wind turbine (insurance, homes, heat pump)

[ground_pounder]

any thoughts on installing a wind turbine in northern maine for an off the grid house. after the bergy rep gave me some quotes I just about had a heart attack. will it pay for itself. what's the maintance cost like I know they do get hungry for things like a new paint job bearings ect ect vs solar panels. and what is permiting like in an unincorperated town as far as height restrictions for the tower. and will I need insurance on it

[Northern Maine Land Man]

If you live on a ridge top with land that slopes own to the west with an uninstructed view to the west, you are a candidate for wind power. If not, don't spend your money. I know one guy who gets a check from the power company. For most people it is a novelty.

[Coaster]

Given a choice between wind power and PV panels, I'd go PV in a flash. Quiet, low-maintenance, low public profile (for those who worry about such), long life. I know two sets of homeowners who have perfect wind turbine homesites, but they both chose PV instead because of all the advantages vs wind. I never saw their spreadsheets, but they said that, once maintenance costs were figured in, wind simply couldn't compete.

[Submariner]

In my town, there are 3 homes currently operating off-grid power systems, and soon to be a fourth.

2 of these homes have both solar power and wind power.

One guy has 3 small windmills in the 400 watt range mounted on 40' poles. He hates them. He much prefers his solar power.

The second guy has one windmill. The body is over 1/2 ton, it makes somewhere in the 2,000 watt range and it is mounted on a 100' tower. He loves his windmill. It produces far more power than his solar panels make.

[ground_pounder]

as coaster said about pv panels that is in my plans to. but I am also thinking of those gloomy days in maine where wind might be another option

[ground_pounder]

Originally Posted by Submariner

In my town, there are 3 homes currently operating off-grid power systems, and soon to be a fourth.

2 of these homes have both solar power and wind power.

One guy has 3 small windmills in the 400 watt range mounted on 40' poles. He hates them. He much prefers his solar power.

The second guy has one windmill. The body is over 1/2 ton, it makes somewhere in the 2,000 watt range and it is mounted on a 100' tower. He loves his windmill. It produces far more power than his solar panels make.

iv'e been eyeing down the bergy units since they make em just for battery charging as well as i'm gonna be using pv panels like coaster suggested and i'll prob invest in that motorized thingy to move the panels as the sun moves to generate more power. 400 watts that seems like a small windmill the ones I am looking at are like 10kw. and I guess it's all about location on what works best also. another part of my plan is to have a separate shed for my battery bank since id'e want more than 4 batteries

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by ground_pounder

... i'm gonna be using pv panels like coaster suggested and i'll prob invest in that motorized thingy to move the panels as the sun moves to generate more power.

My panels are mounted on an array facing directly true-South. They have 1-axis of movement that can change their angle of attack to the sun's daily path. They are setup for three settings [angles]. A Summer setting of 21.7 degrees from horizontal, a Spring / Autumn setting of 46.7 degrees from horizontal, and a Winter setting of 68.5 degrees from horizontal. Four times a year I must go out and change their angle. With my array, changing the angle is not a difficult job.

Changing the angle of attack increases the efficiency by anywhere from 0% to as much as 30% [obviously depending on season, even a solid mounted panel will be perfect one day a year, just as a dead clock is correct once every 12 hours].

Changing the compass bearing of the panels has a much smaller effect. Since the invention of MPPT technology in Charge-Controllers, there is much less to be gained from having the panels move hourly.



I have 4400 watts of solar panels. I have nearly 350 square-foot of sail area, for the wind to beat on.

When you see a 10 foot by 10 foot solar array mounted on a steel pole, that represents 100 square-foot of sail area. A civil engineer will want you to have 15 yards of concrete in the ground to anchor that 100 sq ft of sail area in case we get a stiff wind. Then making the steel pole into an axle so the array can rotate around it, is likewise going to require a lot more heavy duty steel, gearing and motors. That is a lot of work and expense, for a small amount of gain.

[ground_pounder]

thoughts on going with a geo thermal system in maine would it be worth it or not

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by ground_pounder

thoughts on going with a geo thermal system in maine would it be worth it or not

There are very few steam geysers in Maine.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I think he means deep well heat pumps. NOBODY has ever saved money with them. However, the new mini-split heat pumps produce heat at lower cost than burning oil, propane or natural gas. I need to consult actuarial tables to see whether I would break even considering the years I have left.