Wind Power - referral needed

[nickelcityhomes]

I'm in the process of purchasing a small vacation home on Lake Ontario. I'm looking for someone who understands the in's and out's of setting up a wind power system.

The home has two heating sources: electric baseboard heaters and a propane furnace. I'm thinking I could probably find a system that would eliminate the need for a propane supply. The home is presently winterized in the off-season, but I'd like to convert it to a year-round rental. Heating requirements during the off-season would be minimal: keep the pipes from freezing, provide a source of heat for short term tenants (less than 2 weeks). The propane source would be retained as a secondary source in case of energy outage.

The usage in the off-season will be minimal, so I need a system that can do inverted electric, or whatever it's called when the electric company pays you for the excess power.

Zoning should not be an issue since I was on the town's ZBA and have political connections there.

Any recommendations or suggestions?

[PickOranges]

I'm in the process of purchasing a small vacation home on Lake Ontario. I'm looking for someone who understands the in's and out's of setting up a wind power system.

The home has two heating sources: electric baseboard heaters and a propane furnace. I'm thinking I could probably find a system that would eliminate the need for a propane supply. The home is presently winterized in the off-season, but I'd like to convert it to a year-round rental. Heating requirements during the off-season would be minimal: keep the pipes from freezing, provide a source of heat for short term tenants (less than 2 weeks). The propane source would be retained as a secondary source in case of energy outage.

The usage in the off-season will be minimal, so I need a system that can do inverted electric, or whatever it's called when the electric company pays you for the excess power.

Zoning should not be an issue since I was on the town's ZBA and have political connections there.

Any recommendations or suggestions?

Inverter just convert DC to AC or vice versa. There are alot of wind power kits. That's where zoning comes in- height.. noise level...

If you are going to get rid of propane.. They have geothermal.. It is a little more expensive to install. They put tube (open or close) loops in ponds, under driveways or just dig a big hole with one of the well auger because the temp is higher in the ground during the winter and you reverse during the summer. You still need a back up system..

http://www.buffalogeothermalheating.com/howitowrks.html and some heating supply companies give classes like IRB

[nickelcityhomes]

Not interested in geothermal for this use. If I was building a new house I would use geo - 100%.

I just need a wind power supply.

[WNYresident]

You also have to see about ROI. I would think you would need something large to generate enough electric to keep pipes from freezing etc...

[WNYresident]

Check this out.

Wind Electricity Basics

Small wind-electric systems can provide electricity on remote, off-grid sites, or right in town connected to the utility grid. Although wind systems require more maintenance and need more attention than solar-electric or microhydro-electric systems, if you invest up front in good equipment, design, and installation, wind-electric systems can make economic and environmental sense. They also bring a great deal of satisfaction—there´s nothing quite like watching your wind generator convert a summer breeze or a winter storm into electrical energy.

Read the rest of it.

[Effigy]

Inverter just convert DC to AC or vice versa.

An inverter converts DC to AC, and is not very efficient. A rectifier converts AC to DC and is a bit better at efficiency.

[Linda_D]

You also have to see about ROI. I would think you would need something large to generate enough electric to keep pipes from freezing etc...

If you aren't going to be using the place in the winter, it's probably smarter to turn off the water and drain the pipes rather than chance a burst pipe, IMO. Furnaces and heaters can fail, and with nobody there to notice, it could get nasty.

I thought about wind power for my future retirement home, but I found the cost to be prohibitive when I checked it out on-line. Even a modest system starts at around $25,000, and most were in the $35,000-45,000 and up. That just didn't seem to make economic sense to me, particularly since with the smaller systems, you might not have enough power or you would have to draw on the grid frequently. I am back to passive solar for my retirement home.

I didn't save the wind power sites that I visited, but if you google "windpower" or "wind turbines" you'll find plenty. Add "home" to narrow the search. I was disappointed at the cost because I have an excellent site, and probably not any zoning issues because a turbine would be about the height of a silo.

[FarmGirl]

Here's a link to a friend's website that does Windmills and solar panels. They live in Kenmore and OP.

http://www.buffalogreenworks.com/

[NBuffaloResident]

An inverter converts DC to AC, and is not very efficient. A rectifier converts AC to DC and is a bit better at efficiency.

You'll never find a setup that uses an AC alternator, into a rectifier. Usually, it's and induction motor (Using the cap bank to keep the reverse current), and the gen set is fed into a step-up transformer.

[nickelcityhomes]

I'm gonna build my own, actually 2 of them. 10' diameter using old low-RPM DC motors from discarded vintage 70's tape backup systems. I just need to figure out a low-tech way to prevent overheating in high winds. I may build one with a high-RPM motor to capture the +25 MPH winds on the lake.

[Linda_D]

You might want to check out the featured video on the Mother Earth News site: MEN. This particular video is about solar panel film, but the guy also explains a little about inverters.

If you click on their Renewable Energy tab, you'll find info on wind turbines.