KW wind generators, at a low cost. I understand I need a synchronous inverter that meets certain specs before I can hook it up to my house, and sell the excess (if any) back to the power company. Were do I get information on such a device? And how much $$?
There are several companies that make "grid tie inverters" that you could use to resell the power from your turbines. Usually they are in the $2,000 and up category. Also, depending on the rules of your power company or city, you may need to have your system designed, certified and installed by professionals, permitted by the city or utility, and have to have special liability insurance.
The cost of meeting all the requirements for grid tie can easily exceed the cost of batteries. You might compare the costs after finding out what you need to do legally to sell power back to the grid.
DK
Filed under: budget living
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Before you go too far with this, contact your state energy commission and the power company to determine the rules for a grid-tied system.
You may find, for instance, that like in California the tower must be 60 feet tall. There are other restrictions.
References :
There are several companies that make "grid tie inverters" that you could use to resell the power from your turbines. Usually they are in the $2,000 and up category. Also, depending on the rules of your power company or city, you may need to have your system designed, certified and installed by professionals, permitted by the city or utility, and have to have special liability insurance.
The cost of meeting all the requirements for grid tie can easily exceed the cost of batteries. You might compare the costs after finding out what you need to do legally to sell power back to the grid.
DK
References :
Every state and every power company has different rules on this (actually, county and towns sometimes have laws. I just read a headline that a town in Maine has enacted a law making wind turbine legal in that town).
Contact the power company first, they should know about all the laws that pertain to your location. They will sell you the equipment, or approve it, or recommend it, depending on company.
References :