Wind Turbines
In just about every conversation I have about green issues, recycling, saving money etc. the subject of wind turbines always comes up sooner or later. It seems like anyone who want’s to help save the planet or save money want’s a wind turbine. Whether they want to be “green” by generating their own electricity or just save money a wind turbine seems to be a must have.
Some dream of doing their bit for the planet by generating their own electricity, others are more interested in reducing their electricity bills, some even dream of having a few wind turbines and making money by selling electricity to the power company.
Unfortunately it is not quite that simple, all my research indicates that the small wind turbines sold to home owners don’t work. In ideal conditions they will produce electricity, but not the maximum the manufacturers quote. In less than ideal conditions these wind turbines will produce little or no electricity.
Simply buying one of these and erecting it is no guarantee they will produce electricity. The key thing is the wind, it needs to be strong and constant for the wind turbine to produce a reasonable amount of electricity. Many people buy them thinking “Well it’s always windy round here” when in fact it is not. It just seems that way to them as they remember when the wind is strong but forget all the times when there is no wind.
If you are thinking seriously of buying a wind turbine I would strongly suggest you invest in a wind meter and do some checks on the wind conditions in the spot where you plan to erect the turbine. Check the wind speed/strength as many times a day as possible, and for a number of days. This will give you an indication of how often the wind will be strong enough for the turbine to generate electricity. There is a good chance the wind conditions will mean it will never generate enough electricity to cover the cost of buying and installing it.
You may think this is acceptable, if you can afford the money and are only interested doing something for the environment by producing at least some of the electricity you consume. In this case I really do think you would do more good for the environment by reducing the amount of electricity you use rather than trying to generate some of it yourself.